Characteristics by age
| Age | Typical characteristics | Implications |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 (pre-school) | Learn through play and the senses; short attention (3-5 min); pre-literate; egocentric | Songs, rhymes, TPR, puppets, stories, routines; no reading or writing demands; lots of repetition |
| 6-8 | Beginning literacy in L1; love movement and games; need routine and praise | Stir/settle balance, picture-word matching, simple chants, stories with refrains, early reading of known words |
| 9-12 | More analytical; can work in groups; growing awareness of peers; can read and write | Projects, games with rules, simple grammar noticing, guided writing, choice and responsibility |
Attention span: a common rule of thumb is roughly the child's age in minutes (more for engaging, active tasks). Plan activities of 3-10 minutes and change the type often.
Principles
- Here and now: language about what children can see, touch and do.
- Routines: the same hello, weather, tidy-up and goodbye routines give security and language.
- Repetition with variety: the same words in songs, games, stories and crafts across lessons.
- Stir and settle: alternate lively (stir) and calm (settle) activities to manage energy.
- Listening first: understanding comes before speaking; accept non-verbal responses early on.
- Multisensory: see, hear, say, move, touch (TPR, realia, crafts).
- Meaningful context: stories and games give a reason to use language.
- Positive atmosphere: praise effort, celebrate success, never mock mistakes; model the correct form instead.
- L1 when needed: brief L1 for comfort and instructions with the very young; English for routines and play.
Lesson shape (45 minutes, ages 6-8)
| Stage | Example | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Hello routine | Hello song, register with names | stir |
| Review | Flashcard game with last week's words | settle |
| New language | Flashcards + TPR + chant | stir |
| Story | Picture book with a refrain using the new words | settle |
| Practice game | Run and touch, musical cards | stir |
| Quiet task | Colouring dictation, craft, worksheet | settle |
| Goodbye routine | Goodbye song, sticker | stir |
Classroom management with children
- Clear signals (clapping pattern, song, raised hand) and consistent routines.
- Short instructions with demonstrations; give materials after instructions.
- Seat children so you can see everyone; move troublemakers near you, not out.
- Praise specific behaviour ("Good listening, Tom!"); use team points rather than individual punishments.
- Plan transitions (song while tidying up).
Assessment for young learners
- Observation checklists against can-do statements ("can name 8 animals").
- Portfolios (drawings, mini books, recordings).
- Self-assessment with smileys.
- External exams: Cambridge English Young Learners (Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers, A2 Flyers) and similar; use their topic and vocabulary lists to plan, but keep lessons playful.
Safeguarding
- Follow the school's child protection policy; never be alone with a child out of sight of others.
- Photos and videos only with parental consent and school approval.
- Report concerns through the designated safeguarding lead.
- Online lessons: approved platform, parents informed, no private messaging.
academic-english-eap-course-planner
Plan English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses: pre-sessional, in-sessional, foundation, IELTS preparation and discipline-specific EAP, with syllabus strands (academic reading, lecture listening and note-taking, essay and report writing, paraphrase, summary and synthesis, referencing and plagiarism, seminars and presentations, academic vocabulary, critical thinking), a 10-week pre-sessional outline, exit assessment, IELTS-CEFR alignment and academic style (formality, hedging, cohesion, reporting verbs). Estimates study hours and weeks to close an IELTS gap from overall or per-skill scores (IELTS rounding, minimum per skill, priority skills, feasibility before a deadline), and checks learner texts for contractions, informal words with academic alternatives, unhedged claims, 'you', And/But/So starts, rhetorical questions and missing citations.
actfl-proficiency-curriculum-mapper
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adult-literacy-esl-lesson-builder
Build lessons for adult ESL learners who are developing literacy (LESLLA learners: pre-literate, non-literate, semi-literate, literate in a non-Roman script): learner profiles and sensitive initial assessment, principles (oral language first, known to new, systematic phonics with adult-relevant text, repetition, classroom skills, respect for experience), a lesson routine (oral warm-up, review, new grapheme, blending, segmenting, decodable text, writing, functional literacy, Language Experience Approach), a phonics sequence for adults, sight words, functional literacy targets (forms, signs, medicine labels) and portfolio assessment. Checks whether a reading text is decodable with the letter-sound patterns and sight words taught so far, catching untaught digraphs, listing non-decodable words with the untaught part, and suggesting the most useful next patterns.
authentic-material-lesson-adapter
Turn authentic material (news articles, podcasts, videos, songs, menus, timetables, adverts, social media posts, forms, infographics) into language lessons by grading the task rather than the text. Selects texts for interest, relevance, exploitability, coverage, cultural load and rights; finds the 4-6 words to pre-teach, words to gloss on the page and words learners can ignore, plus names and cultural references to explain, with reading time by level; and builds a lesson shape (lead-in, pre-teach, gist or scanning, graded detail task, language focus on chunks and register, response) with task ideas per material type and level from A1 to C1. Covers copyright, fair dealing and fair use, Creative Commons and attribution.
can-do-statement-writer
Write and review can-do statements for language courses, units, lessons and learner self-assessment, CEFR or NCSSFL-ACTFL style: action (observable verb) + text or situation + level-specific conditions, learner ('I can') and descriptor ('Can') versions, progressions of one activity from A1 to C1, and coverage of reception, production, interaction and mediation. Includes a verb bank by mode and level and condition and text-type banks. Lints statements for teacher-centred phrasing, knowledge instead of use (learn, know, understand the passive), missing context, two skills in one statement, vague quality words, grammar items as outcomes, overlong statements and missing modes in a set.
cefr-aligned-syllabus-builder
Build language course syllabuses aligned to the CEFR (A1-C2, plus levels, Companion Volume 2020): entry and exit levels, guided learning hours and course length (with an L1-distance adjustment), syllabus type (topic, functional-notional, task-based, skills-based, multi-strand), unit-by-unit can-do outcomes, grammar from a core inventory by level, vocabulary, functions, pronunciation, balance of reception, production, interaction and mediation, recycling and assessment points. Checks a syllabus for units without can-do statements, core grammar for the level not covered, items above the course level, skills missing from most units and units with no vocabulary or functions.