The Resources Centre
The Centre is an essential part of our English programme at Greengates. It is a place where we provide intensive support for students whose command of English is too limited to enable them to be integrated into the full school curriculum.
The Centre is for students in
the Intermediate and Senior school, that is from Form 1 to Upper 6, who are
classified as EFL or ESL. New students are interviewed and are given a series
of placement tests, that include reading and listening comprehension as well
as written production. The process of needs analysis continues throughout the
school year until the new student begins to settle down and gain confidence in
using the language.
The teaching consists of:
-
Individualised tuition
-
Work in small groups
in an informal, relaxed atmosphere. This is undoubtedly one of the strengths of our system since it allows for flexibility and differentiated treatment according to the student's developing linguistic confidence. In fact, some students who arrive at Greengates with very little English have very high motivation and this, together with extra tuition after school hours and excellent study skills, can lead to amazing progress in a very short time!
The use of self-access materials also enables students to work independently and to make progress under the supervision of a team of qualified and experienced teachers.
Successful students are promoted to Bridge and Mainstream English classes as quickly as possible. However, it is customary for these students to continue to spend time in the Resource Centre as total integration with a full school curriculum is difficult to achieve.
Most EFL / ESL students in the Resource Centre have a modified timetable with a limited number of subjects, at least for the first term at school. However, this does not normally exclude them from the IGCSE or IB programmes in the Senior school. Some of the Resource Centre students perform as well as, or even better than first language classmates.