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                 Teaching Materials

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As described on earlier pages, Wessex Study teaching methods are in many ways quite unique.

• The materials are specially written and, because they are stored in digital form can be easily changed to suit the learner’s needs, stored by the learner or transmitted to them over the internet.

• Both written materials and activities cover a very wide range of teaching techniques, from rearranging parts of a mixed-up video to board games to grammar-based quizzes to personality tests.

• Traditional gap-fill exercises are useful but uninteresting. They are normally given as homework tasks, leaving teaching time for more interactive methods.

• The aim is always, wherever possible, to copy the way language is used in real-life. For example, the present perfect will have a large place in a job interview, so students are presented with an interview simulation. The present simple will be the main tense used in a street survey, so surveys are given to learners. And so on.

• Whenever it can be done, conversational opportunities are made available as a development of the grammar or vocabulary point being studied. Indeed, at least 80% of class time is taken up by student speaking.

•  Your teacher is very aware of mistakes caused by interference from your own language. It very often happens that a student has a good general knowledge of English grammar, but makes mistakes with smaller points which he or she was never aware of and which can be easily corrected with special material.

It is impossible here to give more than a few samples of printed teaching material, with a very short description of their purpose. If you are interested in a particular area we shall be pleased to e-mail you more examples.

example 1:     This game practises 2 contrasting sounds, such as the vowels in caught and cot (German speakers) or the first consonant in pit and fit (Korean speakers).

example 3:    ...while this introduces the problem words ourselves and each other.

example 4:    On the business front, this sheet comes from Paperwork, a short course on business-letter writing:

example 5:    Business work also includes a great deal of conversation, as this paper demonstrates:

Finally, remember that all and any material is provided free of charge!