I have recently completed a Level 2 Languages For All online Spanish course at York University, and I have loved it!
I understand that in her teaching, my tutor Amanda, used her work at the NCELP, and that she drew on research-informed principles and materials that the Centre have developed and provide freely.
She has made every session interesting, purposeful, and highly effective, because during each two-hour session there have been rigorous opportunities to focus on developing specific skills; these have included:
Specific opportunities to review and practice sounds and pronunciation, focussing on common errors and misconceptions.
Direct teaching of relevant grammatical structures with opportunities to practice these in pairs or small groups.
Sequential teaching of verb conjugation in different tenses and their application in meaningful contexts.
Varied activities to practice reading, writing, listening, speaking - including during homework activities - which are always revisited during each subsequent lesson so that learning is built sequentially.
Appropriate challenge to address misconceptions in a supportive (friendly) way.
Sessions constructed within the parameters of syllabus but also in response to the precise assessment of our needs, so that the activities are never too hard nor too easy
Lots of variety in each session so that there is never a dull moment!
As an ex-headteacher and I recognise the skills which has gone into creating this wonderful learning opportunity.
For me, each session just flies by (and I know I have a low boredom threshold!) and I can hardly believe where the year has gone. I also recognise that my Spanish has really improved (as has my confidence) and I can hardly wait to get to Spain to use it!