The EP Beginner Languages courses have been re-designed to offer a more engaging, practical, and comprehensive learning experience with the goal of providing students with the necessary tools to develop real-world language skills through authentic, task-based learning.
Check out a snapshot video of the course below.
Organisation of the courseOrganization of the course
Each module is centred around an action-oriented task which combines the language from all of the topics within that module. It is made up of 3-4 parts addressing different skills, including: written interaction, spoken interaction, written production, and spoken production.
Teachers can choose to follow the full module sequence and complete the end-of-module action-oriented task, or they can dip in and out of the modules and use the topic-based skills lessons and authentic tasks lessons as required.
Topics and lesson structure
Here is a list of topics covered in each module:
Module 1: School life
- Greetings and introductions
- The classroom
- School subjects
- Getting to know me
- My school environment
Module 2: Home life
- Family and pets
- Describing people
- Daily routine
- Days of the week and time
- Describing jobs
- Household responsibilities
- Out and about in the community
Module 3: Holidays
- Countries and nationalities
- My home
- Leisure activities
- Holiday accommodation
- Holiday destinations
- Weather
Module 4: Celebrations
- Dates and birthdays
- Food
- Exploring international flavours
- Planning a party
- Shopping for food
Click here for a more detailed overview of what is found in each module.
Skills lessons
Our existing skills-based lessons have been integrated into this new structure and can still be used as stand alone lessons. However, they have undergone a monumental transformation. Some of the updates include:
- Interactive Thinglinks to make introducing new vocabulary more interactive and engaging
- Strategy slides which give students strategies to effectively complete different types of learning tasks
- Enhanced question styles for better engagement and clarity
- Additional speaking questions integrated throughout the all the lessons
- Updated design to meet the latest design and accessibility standards
- Editable, authentic reading comprehension and visual texts
- Additional learning outcome slides at the start of each lesson and self reviews at the end of a lesson
- Knowledge review slides that link prior learning and prompt a readiness for learning
In addition to the skills-based lessons, we have also added additional multimodal lessons that cover topics not included in our Beginner course and that support students to complete the final tasks. These lessons combine all skills.
Assessment options
Within our new Beginner Languages course structure, we have several different assessment options available, including:
- A Skill snapshot assessment within each topic, designed as a flexible assessment tool. It can be used as a pre/post-test or as an ongoing skill assessment to show students progress in each individual skill.
- An authentic communication assessment that can be assigned at the end of each topic, which assesses students’ communication skills in authentic contexts.
- An end-of-module learning task, completed at the end of a series of topics.
How to use this course
- Select Topic & Level: Choose a module and topic and add to the course planner. The modules can become the sequence for your year plan.
- Introduce Language: Use introductory lessons for each topic to teach key vocabulary and concepts. These can be assigned for independent work or completed together as a class.
- Practice Skills: Assign tailored lessons in listening, reading, writing, speaking, and vocabulary. Allow time for skill-building in the topic context. Encourage self-reflection, allowing students to redo lessons as needed.
- Assess and Personalise: Conduct a skill snapshot assessment to monitor growth and readiness for the authentic task. Repeat Step 2 and 3 if further practice is required.
- Evaluate: Assign an end-of-topic authentic communication task to assess real-world communication skills. Further support can be assigned if required.
- Prepare for Final Task: Assign multimodal lessons to prepare for the end-of-module task.
- Final Assessment: Conclude with a final end-of-module task to evaluate mastery of the module.
- Ongoing Review and Mastery: Analyse final assessment data and assign further practice if needed. Allow students to monitor progress, repeat lessons, and refine skills until mastery is achieved.
Use the modules flexibly
If you prefer to integrate the modules with your own materials, feel free to dip in and out of the modules and use the topic-based skills lessons and authentic tasks lessons as required.
- Select activities and tasks that complement your existing lesson plans and address your students’ specific needs.
- You can use the skill snapshot, authentic communication and rich task assessments alongside your existing materials.
Where can I find this new content?
You can find this new content in the library or in Discover mode for each Beginner Language course.
Additionally, you can reach out to the Education Perfect team to discuss further.
Feedback
We would love any feedback on our new beginner languages course! To provide feedback, please email [email protected] or book in a time to chat here.
