What does the course teach, and why?
Most English language courses teach language structures and vocabulary which start simply, getting more complex as people move up through the levels.
This book is a bit different. It focuses on language people need to get started with joining in – whether that’s making an appointment, being able to talk to other people in a classroom or community setting or making small talk at a bus stop.
We don’t teach people why language works the way it does – the grammar structures. Instead we teach language the way people learn songs – as a series of sounds joined together. As long as you know what these sounds/phrases mean, and how to say them, they’ll be very useful.
How to introduce the Practice Your English workbook
Go to the Downloads tab here on the website, and choose the language you need, then show the first language introduction video to the person you’re supporting, making sure they watch it through to the end.
The English language version is on our home page – we suggest you watch this through first to make sure you understand what they’re listening to.
Then make sure their phone works with the QR codes. If it doesn’t (not all phones do) help them find our you-tube channel (search ‘brightpathfutures’ with no spaces to find us). Then find the relevant playlist, and help them match the video to the page they’re working on in the workbook – the playlist follows the same sequence as the workbook topics. That way they can practice by themselves more easily.
From the Downloads page, right at the bottom, you can also get a downloadable poster with live links, designed so people can share the resources on with peers, friends etc on Whatsapp or other digital platforms. You can also download PDFs of the PYE workbook and Amiko cards for free if that’s helpful.
Learning to read and write – first steps
The course also helps people to learn to read and write and is designed to be used by people who can’t read and write in their own language, so may not know how to hold a pen or understand that letters make sounds, and these join together to sound out words.
For this reason we have videos showing how to make the shapes of letters, and we use words and pictures from their own language to help them learn the sounds the letters make.
English speaking children in schools already know the words and how they work in sentences – so learning to read and write is a lot easier for them. Non-literate adult learners have a lot more ground to cover!
So… the important thing when trying to learn language and literacy at the same time is to learn how to speak the language – by listening – before trying to use it to learn to read and write. Once your ear knows the sounds, you can try to work out what matching letters to use to read and write them.
How can you help?
Listen to the videos with the person you’re helping. Practice the dialogues together. When the sentences are long or the sounds are tricky – say it more slowly, helping them copy you.
The red letters are highlighted to help people learn sounds of letters. The green highlighted words are to help learn ‘sight recognition’ spelling words – common words you need to know, but can’t just sound out.
You’re an expert in English language, because you speak it! Also an expert in reading and writing – because you can already do it. It’s just a case of slowly and patiently sharing what you know.
What about people who already speak some English – is this book for them?
The second half of the book is full of useful language and lots of help with pronunciation.
Knowing how to say things in a way which sounds friendly, polite or even ‘normal’ to a native speaker helps you get socially accepted much more quickly.
For example, if you say, ‘Give me the pen’, people will know what you want. But learning to say, ‘Can I have a pen please?’ will help you seem friendly rather than rude. So there should be something for everyone in the book if they’re an English language learner.
For people learning to read and write in English, they may be at an advanced level and still not be sure of the different vowel sounds, for example, or the sounds made when you blend two letters together. You can help check what they do and don’t know already, and fill in the gaps if needed.
Let us know how you get on…
We appreciate that for non-teachers to help other people to learn to speak, understand, read and write English might seem a big step.
With this in mind we want to understand better what information, support or training will help.
Please get in touch by email to let us know what was easy for you, what was tricky or confusing, what worked and what didn’t! Your feedback, and feedback from the people you’re helping to learn, will be invaluable when we’re making support resources.