FAQs - ENGLISH ALIVE
a) Who pays for the English Alive programme?Payment of the programme very much depends on the country, region and the school. In general, however, the student usually pays for the programme as they would for example, a skiing week away or a study trip abroad. Some schools also look for sponsors to help with some of the cost.
b) How much does the programme cost?
As a rule of thumb English Alive is usually about one third of the cost of going to England for a week on an English language study programme.
c) At what level can students follow the ENGLISH ALIVE programme?
We recommend that students should have studied at least 2 years of English at school. To get the maximum benefit from the programme, we advise that students should be of at least lower-intermediate level.
d) When is the best time to run this programme?
We have found that the best time of the year is winter and spring. However, very much depends on what happens during your school year e.g. exams, trips away etc. It is important to note that this programme usually runs during term time.
e) What does the school need to provide?
Probably the most important aspect is your belief and enthusiasm regarding the real value of this programme.We will also require classrooms, the use of a photocopier, cassette players and a video recorder if available.
f) How many students do we need to run a course?
Ideally the minimum number to run a course would be 2 classes of between 15-20. The reason for this is that with 2 groups and hence 2 teachers we are able to alternate the teachers. Both groups would gain the benefit of having 2 teachers - 2 different voices, 2 different accents and 2 teachers with different teaching styles and strengths.
g) Tell me something about your teachers.
All our teachers hold the minimum of an EFL Teaching Certificate and some have higher English language teaching qualifications. Many have a university degree and all of our teachers have an excellent knowledge of British culture. The one thing they all have in common is that they enjoy working with young people. This is borne out by their natural enthusiasm and the ability to bring the language alive!
h) Will we as teachers be able to observe some lessons?
Yes, we actively encourage English language school teachers to come into the lessons and see for themselves how our programme works. We do, however, ask you not to come in for the first 2 days as this is a "settling in" period for both your students and our teachers.
i) The school usually sends students to the UK for study programmes. Surely this will affect numbers going in the future?
Conventional wisdom would suggest that it would, however, the interest that English Alive creates has proved to the contrary. Our programme has proved to be a stepping stone for visits to the UK and other overseas state school teachers have commented that their students' interest in visiting the UK has been heightened.
We hope you find this programme as exciting as we do and we would be delighted to welcome you as a partner school.
