Teachers' Meeting November

1. TEACHERS’ MEETING 06-11-15

2. DOSSIERS AND COURSE STRUCTURE
• The kids’dossiers are organised in the following way:
• Week 1: Introduction to topic (grammar and
vocabulary)
• Week 2: Grammar and vocabulary practise
• Week 3: Audios and practical exercises
• Week 4: Phonetics and games
• Week 5: Storytelling
• Week 6: Project
• Week 7: Revision: what have I learnt?

3. PROGRAMS
• Where are you up to so far with the program for each of
your groups?
• Warn us a week in advance if you need materials or
flashcards for activities (all levels)
• Prepare your classes properly – ask any doubts before
you go into class and have all your material ready in
class before you start.
• Make sure you arrive at least 10 minutes before your
first class.

4. REMAINDER OF 1ST TERM
• 30th November-5th December: EXAM WEEK
• 7th-12th December: Exam correction in class
• 8th December: reports deadline for Mon/Wed groups
• 9th December: reports deadline for Tue/Thu groups
• 10th December: reports deadline for Fri/Sat groups
• 14th-18th December: Parent/teacher interviews
• Please stick to the above deadlines. If you have any
problems let us know.

5. EXAM PROCEDURE
• Adults and Teens day 19: Grammar/Vocabulary and Reading
Comprehension (PET Reading and Writing)
• Adults and Teens day 20: Writing, Listening, Speaking (PET
Listening and Speaking)
• Kids day 19: Grammar, Reading and Writing, Listening,
Speaking. Don’t rush to finish in one day. Use day 20 to finish
the remainder of the exam.
• Procedure for kids’ exams: follow the same order as for the
adults. For the speaking remember not to abandon your class.
Start doing the speaking with the student who has finished all
the other papers first. Use one of the corners of the class to
do that.

6. REPORTS PROCEDURE
• Once you have marked your students’ exams, fill in the marks on the
online platform.
• Write your comments on the online platform.
• Write adults’ reports from Pre-Intermediate levels upwards in
ENGLISH.
• All other reports (all kids and teens up to Int/Upper) should be
written in either Spanish or Catalan, depending on which you use to
address the student or parent.
• For adults, teens and kids who do exams, you should comment on
all parts of the language and the student’s exam performance.
• For kids who don’t do exams, comment on class performance and
behaviour (the libreta will be useful in this respect).

7. CLASS CONTROL
• Remember to write the date on the board together
• Write the kids’ names on the board and give them stars
• When they don’t understand instructions, repeat them slower and
emphasing the words
• Do vocabulary warm up before doing an exercise. Start with the
class introduction and lead into the topic
• Never sit in one place during the class – move around the tables
• When doing exercises, read the introduction and the example before
starting the exercise (see following example)
• Reinforcement of specific and repetitive structures such as “I read a
book” or “I watch TV”, as well as classroom vocabulary like “I don’t
understand”, “I don’t know”, “Could you repeat please?”, “What
does………mean?”.

8. USE OF ENGLISH IN SCHOOL
• When students are around, speak to each other in
English, NOT Catalan or Spanish
• This is to:
- create an “English” environment for students
- get the students used to passive listening
- improve your fluency in English

9. INTERVIEW WEEK
• Classes are organised based on the number of interviews
• We sometimes mix classes of similar ages to free up teachers
for interviews
• Interviews should last 10 minutes (in an ideal world!)
• Comments to parents should be polite, honest and
constructive
• We will inform you of how many interviews you each have as
soon as we know (parents leave things very late in a lot of
cases!)

10. INTERVIEWS –TO SAY OR NOT TO SAY,
THAT IS THE QUESTION……
• Never disagree with the school’s planning procedure, etc
in front of a parent. It looks unprofessional and looks like
we have no method or structure to what we do
• Always propose solutions to problems, don’t just wash
your hands. This makes it look like you can’t be
bothered.
• If you are unsure about how to answer something, ask
us
• Never say things like: “The group is too big”, “The kids
ages are too different”, or any other negative dynamics.
This makes us ALL look unprofessional.

11. ONLINE PLATFORM
• Audios and videos:
• To avoid searching for videos on Youtube and audios
on Google Music, log in to the platform at the start of
class and use the links on the platform.
• Webpage links:
• Ask to borrow a laptop so you can cast from there to
the projector (Android tablets are still not compatible
with the Chromecast)

12. CHANGES IN RECEPTION
• “Tuck Shop” in reception for students, teachers and
waiting parents. This will include the sale of:
• Drinks
• Sweets and cakes
• Snacks
• All products will have an English theme