By Susannah Malpas, Sagrario Salaberri, Magdalena Custodio and Oscar Ruiz MarotoSeries Consultants: David Nunan and Jeanne Perrett
A groundbreaking course, which combines ELT methodologies with games-based learning to yield ambitious learning outcomes and to offer solid preparation for Cambridge Young Learners English Testing (CYLET), KET and Trinity Exams.
Learners go on fascinating quests, follow clues, and sing and interact with quirky and funky Poptropican characters in a safe and unique virtual world. Islands offers a streamlined and gently paced syllabus with lots of recycling.
Downloadable Sample Units
The Online World offers children online games where their avatars interact and solve exciting and original missions. Games-based learning is based on the principles of…
- Immersion: Students are immersed in a coherent context that maintains students’ enthusiasm and participation.
- Stealth learning: In The Online World learning takes place without students being aware of it.
- Mastery: The Online World encourages exploration and hypotheses-making and testing.
- Control: Students love immersive worlds because they can fail without censure or observation.
Extremely easy to teach, Islands focuses on making things simple, straight-forward but extremely memorable:
- Poptropica™ characters set the theme and present new language through a visually appealing scene and a catchy chant, games, and listening tasks.
- Catchy songs and chants (at least two per unit) present and practise language, promoting a sense of confidence and achievement and building group synergy.
- Games and quizzes systematize language in relevant contexts.
- Language repetition in meaningful interactions make language easy to remember and easy to transfer to normal everyday communication.
- Integrated skills practice with rich-text input guarantees a strong basis for CYLET exam preparation.
- Funny stories integrate language and lead into a CLIL lesson, a fun hands-on activity and a simple project to build a Student Portfolio.
- A special Synthetic Phonics programme teaches pronunciation and spelling and helps develop pupils’ reading and writing.
- Extensive Reading practice in higher levels.
In Islands 1, Values sections introduce children to social responsibility.
A complete range of learning and teaching resources to fit all your students’ needs:
- A thoroughly drawn Workbook offers language practice in fun contexts, and skills training in exam-type exercises.
- A Reading and Writing Booklet provides extra exam preparation for specific coaching in CYLET and KET formats.
- A Grammar Booklet offers focused systematic grammar practice for mixed-ability classes.
- Access code to The Online World where students have their own avatar.
- Teacher’s Book with access code to the Online World and a Test Booklet to assess with course-specific and exam contents.