Learning through songs

Old traditional methodologies made children write and repeat vocabulary lists to learn a foreign language. Nowadays, it is completely different! We listen to songs or chants, sing, dance and practise the vocabulary in a fun way.

Las antiguas metodologías hacían a los niños escribir y repetir listas de vocabulario para aprender una lengua extranjera. ¡Hoy en día es completamente diferente! Escuchamos canciones o rimas, cantamos, bailamos y practicamos el vocabulary de manera divertida.

  Some children from Year 4

We are learning the Alphabet

Although the Alphabet is introduced earlier in a passive way, in 3rd level it is when we learn it well. 

Learning a foreign language is more fun if we sing and dance! Some girls love dancing and made their own version of an alphabet song!! Wow!! 

Sofia, Miah and Lisa from Year 3 

Meeting new people

The best way to practise English and improve our level is to speak with people from all over the world as much as possible. That's why we should know some basic questions and answers very well. 

In class the language is introduced in a meaningful context and the boys and girls practise it orally in pairs. Then, they write it down.

Pair work is fantastic!!

Max and Biel from Year 6

Tomás and Íker from Year 6

Although they made some mistakes, it is great to practise the language and lose fear to speak in front of others.

Hugo and Joan 

 I really appreciate their interest to participate in class. 🙌🏼🙌🏼

Classroom rules

By Yulia from Year 6

It is important to speak about the classroom rules with all the students at the beginning of the school year. It promotes respect, avoids bad behaviour and lets the children learn in a positive atmosphere. 

Zhaira from Year 3

Amelia from Year 3

By Jana from Year 6

Apart from these, I would like to share with you some other LIFE rules: work hard, ask for help and go after what you want! Let your dreams come true. 😉

The students also participate in making the BLOG!

Anabel and Meritxell from Year 4 wrote something to post on the blog:

WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE ENGLISH CLASS ALL THESE YEARS:

"We remember when we got onto the stage of the English classroom and sang songs. We also remember the actions we did explaining something we did not understand.

We also remember when we started to bring smoothies and made sandwiches. Yumm!

We almost forgot when we acted the stories of the book out.

These ideas were to explain what we have done and learned during these years in the English class.

Rachel, you teach us English: how to read and speak. We learn to play English games with you. You teach us how to help the others.

We made a lot of crafts with you.

By Meritxel and Anabel"

There are spelling and grammatical mistakes. At this stage it is absolutely fine! They just have to keep reading and writing. 👍🏼

Let's play and dance with numbers!

At early stages, children love songs and movement! That's why they learn better if they are engaged in TPR activities: those which involve a total physical response.

In our classes the boys and girls practise numbers by moving their bodies, listening to songs and dancing. Isn't it fun?

En la primera infancia a los niños les encantan las canciones y el movimiento. Por eso aprenden mejor si realizan actividades  "TPR": aquellas que requieren una respuesta física ligada al lenguaje.

En nuestras clases los niños y niñas practican los números moviéndose, escuchando canciones y bailando. ¿No es divertido? 

Relax time after the break

Many adults complain about being busy and stressed but what about children? They also need to stop from time to time, breath deeply and relax. Relaxing is very important for our mental and physical health. ✨👌🏽

After the break, at the beginning of the English class, the students spend ten minutes listening to music, having a rest and getting a short massage from volunteers. Some children want to move around the classroom to help the others feel better. Thank you. 😌🙏🏼

On the Internet you can find lots of websites in English, Spanish or Catalan about why children should relax.

Muchos adultos nos quejamos de estar ocupados y estresados pero, ¿qué pasa con los niños? Ellos también necesitan parar de vez en cuando, respirar profundamente y relajarse. La relajación es muy importante para nuestra salud mental y corporal. 

Después del recreo, al principio de la clase de inglés, los alumnos dedican diez minutos a escuchar música, descansar y recibir un breve masaje de algunos voluntarios. Algunos niños/a quieren participar, se mueven por la clase y ayudan a los demás a sentirse mejor. Gracias.

En internet encontrarán muchas páginas en inglés, catalán o castellano sobre por qué los niños deberían relajarse. 

Isabel and Jana from Year 6

Using stickers to practise speaking and writing

On the first day of school Year 3 did an activity about the summer holidays: they made a picture using stickers and then we practised oral language altogether to review some vocabulary. To finish up, they wrote some of the sentences they had said orally


on the back of the sheet. 

The most of these eight-year olds can already read and copy sentences in English! I am very proud of them.

Today Year 4 did the same. 👍🏼

What do the children want to do in class?

In teaching, it is necessary to take into account the

 students' interests. We should ask the children what they like and what they would like to do in class.

This is the list done by Year 5:

- Oral games

- Relax time after the break

- English films every month.

- Computer games

- Guessing games

- Recipes and cooking

- Comics in pairs

- Singing songs and acting them out

- Interacting with other children

- Listening to music

- Miming games

- Projects in groups

- Arts and crafts

Motivation is the first step to learn! 😍🙌🏼

Why do we use books in class?

As you know, our English classes are based on oral communication. We do lots of oral activities, stories, songs, conversation, presentations, and so on. From Year 3 onwards children also practise the written language in a more systematic way through writing sentences, letters, recipes, posters or dictations. 

I ask the parents to buy a book, not only for the physical material, but also for the digital resources we are provided with: the book online, visual stories, songs, online flashcards, games and much more.

Actually in Year 1 or 2, the children only use the book to play with stickers or make a craft to act a story out. The classes are focused on daily routines, puppets, acting songs out, stories, games and role plays.

The book is a very useful resource but It's is not the only thing used in class! We do lots of extra activities and projects. That is why it is not always finished. Dear parents, you are not wasting your money, do not worry! ;) 

Thank you for your comprehension.

Como ya saben, nuestras clases de inglés se basan en la comunicación oral. Hacemos muchas actividades orales (escuchar y hablar), cuentos, canciones, conversación, presentaciones, etc. Desde tercero de primaria en adelante, los niños también practican la lengua escrita de una manera más sistemática a través de frases, cartas, recetas, pósters o dictados.

Solicito comprar un libro de inglés a los padres, no sólo por el libro físico, sino también por todos los materiales digitales que nos proporciona la editorial: el libro online, cuentos, canciones, las tarjetas de vocabulario, juegos, etc.

En realidad, en primero y segundo, los niños/as sólo usan el libro para jugar con pegatinas relacionadas con el vocabulario o para hacer alguna manualidad sencilla para representar un cuento. Las clases se centran en las rutinas diarias, marionetas, canciones, cuentos, juegos y "role plays", es decir, en la interacción oral.

El libro es muy útil, peró no es el único recurso que se utiliza. Hacemos muchas actividades extras y projectos. Por eso no siempre lo acabamos. Queridos padres, no están malgastando el dinero, no se preocupen. ;)

Gracias por su comprensión.

Hello September!

Welcome back! It's September again!

I hope you had a great summer and got positive energy to start a new school year. 

See you soon!