Some programs offer students temporary work in English-speaking countries
As Kariera notes, language schools now have to take into account age characteristics and differentiate programs not only by difficulty levels but also by the interests of different age groups: if schoolchildren eagerly read about Harry Potter, then students are interested in the topic of work, and older students enjoy watching and discussing their favorite films from their youth.
When to start?
“It is better to teach a child a foreign language when he already confidently communicates in his native language,” says psychologist Elena Parfenova. “Everyone has their own optimal age to start classes, approximately from three to five years old. Parents, understanding that knowledge of foreign languages is necessary, strive to start teaching as early as possible. But at the same time, it is necessary to correctly assess the child's potential and in no case overload him, leave him the opportunity to develop at his own pace, then his health will not suffer, and his interest in learning will not disappear.”
A three-year-old child cannot be convinced that English will be needed in the future. But if you offer him to play - that's another matter, who would refuse to have fun in the company of other kids, especially if the game is started by a teacher speaking an unfamiliar language, but everything is clear: we jump - jump-jump, we clap - clap-clap. No translation is needed here, each new English word appears together with the corresponding picture or object, movement or gesture. This is a widely used game method in preschool groups combined with the method of oral advancement, when children first learn to perceive English by ear and accumulate a vocabulary, and only then they will start reading and writing, as, in fact, happens in their native language.
To prevent children from getting tired, they are switched to a new activity every seven to ten minutes: watched a cartoon, then danced a little, then built a house, sang a song, etc. The main thing is a comfortable environment and engaging games in which English words are remembered by themselves.
At the school desk
Unfortunately, the reforms carried out in the country have changed little in the system of teaching foreign languages in our secondary schools. Where money is invested and new learning technologies are applied, children study with interest and have good results, but in many schools they get bored in English lessons.
“It is impossible to teach English without focusing on the age characteristics and interests of each individual student,” says English teacher Tatiana Merinova. “Children want to understand English, especially if they have already been abroad with their parents. Under no circumstances should you miss the moment when there is interest and the child is ready to work. How to maintain high motivation? There are no universal recipes, everything depends on pedagogical skill and experience, but, of course, lesson topics should correspond to the age of the children. Words and grammar have to be learned - there's no getting around it, but at the same time, monotony and boredom must be avoided. Teaching materials in the lower grades are presented in the form of games, fun crosswords, etc. In grades five to seven, children love to compete, and by dividing them into teams, you can organize tournaments where strong students not only bring points to their team but also pull the weak along. High school students approach learning a foreign language more consciously; they have a goal and a focus on the future, which is hard to imagine without English. With them, lessons can be conducted in the form of role-playing and situational games, setting creative tasks - they can already do a lot and willingly engage in conversations about politics, travel, personal relationships. The teacher’s task is to ask a good question in time, to clash different points of view; when students argue, they put all their linguistic reserves to use. However, even in a group of six to eight people, each has their own level of English proficiency and pace of learning new material. So that the excellent students do not get bored and the lagging ones do not fall out of the learning process, it is necessary to differentiate tasks in each lesson, offering each student something feasible and interesting.”
Even perfectly organized teaching of English in a regular secondary school gives a child only the minimum, and for him to know the language well by the final exams, additional efforts are needed.
“Motivation and interest in the language must be supported at home: read every day, play, watch cartoons in a foreign language,” continues Tatiana Merinova. “Through joint actions of parents and enthusiastic teachers, much can be achieved: organize electives at school, an English drama club, hold skits, talent shows, etc. Reading materials should be selected that are interesting for teenagers, find something that intrigues them, something they want to talk about. It is necessary to constantly keep the class in an active dialogue mode, contrive to introduce new language elements into well-known structures. However, if your child's school has only two English lessons a week, that is negligible even for a superficial acquaintance with the language, and free English is out of the question; additional classes are indispensable.”
Youth English
Programs of domestic schools and universities in most cases give students only “bookish” English, and when you need to talk to a real foreigner - you're done for. Therefore, in addition to compulsory program classes, high school students and university students attend paid courses, study the language remotely, buy self-study packages, spend summer vacations in international linguistic camps at home and abroad, and have an English tutor.
Specialists from university English departments are expanding the scope of the mandatory program through extracurricular activities: they create 'English Clubs', hold themed parties, prepare students for Public Speaking competitions, invite professors from the USA and Great Britain to give lectures in English.
Special trainings, classes with native speakers, and courses in English-speaking countries, where all accumulated knowledge can be activated in everyday communication practice, help to liberate speech and remove the language barrier.
Young people aged 18-25 who have reached the Intermediate level can bridge the gap between learning and using the language through programs such as Work & Travel, Work & Study, Au Pair, etc. - all of them offer foreign students temporary work in English-speaking countries. For example, Work & Study Ireland is a four- to six-month program of English courses in Dublin with legal employment in the service and trade sectors. First, the applicant pays for a six-month language course (about $2,000-2,500), and then compensates these costs by earning $6–8 per hour; some even manage to return home 'in the black'. Six months to a year in an English-speaking country gives a young person confident English and a record of foreign internship on their CV. It is clear that foreign students get jobs that are not in demand by the local population, so this is not the easiest way to gain fluency in English. However, such a level of adaptation to the realities of the English-speaking world can never be achieved by studying at home. Topics such as earnings, taxes, banking services, housing, shopping, travel around the country, etc., the intern learns not from a book but from personal experience.
Students who can confirm a high level of English with a TOEFL or IELTS certificate have access to exchange programs, scholarship and grant competitions.
Adults Only
60–80% of our citizens studied English at school, but only about 1% are fluent in it, meaning that for the vast majority, school lessons did not justify themselves. Those who did not acquire the necessary knowledge in childhood turn to domestic and foreign language schools, where they study using different methods that prove that a foreign language can be mastered at any age.
Students (20–50 years old) in language schools are differentiated not so much by age as by field of activity. They need English for contacts in business and professional circles: it is necessary to understand a foreign partner regardless of their age and accent, so mixed-age international groups are the most suitable learning environment for acquiring communication skills with a foreign interlocutor. 'In a language school, groups are formed according to age and initial level,' says Olesya Karaseva, PR manager of BKC-International House. 'Most of our adult students are people aged 23 to 30, about 7% of students are over 40, and they feel quite comfortable among a younger audience because our teachers undergo special training for teaching students of different ages and abilities.'
The older the language school students, the higher their social status. Therefore, as a rule, schools have special Executive centers that take into account all the requirements of VIP clients, including the reluctance of some of them to mix with the noisy youth audience. In this case, for Executives, either an entire floor is allocated, as at the International School OISE in Sydney, or a separate building, as for example, the Executive Centre International House in London, or a country estate like Park House school on the border of England and Wales.
'Third Age'
Although language schools are ready to teach everyone 'without an upper age limit', elderly students prefer classes in the company of peers. The first specialized educational institutions for the elderly appeared in France, the USA and Japan in the 1970s–80s as a response to the global process of population aging.
'The decisive factor for successful learning in the elderly is motivation,' says psychologist Svetlana Balashova. 'Age-related phenomena associated with memory weakening are easily overcome by persistence and a properly organized learning process that relies on the elderly person's life experience and their ability to overcome obstacles. Moreover, intellectual efforts have a beneficial effect on brain activity and slow down the aging processes.' For pensioners who love to travel, good English provides independence and a host of pleasures that are denied to 'tongueless' tourists who obediently follow a Russian-speaking guide.
Language schools abroad have long mastered this educational niche and offer foreign students of the 'third age' English language courses with excursions and entertainment. No pedagogical pressure, no exhausting exercises - only casual conversations about favorite books, movies, actors - a pleasant club pastime in a pleasant international company under the motto 'Live and learn'.