Students learn useful expressions which would allow them to communicate simply with a native speaker – face to face or on the internet. Greetings, numbers, colours, family terms, names for pets, hobbies, possessions and where students live provide some examples of the vocabulary and language skills that students acquire.
To develop an appropriate accent, students hear native speakers on CD and practise language use in songs and role plays as well as quizzes. Numerous speaking and listening tasks characterise this course.
So that the culture and customs of the country are familiar, we watch selected films – often those that have been made from children’s books or comics. In this painless way the differences and similarities between Australia and the target country are highlighted.
For those who prefer a hands-on approach, students work on such artistic activities as producing a web-page for an online petshop in the target language or, as a team, designing, drawing and labelling an imaginary town. Also, a wide variety of interesting and amusing worksheets mean that learning a language is no longer a matter of just memorising lists of words.
Assessment involves listening, speaking, reading and writing in the target language. This is all prepared for in advance and students know what to expect.
With a little hard work and enthusiasm every student should be able to learn about their chosen language and the people who speak it, as well as having an enjoyable time.