Importance
1. English may not be the most spoken language in the world, but it is the official language in a large number of countries. It is estimated that the number of people in the world that use in English to communicate on a regular basis is 2 billion!
2. English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if they want to enter a global workforce. Research from all over the world shows that business communication is most often conducted in English. Its importance in the global market place therefore cannot be understated, learning English really can change your life.
3. Many of the world’s top films, books and music are published and produced in English. Therefore by learning English you will have access to a great wealth of entertainment and will be able to have a greater cultural understanding.
4. Most of the content produced on the internet (50%) is in English. So knowing English will allow you access to an incredible amount of information which may not be otherwise available!
Although learning English can be challenging and time consuming, we can see that it is also very valuable to learn and can create many opportunities!
Aim
Basically, teachers of English as a Second Language at our school help students learn how to speak, read, write and understand English.
Requirements
During the course of the year various topics are covered. Special effort is taken to further a pupil’s oral and written command of English. Homework and active participation in class is an essential part of every pupil’s work.
At the moment we use the following course books:
Classes 1-4: “More”
Most English teachers take advantage of the e-learing platform that comes with it for extensive online practice material to help our students improve. Each pupil gets an account to practice individually at his/her own speed.
Classes 5-8: “Into English” or “Prime Time”.
Students of grades 1-4 have four written tests each year. Here is what a pupil of the 4d was required to do for his 3rd test. Usually a listening exercise is included.
Grades 5 to 8 have 3 written tests per year. From the 7th grade on, they all last two hours. Here is the first test (listening1 / listening2) of the 7a from last year. To prepare our students for their finals the last test of grade 8 lasts 3 hours.
At the age of 18 our pupils can take a final exam in English. This can either be an oral or/and a written exam.
The oral exam contains two tasks:
1. individual long turn (monolog/video)
2. paired activity (dialog/video).
The written exam consists of 4 parts:
Listening, Reading, Language in Use and Writing.
Every year Prof. Oliver Riefler also offers elective English classes for grades 6-8.
Here is a very interesting link for all kinds of useful material and information.
Mag. Günther Koch
For all E-teachers
