English for Everyone Junior boosts vocabulary acquisition in Seoul school

We caught up with one school in Seoul, Korea to learn how they are using English for Everyone Junior with their first-grade classes and combating learning loss from the pandemic.

‘We divide our students into four groups, depending on their English-speaking abilities, and, due to COVID, the last year’s first graders weren’t as proficient in English as they usually are,’ Ashley begins. ‘We used to use Evan-Moor’s Skill Sharpeners, but it was a bit challenging for them … And, so, I asked my book provider: “Do you have some samples of some colourful books for beginners that they can use as a supplement to help them?”’

The solution Ashley received was a copy each of English for Everyone Junior Beginner’s Course and English for Everyone Junior 5 Words a Day. ‘I really liked both of them, because it is so eye-catching, and it’s all about language,’ she tells us. The major selling points for Ashley were the picture-based learning and easy-to-navigate online audio features. ‘The audio, they’re so easily accessible, and the pictures, they’re just … I always recommend [5 Words a Day] for parents worried about their kids’ vocabularies, because, for little kids, I think putting names to pictures is the best way to get their vocabularies.’ Being available in eBook form also helped. ‘Because of COVID, we never know when we’re going to go back to remote lessons, so eBooks are a really good plus point for me … We used to scan every single page, but having access to an eBook or PDF, it makes everything so easy.’

How have Ashley’s pupils found using English for Everyone Junior? ‘They are catching on to the vocabulary really fast,’ she says. ‘It’s really efficient when it comes to learning new, very practical phrases and those very basic words they sometimes blank on.’ The style of the book has meant that not only is the vocabulary clearly explained, it also provides plenty of opportunities for the children to practise their writing skills. ‘The kids—honestly, they love this book, because it has so many pictures, so many illustrations.’ Even the grammar points, which some students take to more easily than others, are ‘like puzzles—so I think it’s a very good, basic grammar book.’

It helps that the books differ from the pervasive workbook-style practice books, the use of which in Ashley’s experience can often become an exercise in quantity over quality. Instead, with English for Everyone Junior, ‘we’re trying to aim for students’ comprehension skills, so that they can actually reproduce based on what they’ve learnt from classes.’ And the results have been very promising indeed. ‘I’ve heard from a mom … her son was struggling so much last year, and I recommended this book [English for Everyone Junior Beginner’s Course], and the 5 Words a Day, and the mom said they helped a lot. The student is now able to point to things and try to speak, so I think that was a good jump.’ Mission accomplished!

Ready to kick-start your pupils’ learning? Explore the English for Everyone Junior range below or learn more now.

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