English language tuition at Moorland Hall

• Tuition takes place in a dedicated classroom for 12 hours per week either in the morning or afternoon. More hours can be provided subject to discussions with the Director;
• The age of students range from 9–17 although school groups tend to be one age class;
• Classes take place from Monday to Friday with Wednesday set aside for cultural visits and/or outdoor activities;

• Classes have a maximum of 14 students per class but this may vary depending on the size of the group. Each school group is split into smaller classes for English tuition;
• All tuition materials are included in the price;
• The length of the course can be from one to two weeks or as agreed with the Director;
• Summer camp groups are based on ability (each young person takes an assessment test on arrival) and are multi-national.

Some examples of the focus of the course are given below:

• Listening, Speaking & Pronunciation – Recorded songs, stories, film and news clips and poems are used to develop listening and comprehension skills. Pronunciation support is woven into the topic and encouragement is given to learners to listen to each other as well as debate issues. Recall time each morning encourages every learner to recount activities, their thoughts and what was interesting about the activity or visit.
• Reading & Writing – We aim to provide stimulating and entertaining texts to read and debate as well as scenarios with which the learners develop their own creative writing, reporting and artistic skills. This could be in the form of developing a film plot or mystery story. Most days the learners write in their own journal. This encourages al learners to recall their activities of the previous days and describe their feelings and experiences.

• Grammar – Lessons usually have a particular grammar focus which is encompassed· in the class activities. The grammar focus is developed through noting the common and frequent errors made by groups or through prior discussion with the leaders of the group or the English teacher of the visiting school.
• Research and presentation skills – An important part of the English course for school groups is in developing research and presentational skills as well as the skills of working in a team. This has been developed effectively over many years’ experience and through project work which is undertaken in groups. The focus of the projects is deliberately ‘British’ and often relate to Dartmoor and the Southwest e.g. ‘Myths and Legends of Dartmoor’. All groups are provided with packs and sources of information which can be used in presentations to the staff and other learners. The presentation can take any form from theatre, to ‘television’ news reports, cartoons to posters but all have to be in the learners own words every learner has a role. Learners always seem to find this part of the programme great fun and some of the presentations have been of high quality and always entertaining.