CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL ENGLISH

Students at MIS use Cambridge Global English – a nine-stage course for learners of English as a Second Language.

The nine stages range from the beginning of primary school through to the end of lower secondary school (roughly ages 5 to 14). The course has been designed to fulfill the requirements of the Cambridge Primary and Lower Secondary English as a Second Language curriculum frameworks. The frameworks provide a thorough coverage of language and skills in English for these levels

The materials reflect the following principles:
An international focus. Specifically developed for young learners throughout the world, the themes, situations and literature covered by Cambridge Global English strive to reflect this diversity and help learners find out about each other’s lives through the medium of English.

An enquiry-based, language-rich approach to learning. Cambridge Global English engages children as active, creative learners. As learners participate in a wide variety of curriculum-based activities, they simultaneously acquire content knowledge, develop critical thinking skills and practise English language and literacy. The materials incorporate a ‘learning to learn’ approach, helping children acquire skills and strategies that will help them approach new learning situations with confidence.

Individualised learning. We approach learning in an individual way by both acknowledging the individual nature of the knowledge and background of each child and encouraging their specific input. We also provide for differentiated learning in the classroom by offering a range of activities of varying difficulty and extra challenges.

CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL ENGLISH

Integrated assessment. Throughout the course, teachers informally assess their learners’ understanding of language and concepts. At the end of each unit, learners apply the skills and knowledge they have acquired as they work in groups to create and present a project of their choice. This provides teachers with an excellent performance assessment opportunity. An end-of-unit quiz in the Activity Book provides another evaluation measure: a quick progress check on learners’ understanding of key ESL and early literacy skills.

Cambridge Global English offers the following components:

The Learner’s Book provides the core input of the course and consists of nine thematic units of study. Each unit contains six lessons developed around a unifying theme, and linked to a main question at the beginning of the unit. The materials cater for the needs of learners studying in a primary context: they feature skills-building tasks for listening, reading, writing and speaking, as well as language focuses. In addition, there is a strong vocabulary-building element to the course.

The Activity Book provides additional practice activities, deepening the understanding of language skills and content material introduced in the Learner’s Book.

The Learner’s Book structure. Cambridge Global English consists of nine thematic units of study.

Each unit is divided up into six lessons.

Lesson 1 Think about it: Lesson 1 introduces the main topic, usually in the form of a question which should be a trigger for input from the learners in line with the enquiry-led approach of the course.

Lesson 2 Find out more: Lesson 2 is geared to deeper learning about a curriculum topic. It usually involves a short listening or reading passage followed by critical thinking skills and guided writing tasks.

Lesson 3 Letters and sounds: Lesson 3 focuses on the mechanics of reading and pronunciation, including phonics, alphabet skills, reading, listening and writing skills. It usually contains a song or simple phonics story.

Lesson 4 Use of English: Lesson 4 focuses on developing language skills through contextualised activities. It involves combinations of speaking, writing and reading activities

Lesson 5 Read and respond: Lesson 5 focuses on literacy and reading stories, poems and factual texts. It allows the learner to explore a variety of text types and develop comprehension and writing skills through related activities.

Lesson 6 Choose a project: Lesson 6 is the consolidation and production section of the unit. Learners produce a project related to the unit content. Lesson 6 begins with a restatement of the initial unit question and leads to a review of what has been learned in the course of the unit. Learner independence is enhanced by allowing choice.

The Activity Book Each lesson in the Learner’s Book is supported by two Activity Book pages that reinforce learning through activities, clearly framed within the ‘I can’ objectives of the course.

The Activity Book provides basic practice and reinforcement of vocabulary, use of English, writing and concepts. It also provides opportunities for personalisation and creative work, as well as activities that can offer a higher level of challenge to support differentiated classroom situations.

The last lesson of each unit in the Activity Book is devoted to an end-ofunit quiz, offering more in-depth assessment of what the learners have achieved.