2020 Summer English Intensive Course for Elementary School Students

Inspire your child’s Creativity and build up confidence this summer!

Please note that lessons will take place onsite but online if necessary due to the Covid-19 updates.

Safety Measure for our onsite English courses

This summer, we are running a 5-day x 2 weeks English course for kids age 6-12 using the British Council’s original Primary Plus programme. Students will have the chance to study with us for three hours each day, learning English along with challenging the coding activities. We believe these combined aspects elevate English from an outcome to a lifelong skill to enable your child to make the most of their life by equipping them for future challenges.

PRIMARY PLUS COURSE INFORMATION

Primary Plus is based on the principle of effective teaching in a positive environment. At the British Council we understand that English is a life-long skill for both present and future challenges. Children will tackle real-life tasks, working in groups and crafting researched answers and innovative solutions. The tasks are specially designed to match their developmental age, ensuring familiarity to the situation they learn in. Children communicate and engage with a variety of media, leading them to work collaboratively as well as to become more self-directed.

Based on extensive feedback and long-term development, Primary Plus gives priority to:

A 4 skills approach leading to communication in English (with a focus on developing literacy skills)
Ongoing development of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
Building confidence and developing positive attitudes
Knowing other cultures to better know one’s own
A focus on the whole child: moving beyond language learning through the active promotion of creativity, critical thinking, IT skills and ‘learning how to learn’
The integration of IT and ICT skills into mainstream learning

Learn more about the course aims and outcomes of Primary Plus.

The course materials are delivered in an exciting magazine-style format, which learners are issued each week. Stimulating up-to-date topics linked to current issues and real-life tasks provide the incentive for students to develop their communication skills in English. On the last day of the week, students will do a presentation as a final task.

【Topic and Task for Primary Plus Summer】

Level	Week	Topic	Task
Primary Plus 1	1	Yummy!	Plan a picnic for the class
	2	On the farm	Make a model home for a farm animal
Primary Plus 2	1	Let’s shop!	Plan a second-hand market stall
	2	What’s on TV?	Plan and make your own TV guide
Primary Plus 3	1	Have fun!	Make a poster promoting my favourite ride at an amusement park
	2	My story	Make a lift-the-flap book about a classmate’s life
Primary Plus 4	1	Think about Art	Select and present a work of art and its value to my school environment
	2	Into space!	Write about a trip to a fictional planet

Please see the ‘Primary Plus Summer Course Overview’ for more details.

CODING IN ENGLISH

From this year, coding became a compulsory part of students’ education at Elementary School in Japan. Coding is seen by many as the ‘new literacy’, a subject as important as English or Maths. It is a language that children need to learn to speak and think in. Combining English language and computer skills empowers children with critical skills, creativity and imagination for their future. The daily sessions will involve students learning about coding through English using either Cubetto or BBC micro:bit.

BBC micro:bit [for Primary 3-4]
BBC micro:bit is a tiny programmable computer designed for children to make learning coding easy and fun. The micro:bit lessons help students:

Learn about the principles of computer programming
Use micro:bit to code a number of programs
Incorporate new vocabulary and grammar into their English
Participate in project-based learning to enhance their confidence in their abilities
Enjoy activities designed to help them to advance in all areas of English.

Cubetto [for Primary 1-2]
Cubetto is a robot that introduces basic concepts of coding. Rather than using a computer, students use blocks to program the robot via remote control. Combining and sequencing the blocks allows learners to create programs for the robot to follow. Cubetto introduces a host of programming concepts, including ‘algorithms’, ‘the queue’, ‘debugging’, and ‘recursions’. By removing unfamiliar distractions such as screens and keyboards, students can learn to write and execute programs while seeing the outcomes physically.

Photo: BBC micro:bit (left), Cubetto (right)

ONLINE GUIDED LEARNING

Students will be provided with our specially-created online materials where they can practice in developing vocabulary, grammar and reading skills. This new part of the learning experience helps them to deepen the understanding of English in the live lessons at own pace along with building digital literacy and resilience. The online platform is designated in a safe environment in accordance with British Council Safeguarding policies.

OVERVIEW

Date and time

Student can choose 1 week (15 hours) or 2 weeks (30 hours)

Week 1: Monday 10 August - Friday 14 August 2020, 3 hours x 5 days, Total 15 hours
(Morning class) 9.00 -12.00 Level 1, 4
(Afternoon class) 13.30 - 16.30 Level 1, 2, 3
Week 2: Monday 17 August - Friday 21 August 2020, 3 hours x 5 days, Total 15 hours
(Morning class) 9.00 -12.00 Level 1, 4
(Afternoon class) 13.30 - 16.30 Level 1, 2, 3
Week 1+Week 2: Monday 10 August to Friday 21 August 2020, 3 hours x 10 days, Total 30 hours
*Please see 'Primary Plus Summer Timetable and Lesson Format' for more details.

Class Style

Group Lesson (Capacity: 9 persons/class)

Age

6 -12 years old (Suitable for Japanese elementary school years 1-6)

Course fee

1 week (15 hours): 58,500JPY(excl. tax) Materials included. No registration fee required.
2 weeks (30 hours): 105,300JPY(excl. tax)* Materials included. No registration fee required.
*10% discount if you register for 2 weeks. Discount is available only for those who book 2 weeks before the start of week 1.

Venue

British Council (Iidabashi, Tokyo)

How to Register

Take an online placement test (online writing test) before registering
You will receive the results of the test at your consultation.
* The child must be accompanied by parent or guardian for the consultation.

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.
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).

British Council Primary Plus offers a wide range of topics for students to learn about and learn English through. Possible topics for this summer’s courses are detailed for each level. Course topics will be finalised after we talk to your children when placement-testing them, and finding out what their interests are and which subjects will most motivate them to learn.

General: Students are expected to expand their range of vocabulary and knowledge of grammatical structures and develop good pronunciation. Writing and reading skills are developed beyond classroom activities, with a focus on the wider social and communicative aspects. There is also a strong desire to have learners become aware of their learning by presenting learning aims in age-appropriate ways, and to reflect on what they have learned and what they wish to improve through self-assessment upon completion of each module.

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.

However, we are in a public building which anyone can enter. Parents or guardians should stay with their child until either the class teacher or designated teaching assistant arrives in the classroom.
As we are unable to supervise any children outside class time, we ask parents to ensure that students are dropped off and collected on time before and after classes.
British Council regulations mean that no child can leave the building unaccompanied after class each day. Children must be collected by a parent or nominated guardian. We cannot make any exceptions to this rule.

Note:
Lessons will take place onsite but online if necessary due to the Covid-19 updates. There will be some changes in case of online lesson:

Age: 8-12 years old (Suitable for Japanese elementary school years 3-6)
Time: (Morning class) 9.00 - 10.00, 11:00 - 12.00 (Afternoon class) 13.30 -14.30, 15.30 - 16.30 *There will be 1-hour break between the lesson.
Each online lesson will consist 1-hour x 2 live lesson and 1-hour coding activity and online guided learning at home. The micro:bit kit will be provided to home before the course starts. In case your child cannot transfer to online lesson due to the age requirements and need to cancel the course, the refund amount will follow the column 10 of the terms and condition.

Contact

British Council English Teaching Centre (Tue-Fri 9.30-19.00, Sat 10.30-17.00)

Email: courses@britishcouncil.or.jp