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SAMPLE MATERIAL

• They show children how to play games and do activities, and can help play down any mistakes by laughing and giving the children another opportunity.

• They can help you to build up a set routine for each lesson and also help with discipline.

Using English in the classroom

Where possible it is best to use the target language in class as you will become the children’s main reference in English. In Oxford Splash, we suggest using flashcards, actions and TPR (Total Physical Response) to avoid the overuse of the mother tongue in the classroom. It is important to use simple sentences in English, making sure we repeat these using gestures and our voice to get the message across. It is particularly important to use English in situations that are repeated in every class like when developing your classroom routine, giving instructions and conducting activities. Small children respond very well to gesture and to intonation in our voices to understand messages as they are constantly doing this to apply meaning to new language and situations in their mother tongue.

The ‘Silent Period’

It is important to remember that some young children can spend time absorbing language before they actually produce anything. It is best not to force these children to speak English as this could create emotional stress. Even when small children are not actually saying anything, they will be taking it in. In fact, some children say nothing at all in class but then go home and ‘share’ what they have learnt in English with their family. Oxford Splash hopes to provide the children with the appropriate practice of the new language through songs, stories and role-play, games and communicative activities, to provide the children with the ability and the need to speak when they are ready, as well as the actions and gestures to show understanding even if they’re silent.

Pronunciation, phonemic awareness and phonics

Oxford Splash concentrates on the spoken word and communicative language, but there are activities that take advantage of young children’s innate ability to copy language in order to develop their pronunciation and intonation. As well as all the core activities in each unit, one of the Extra activities in Lesson 1 concentrates on the pronunciation of the new words and one of the Extra activities in Lesson 5 highlights phonemic awareness.

Frankie is very friendly and talkative. For this reason, he is the primary tool for teaching communicative language in the Frankie talks sections.

Dizzy is very theatrical. She often takes the centre stage in stories, and she’s very keen to learn and get involved in new adventures. For this reason she presents the projects in Oxford Splash Plus.

Spot is very quiet but is constantly learning. The words she can say in English are largely reflective of what the children will be able to produce, and she, like the children, grows in confidence and ability as the course progresses. Spot presents the portfolio element where the children have a chance to reflect on what they’ve learnt.

The other set of characters in Oxford Splash is equally important. These are the children that appear in Units 3, 6 and 9 and typically these units reflect a cultural context. In the Starter level the children meet Amy and Tony, as well as their friends and family. In Level A the children meet Oscar and Sophie and their family. Children will be able to relate to the situations these characters are in and learn something of the UK culture and traditions in certain festivals.

Songs and chants

All the main language in Oxford Splash is supported in the various songs and chants that accompany each unit and lesson routine. The vocabulary in Tex’s words, the expressions in Frankie talks and the concept in Dizzy’s project are all reinforced through catchy songs. The songs themselves often have traditional or familiar tunes so as to make them easier to learn for both teacher and class. They also have suggested actions too that support the meaning of the words.

An extensive bank of routine songs and chants is also available for use in class: as routines, lesson markers and lesson transitions, making it easier to signal at what stage the lesson is (for example the Tidy up song) and what’s happening next (such as the Story time rhyme). Character puppets and apron

Oxford Splash includes some fantastic resources for your class, among them are the Tex apron and character puppets. These represent important vehicles of language presentation and communication in English for the course for various reasons:

• They are a great way to get children to speak.

• Children will often speak to a puppet when they are too shy to speak to you!

• They help develop children’s social, personal and emotional skills, as children build up a rapport with them.

• They can provide an information gap and a new reason to review and reinforce simple questions and answers.

• They only speak English!