BRISTOL BIDEFORD BARNSTAPLE TIVERTON EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK NEWPORT BARNSTAPLE’S medieval bridge over its tidal river is the view our students have through the classroom windows. It is a market town of 25,000 people and is the main town of North Devon so has the feel of a place twice its size. Its long history includes being one of the main English ports in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thousands of the earliest settlers to America left from here. The SOL centre is also right next to the traffic-free town centre. BIDEFORD is 12 km to the west and just 6km from the sea and has a population of 15,000. The quay, one of its main streets, is still an active port. Some SOL classes are in the redbrick building you see in the picture. This town also has a great sea-faring history and In the 16th century it was England’s 3rd biggest port. Local man Sir Richard Grenville was a national hero with Sir Francis Drake in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588. TIVERTON is in mid Devon so is closer to the English Channel coast and also just 30 minutes from Exeter, the County town. Our Centre is situated overlooking a very attractive park just a few minutes from the town centre. The location of the town makes for easier visits to south coast destinations but the Atlantic is not forgotten in the programme! Tiverton also has a very long history with its wealth being built on the wool trade. SOL‘S LOCATION SOL HAS THREE CENTRES, ALL BASED IN DEVON IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. ITS MAIN CENTRE IS IN BARNSTAPLE WITH SATELLITE CENTRES IN BIDEFORD AND TIVERTON. MANY MORE DETAILS OF OUR CENTRES AND LOCATIONS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE: WWW.SOL.ORG.UK EXETER STONEHENGE THE SOL EXPERIENCE TINTAGEL TORQUAY OUTSTANDING PROGRAMMES FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND LEARNERS OF ENGLISH IN BEAUTIFUL DEVON, ENGLAND
Transcript
BRISTOL
BIDEFORDBARNSTAPLE
TIVERTON
EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK
NEWPORT
BARNSTAPLE’S medieval bridge over its tidal river is the view our students have through the classroom windows. It is a market town of 25,000 people and is the main town of North Devon so has the feel of a place twice its size. Its long history includes being one of the main English ports in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thousands of the earliest settlers to America left from here. The SOL centre is also right next to the traffic-free town centre.
BIDEFORD is 12 km to the west and just 6km from the sea and has a population of 15,000. The quay, one of its main streets, is still an active port. Some SOL classes are in the redbrick building you see in the picture.This town also has a great sea-faring history and In the 16th century it was England’s 3rd biggest port. Local man Sir Richard Grenville was a national hero with Sir Francis Drake in defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588.
TIVERTON is in mid Devon so is closer to the English Channel coast and also just 30 minutes from Exeter, the County town. Our Centre is situated overlooking a very attractive park just a few minutes from the town centre. The location of the town makes for easier visits to south coast destinations but the Atlantic is not forgotten in the programme! Tiverton also has a very long history with its wealth being built on the wool trade.
SOL‘S LOCATIONSOL HAS THREE CENTRES, ALL BASED IN DEVON IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. ITS MAIN CENTRE IS IN BARNSTAPLE WITH SATELLITE CENTRES IN BIDEFORD AND TIVERTON.
MANY MORE DETAILS OF OUR CENTRES AND LOCATIONS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE:WWW.SOL.ORG.UK
EXETER
STONEHENGE
THE SOL EXPERIENCE
TINTAGEL
TORQUAY
OUTSTANDING PROGRAMMES FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND LEARNERS OF ENGLISH IN BEAUTIFUL DEVON, ENGLAND
OUTSIDE BRITAINIn order to make opportunities for contact with SOL trainers more accessible, as well as our presence at most national teacher conferences, we also now run workshops for teachers abroad, organised by our own in country co-ordinators teacher associations. Details of these will always be on our website.
In addition we also ran a very successful “SO(u)L camp” for teachers in Slovakia in July 2013 and plan to run it again in 2014 and there could be other similar camps elsewhere.
This involves not only new methodologies but a holistic approach for coping with life as a teacher. A course abroad we see as a natural extension of our work knowing that many teachers are unable to get to the UK. At SOL we use a methodology which is very much project based, cross curricular, experiential, and involving fieldwork. Whilst drawing on the local for the lesson content we are very interested in exploring possibilities for this kind of approach in teachers’ own countries.
Also several intensive four day “Reflective Teacher” courses have been held in Romania, based on the UK summer course with the same title - it can be available in other countries too.
We are very interested in co-operating with teachers who may well be interested in doing projects in their own countries and then following up on them in Devon later. The trainers who have been running the teacher courses we organise in Devon are the same people who have been doing the workshops and courses in Central and Eastern Europe and we think that this kind of continuity and familiarity with the educational culture of those we work with is very important for the success of our work.
In the past we have recruited over 700 native speaker teachers to work in State schools in Central and Eastern Europe and have seen it as an important part of our mission. However the demand and feasibility for his work has fallen and so our focus abroad is now more on training.
GRENVILLE YEO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
MATTHEW KNAPMAN
PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR
SHARON EVANS
OFFICE AND FINANCE MANAGER
ZOE PAYNE
HOST FAMILY COORDINATOR
MARK ANDREWS
TRAINING DIRECTOR
THE SOL TEAMALL ENQUIRIES TO THE TEAM CAN BE SENT TO [email protected]
SOL is a unique non-profit organisation based in Devon, whose mission, for more than 22 years, has been to provide real support to both teachers and learners of English in Central Eastern Europe. It has run low cost high quality programmes in Devon for both and is now doing so abroad. Plus native teacher recruitment for State schools as well.
SOL has a special understanding of both educational and economic circumstances in the region. This is reflected in both the pricing of its high quality programmes in England as well as the commitment to this direct support referred to above.
Since 1991, more than 40,000 students and 5,000 teachers have benefited from these programmes which in themselves offer something very different from most traditional language courses offered by commercial language schools.
Our focus is on doing things which cannot be done back home, taking full advantage of being in England. Each programme is student-centred and provides a strong cultural experience as well as developing
their confidence in using English in real situations.
SOL’s philosophy is to work through teachers of English who bring their students with them wanting to give their students the real advantage of coming to SOL. We build and maintain relationships on a personal level, agreeing on the programme, with our in-country coordinators provide a local link and support where needed.
The other big difference is shown on the following page with our focus on a fully interactive programme with the visits and time in the family being central to it. Students
are paired in most families as our evidence is clear that they speak far more English if they are with a friend, rather than on their own or with another student they don’t know. Many of the home tasks set require them to work together.
Full details of our student culture & language programmes (from 10 - adult) and all our courses for teachers are shown in the insert with this leaflet and at: www.sol.org.uk
ABOUT SOL
THIS SIGN MEANS WHAT IT SAYS!
Our courses work on different levels: language development, reflection on your own teaching, observing your own tutors’ teaching, deepening your knowledge of life in a predo-minantly English speaking country, experiencing the classroom from a student’s point of view (again) and finding out about more practical activities for the classroom.
And of course one of the major features is actually being immersed in an English speaking culture 24/7 with all the benefits that brings with it for your own language development.
All our courses have social evenings which include pub quizzes and folk nights. We like you to get a flavour of what is currently going on in Britain by exploring local and
national media and working on it from a classroom methodology perspective. We even organise surf lessons for you, should you so wish!
There are common teacher development elements on all our courses, each with a specific emphasis. One focuses on intercultural skills and fieldwork, exploring local Devon life, meeting prominent local people about current issues, visiting the maritime museum and a local school.
Another also involves a local school visit and includes drama and dialogue activities, preparing students to deliver formal presentati-ons, use of images, five minute activities, creative writing tasks, music, using hand-held devices in the classroom and assessment
strategies. This course has a strong reflective element built in and has opportuni-ties for peer teaching.
Our third is “unplugged”, promoting choice and encouraging you to help your learners to take more responsibility for their own learning by actually experi-encing what it is like to do a project yourself in the local area, reflecting on how you might do the same thing back home.
All are about caring about what we do in the classroom, wanting to do things a bit better and making continuo-us professional development a routine part of our lives. Where better to do it in the summer than near the Atlantic coast with its drama-tic cliffs and long sandy beaches!
... and for Trainee TeachersExperiencing an English language and culture environment prior to teaching English gives a confidence and authenticity to a new teacher’s work. SOL regularly provides low cost but top quality opportunities to do just that in conjunction with various University
Faculties of Education. An intensive short 8-10 day programme includes a day and a half in a local school as well as visits, professional discussions, and fieldwork meeting plenty of real language. Overall an experience of great value!
OUR TEACHERPROGRAMMES IN
DEV
ON
CENTRAL TO ANY SOL PROGRAMME are the visits and time in the family. This diagram highlights the themes and topics, which provide relevant and interesting content for the students to explore and discuss.
Our teachers build on this to support students’ learning and to boost their confidence in using English. Through an experiential approach to learning, real language is used in meaningful and memorable contexts.
Each day a full 8 ½ hour programme includes visits and fieldwork. Time in the SOL centre focuses on the language met from all the varied experiences outside the classroom.
WHY CHOOSE SOL? • Special knowledge of schools in Eastern
& Central Europe • 22 years of experience • Full day integrated programmes • We plan the programme content with
accompanying teachers • Complete immersion in English • Very communicative approach • Fieldwork activities are core • Friendly and safe small towns • The Atlantic Ocean and the beautiful
Devon countryside • Friendly families, who are an essential
part of the programme • Open all year • Local coordinators there to help • Outstanding value for money
What else „SOL” stands for is also Speaking, Observing and Listening - key skills practised in our programmes, helping students to benefit more thoroughly from this immersion in both the English language and the local culture. The daily writing of a journal, in which students record new language as well as their feelings and experiences in a
different culture, is a key element of the course. Done in a comparative way, it helps them to understand English culture, their own culture - and even themselves - better.
All this is carefully managed by our teachers and interactive guides so that our students maximise their learning opportunities and make the most of their stay in England.
The students will also develop a small project, finding out about their chosen topic of interest from the wide range shown in the diagram above. This can even be started before they come or continue after they leave. On the final day, they present their findings to their peers in a presentation which can also involve acting out little dialogues as well.
OUR STUDENT PROGRAMMESCONTEXTS FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND FIELDWORK
