Build your English with Minecraft!

In this year’s spring holiday course at the British Council, your child will have the chance to learn English and develop their 21st Century Skills with our tailored English programmes for Elementary School students, Primary Plus along with creative and challenging activities using the open-world game Minecraft: Education Edition.

The course aims to develop the students’ confidence and competence in communicating in English via a game-based context. It allows students to interact with virtual environments that would otherwise be unavailable in their current learning contexts. For example, collaborating to make a town to scale rather than a map of a town, or exploring a famous landmark in an immersive manner rather than watching a video. This immersion provides learners with chances to express creativity, collaborate with each other and communicate during the process and as part of pre-task preparation and post-task reflection.

Each week, students will explore different stimulating up-to-date topics linked to real life with a range of tasks and projects to work on with classmates. For instance, in one week they will design a new theme park and in another week, they will plan and present a photo exhibition. Students will also have plenty of opportunities to build their English communication skills and express their ideas as they work in groups on tasks and projects.

Through this course, your child will:

  • develop 4 skills leading to communication in English
  • expand range of vocabulary and knowledge of grammatical structures and develop good pronunciation
  • building confidence and developing positive attitudes
  • develop 21st Century Skills such as Problem-solving, Collaboration, Intercultural Awareness, Global Citizenship and Digital literacy

Overview

Level

Primary Plus Starter, Primary Plus 1-6

Age

6-12 year olds ( Including those who are expected to be Japanese Elementary School grades 1 from April 2023)

*Please refer to the minimum entrance requirements for Primary Plus courses below. We will recommend a level/class that suits your child due to the results of placement test (writing and speaking test) and supervision by our teachers.

Date and Time

Week 1: Monday 27 – Friday 31 March 2023, 9.00-16.00 

6 hours x 5 days per week (30 hours). 1-hour lunch time and 15-minute break are included.

*Due to the daily nature of the courses we cannot offer 'study support' catch-up sessions for students who miss lessons.

Venue

British Council (Iidabashi, Tokyo)

Class style

Group lesson (Class capacity: 15 students)

*Onsite face-to-face lessons only

Teachers

All British Council teachers hold professional teaching qualifications including CELTA, DELTA, PGCE, MA TESOL and TYLEC. They have extensive experience teaching children. 

>>Meet our teachers

Course Fee

1 week (30 hours): 128,700 yen (incl tax)

* All materials are included.
* Registration Fee: 27,500 yen (including tax)*  Registration fee will be charged at the time of initial registration. 

Minimum entrance requirements

  • able to write and recognise all the names and sounds of letters Aa-Zz in upper and lower-case.
  • able to read and say simple, phonically-regular words.
  • able to write their own names.
  • able to attempt to spell phonically-regular words
  • familiar with basic greetings and able to follow simple classroom instructions (sit down, stand up, listen, open your booklet etc).

Find out more – Three steps to register ( Registration is closed.)

 ( Registration is closed.)

*The child must be accompanied by parent or guardian for the consultation.

Build your English with Minecraft-lesson photo

How does my child use Minecraft in building English skills?

The British Council uses Minecraft: Education Edition to engage students by encouraging creativity while creating new communicative opportunities through collaborative tasks (e.g. planning and building a town together) or individual work (e.g. presenting what they’ve made to others).

We will use Minecraft to explore and further develop ideas and concepts introduced in their English lessons to support and develop language use.

What is Minecraft: Education Edition?

A game-based learning platform that promotes skills that develop STEM knowledge (e.g. interacting with the physics of the environment they create), creativity, collaboration, and problem solving in an immersive digital environment. Educators in more than 115 countries are using Minecraft: Education Edition across the curriculum.

 

[Teacher's blog] Block by Block: Building English skills with Minecraft

How can I track my child’s progress?

Students will work on a project such as a writing report or a presentation as the final task to deliver a successful, real-life project at the end of the course. Students will receive a certificate of completion for the course they attend.At the end of the course students will go home with a portfolio of their work done e.g., worksheets, posters during the spring intensive including their final project. 

Topic&Project (example)

Level Topic Project
Primary Plus Starter  The Good Dinosaur Public speaking: Give a short presentation about my dinosaur.
※ This class does not use mainecraft.
Primary Plus 1 Yummy!  Minecraft: Design a restaurant
Primary Plus 2 Go wild! Minecraft: Learn about extinct animals and create an animal sanctuary
Primary Plus 3 My story Minecraft: Create a diorama of a historical event
Primary Plus 4 Solve it! Minecraft: Design and create word/math puzzles for classmates to solve
Primary Plus 5 Imagine if …  Minecraft: Design and create a TV studio or theatre and act out a drama in it. 
Primary Plus 6 Film time! Minecraft: Design and create a film set based on created storyboard and act out a drama in this film set.

Safety and Supervision

  • We regard all students below the age of 18 as children, according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. We take our responsibilities towards the children in our care very seriously and we endeavour to make the British Council as safe as possible. 

>Safety measure for our onsite English courses

This course includes using Minecraft: Education Edition, but it is not an official program organized by Microsoft or Mojang.

External links