As we reported in June of this year, our teachers Rosahlee and Roxanne adopted new English-language curricula for the kids’ daily English lessons at Little Hearts. Our younger kids now follow the i-Learn Smart Start 4 programme, while the older ones are using the Personal Best series. The new curricula and the renewed focus on good pronunciation and accurate oral comprehension are already paying dividends, as many of the kids have shown solid improvement in recent weeks.
Our English teachers strive to keep the lessons simple but also entertaining and diverse, using different approaches, giving lots of examples and using visual aids, and focussing heavily on oral communication while avoiding overly long lectures.
In an effort to keep the kids engaged in the learning process, the teachers also continually add task-based assignments, group work, skits, games and many other fun and challenging activities. They also encourage the kids to continue to practise their English on their own. For example, all kids now take part in a book reading club and have a group reading session every Friday. And to help them develop their speaking skills, the kids in the secondary level have been tasked with delivering oral presentations on a variety of topics in the coming months, starting this week. Either in pairs or individually, they will research their chosen topic in depth and then hold an informative (and hopefully entertaining) presentation for their classmates, complete with audio-visual support.
Jeff and Michael will get the show on the road with a very serious topic, “War is changing the face of the earth.” Next up will be Danny and Vandeth, who both have an interest in the sensational, so they will speak about the Bermuda Triangle. Sometime in November, Elizabeth and Bunrath will make a presentation about the global water crisis, followed by Olivia and Dina, whose topic has the worrying title “How AI is slowly taking over the world.” Micky and Lisa will lecture about the greenhouse effect, while Malee, who’s going solo, will teach us about traditional Cambodian music and how, sadly, much of it is in danger of being lost. Finally, Charlie and Ben plan to take the class on a field trip to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, housed in the infamous S-21 prison, to refresh their memory about the darkest episode in Cambodia’s recent history.
So, our young learners have a lot on their plate as they quest for knowledge and fluency in English. The secret to getting ahead is getting started, kids, so hop to it!