Page 5 - SplashTB A Sample_v2.indd

SAMPLE MATERIAL

Communication and play

The methodology of Oxford Splash is focused on developing the children’s listening and speaking skills through authentic audio materials and communicative activities and games. The main vocabulary in each unit is presented in Tex’s words which introduces the main topic and presents a simple lexical set associated with it. The communicative language in each unit is introduced in a section called Frankie talks, where the children are taught useful sentences and expressions that they can use in everyday situations. This language is sometimes called BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) and is essential for developing language learners who can interact with even the smallest amount of vocabulary. The routines and activities provide children with real opportunities to practise all this language and constant recycling is built into every unit and level of the course.

When teaching young children, it is important to focus on developing the whole child: socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Play and games can help meet these goals. Dramatic play (doing actions and role play) works on language development, fine motor skills, coordination, self-esteem and imagination. Games develop social skills (through cooperation, turn-taking and sharing), language and vocabulary development, and emotional expression. Oxford Splash provides opportunities and realistic suggestions for the types of games appropriate for Pre-Primary and how to set them up.

Stories

Oxford Splash is also a story-led course, putting stories and the scenarios they depict at the heart of the learning process. Using stories has long been considered sound education practice, and the benefits of the Oxford Splash stories are that they are fun, relevant to the age-group, a context for the language and beautifully presented. Children will find working with the stories and the characters in them a motivating experience that makes learning English accessible.

Care has been taken to ensure there is a wide variety of activities in Oxford Splash, both in the Class Book tasks and in the suggested lesson notes. This means there are activities to suit all learning styles and individuals in the class.

Characters and concept

Oxford Splash is about four friends: Tex the Turtle, Frankie the frog, Dizzy the Duck and Spot the ladybird. Each character has a distinct personality and role in the course, which children of the age group will be able to relate to.

Tex is a very practical character. He has a magical shell, from which he can produce anything he wishes, no matter what its size! For that reason, he is the main tool for vocabulary presentation, via the Tex apron.

Introduction

Oxford Splash is a three-level course for children in Pre-Primary between the ages of 3 and 5. It is a course for ALL Pre-Primary classes, no matter what the length of the class is or the number of hours per week. In developing the course, great attention has been paid to the needs and abilities of children at this age, as well as to the general Objectives for Pre-school Education.

The key aim of Oxford Splash is to provide the children in your class with a very positive English learning experience. The course makes the most of children’s love of stories, songs, chants, playing, drawing, cutting, sticking and colouring. All the activities and resources have been carefully devised and designed to make learning fun and to motivate the children by providing them with a sense of achievement, whatever their ability. The activities also have clear learning objectives and demonstrate understanding so that you and the parents can see exactly how a child is progressing. The Plus element in Oxford Splash is delivered through a series of projects related to each unit topic. These projects explore the following: other areas of the curriculum, personal development and behaviour relevant to the age-group, cultural themes and experiences, and a lot more. The Plus is supported via extra resources for classroom presentation, such as photo flashcards and posters, as well as songs and listenings. The projects provide work for a minimum of 2 extra sessions per unit, and an extensive activity bank to expand this up to 4 lessons, depending on timetable and classroom needs. This makes it a hugely flexible course that you adapt to your own requirements. Oxford Splash

Introduction