Our ELT Philosophy of Teaching
Find out if our ways of teaching match your ways of learning!
A teaching philosophy is the principles by which one teaches.
For example, in ELT, a common Philosophy of Teaching is to aim to have student-to-teacher talking ratio of around 70:30.
(In general, if the teacher is doing too much talking, the learner is not getting enough practice speaking).
Get the Best English Experiences
Our ELT philosophy of teaching for our immersion holidays is to provide friendly, asynchronous English coaching through hands-on, real-life experiences.
Our unique mix is a blend of 4 established ELT teaching methods.
In fact, we ‘cherry-pick’ from the best elements of traditional language school teaching, to create something truly unique.
We ‘cherry-pick’ the best elements of traditional language school teaching, to create something truly unique.
It’s Holistic
We consider the whole person, not just the words/language.
Find out more about Holistic Language Coaching.
We Throw Out Some ELT Industry Bad Habits Too!
Language learning – differently
01 The Traditional Language School Class
Effective through its structure and skilled language coaches.
Drawbacks
Often not adapted to professional adult learners – or tailored to individuals’ varied language needs/learning habits.
Limited or unsupported talk time for each language learner with other learners listening to peers speaking more than a skilled language coach.
Often in ugly corporate architecture or badly converted, small townhouse classrooms (it does matter!)
- We reject fake conversations and role play.
- Because our class numbers are small, everyone gets ample talk time.
- We also have a really gorgeous space to spend time in.
02 The Language Café
Successful because it is an agreeable, low cost, relaxing experience that actually people want to be in.
Drawbacks
No professional error correction, no skilled coach managing the time and leading the conversation. Often a distracting number of surrounding conversations and background noise.
- We adopt the pleasure of sharing food and coffee together.
- Our premises are designed as a private cafe space: all the comforts – none of the distractions.
03 The Homestay with a Host Family
Being hosted by a family can be a friendly & useful cultural exchange, forging friendships for a lifetime.
Homestay English is an amazing way to learn the language. We take much from this model in terms of friendliness and hosting.
Drawbacks
It can feel intensive if you are not a gregarious personality.
Introverts struggle with the intensity of this kind of language holiday.
It may only practice informal English not professional social English skills. Learn more here.
- At the end of the day, you get to go somewhere else, do whatever it is you want to do and rejoin us the next day.
04 The Immersion Programme
Exploring and participating in the local environment is a great way to see top tourist sights and begin to learn about a particular region.
Drawbacks
Such holidays are rarely bespoke and built around specific learning needs.
Although a fun way of discovering a new town/city, immersion holidays are often in large groups, with little individual attention or targeted language practice.
While good for students, they are a poor choice for adults needing one-to-one coaching.
They raise the important question – what cultural experiences do you want to have?
Ones made for tourists – or ones introducing you to the culture and region as our guests and friends?
-
We introduce you to makers, artists and craftspeople as our guests. Have valuable, genuine conversations as one professional to another.
-
Learn about culture and tourism in our region without being sold a story of our nation.