Humanising Language Teaching
Year 1; Issue 8; December 1999

ENGLISH UNLIMITED is a private language school in Gdańsk, Poland. It was established in 1989 by a group of lecturers from Gdańsk University, whose professional experience was gained through years of teaching in Poland, Britain and the United States of America. Our aim was to create a language school were students would enjoy learning effectively. Since 1989 the school has vastly expanded and English Unlimited opened three new teaching centres in Poznań, Bydgoszcz and Szczecin.

In addition to our teaching operation we also have a chain of ELT bookshops in Poland.

SYLLABUS, COURSE MATERIAL AND TEACHING METHODS

The syllabus of each course takes into account contemporary methodology, and students are provided with the latest British coursebooks, cassettes, supplementary worksheets, visual aids and videos.

All the courses follow a communicative approach and are designed to build students' confidence and fluency in English, from beginner to advanced level.

Teachers are encouraged to supplement their coursebooks with their own materials and draw on vast resources in the library. There are also regular teacher training workshops and "swap shop" sessions which provide teachers with ideas for lessons and stimulate their professional development.

The academic year is divided into two 16-week terms : October till January and mid-February till June. In July and August English Unlimited offers Intensive Language Courses, which are held in the city, and Vacation Courses, a blend of English language course and activity holiday for children and young adults of all levels, held in residential accommodation.

THE COURSES

English Unlimited offers the following English courses:

• GENERAL ENGLISH

General courses are aimed at developing general ability in English, with the emphasis on practising oral - aural skills. They are offered at 6 levels :

• Beginners
• False Beginners
• Lower -Intermediate
• Intermediate
• Upper - Intermediate
• Advanced

All students are tested and assigned to a group according to age and level. This is done through a written test and an interview with a teacher. There is normally a maximum of 14 students in each group.

Examination courses prepare students for a range of recognised English language examinations which are organised by the University of Cambridge Local English Syndicate (UCLES) and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

This course is tailored for people who are not interested in hard ESP or Business Communication courses.

This specific group of learners cannot be pigeoned into just one specialist area since they come from various job sectors. Therefore an EFP course touches upon various specialist content -- business, technical and legal. What our students are offered is a viable, authentic course in terms of content and context. The course aims at developing language knowledge, communicative fluency plus a professional lexical set.

There are two levels of the course:

• English for Professionals I intermediate
• English for Professionals II upper intermediate - advanced

The assumption behind EFPI and II is that our students still need a lot of attention in terms of the traditional four skills and vocabulary development. Therefore, materials prepared for the courses could be divided into two categories: (1) general knowledge focus, and (2) professional mixture. By general knowledge focus we mean materials prepared for General English courses, emphasising advancement in every aspect of language knowledge. Professional mixture, on the other hand, consists of not only lexical items from various specialist areas, but also certain business functions such as presentations, negotiations or meetings. The first category serves as a basis, whereas the second one could be recognised as a set of threads – linking, enhancing and making the content more attractive.

Evaluation is done on the basis of a General English test and a series of simulations where students are given role-plays or case studies to work on. For the latter students can choose a particular field they want to be evaluated on.

You can find more information about English Unlimited on:
http: //www.atm.com.pl/`engunl
info@eu.com.pl