The School and its Facilities
English Advantage is centrally located, very close to the Octagon (the city centre of Dunedin). It is a small school consisting of three classrooms, a main office, a small kitchen, a teachers’ office and a community room for students.
The Students’ Room is a place for students to relax and meet other students. It is also equipped with reading materials at all levels of English, including books, magazines and the local daily newspaper. Students are encouraged to utilize these resources to help them improve their English and learn about all kinds of English literature. Additionally, the students’ room offers information on events around town, community classes, and other activities students might be interested in. Students are also invited to use the small kitchen facilities, which include sink, microwave, kettle and refrigerator.
English Advantage is also located within walking distance of the Dunedin Public Library, the University of Otago, movie theatres, bookstores, restaurants and shops. Students are encouraged to explore their new environment in every way.
| Institute Philosophy |
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| English Advantage undertakes the challenge to ensure that all students are given an education which enhances their learning, builds upon their needs and respects their dignity. This education shall challenge them to achieve their personal standards of excellence and to reach their full potential. All institute activities are designed to advance these purposes. Our institute prides itself on teaching using the most up to date pedagogical practices. |
Teaching Philosophy
Much can be written about how people learn languages. The theories of how languages are learned change over time and it is the responsibility of a teacher to keep up to date with these changes.
At English Advantage, we accept the challenge to constantly improve our teaching methods and stay at the forefront of the field of second language teaching.
The fundamental premise of this school follows the so called ‘weak interface model’ of language acquisition proposed by Rod Ellis 1.
This model draws together a number of theories on the process about the learning of implicit knowledge.
The weak interface model proposes the following;
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We also subscribe to the argument from Leo van Leir(3) that consciousness and language are integral parts of the human ecology. For us as teachers this means that interaction with learners in classrooms should allow learners to be perceiving, thinking, acting and interacting persons, rather than passive receivers of knowledge.
1 Ellis, R. (1997). SLA research and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press
2 Ellis, R. (1997) SLA research and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press (p79).
3 van Leir (1998) The relationship between consciousness interaction and language learning. Language Awareness, 7 (2&3), 128-145
