English UK school feedback about English Out There

Hi {!firstname}

Writing a newsletter can be a drag sometimes, especially when you use Facebook, Twitter and now Google+ to communicate too. Where will it all end, this social media frenzy? Where does it fit in with English teaching today?

Here's my go at explaining that last question.

Language is not simply an academic subject. We spoke before we learned to write and spoken words existed long before grammatical rules were devised to explain and teach them. We learned to write to organise, communicate and store ideas. The ideas were in our heads all along. Words on a page are read by our internal voice. Sometimes they get read by our internal voice and moments later our external voice speaks them.

Since educating people became the norm we have thought, written and written some more to pass on knowledge and skills. So, for a few hundred years our educational system has been primarily based upon theoretical knowledge...things written down.

Increasingly neuro-scientists using brain imaging tools are finding that we actually learn things better through social interaction than theory alone, learning by doing. So the closer educators can get their written theoretical processes to becoming carefully supported, trial and error, social learning experiences...the better.

This way of teaching and learning can be applied in virtually any subject but the most obvious one is language learning. We all learnt our first language socially, from our mum and dad. We can do the same with our second language we just need a little of the right preparation and support.

So, having focused social contact with the public on the street and using online social media for real social learning and speaking practice is not an alien concept. In fact it is as old as the Ark and Plato was the first to actually teach using social networks, in 387 BC, check this out:

http://linkd.in/tT8GA8

All the best

Jason

Founder

Languages Out There

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Buy Printed Class Sets from BEBC

"Ever since we started using it in our school, the tasks have been a huge success! Our students have commented on how engaging and inspiring the tasks are, and the teachers love the way the worksheets combine classroom reflection with authentic interaction.

For a brave and innovative school, there could be no better way to teach English.

All the best - and thanks again!"

Wiktor Kostrzewski

Director of Studies
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Teaches English Out There in Swansea, UK

Click to read in full what their DOS @Wiktor_k and his teachers think about teaching our stuff. City School of Languages are British Council accredited and members of English UK.

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