Young Learners’ Courses at Melton College
Our Young Learners’ Course help children and teenagers communicate with confidence, at school, in exams, on holiday and in life.
Who are our Young Learners’ Courses for?
Young Learners’ Courses are for students aged from 11 (younger if travelling with parents and able to follow the course) to 17 (or older if still at school). Students who have just completed their final year at school are still eligible for Young Learners’ Courses.
Structure of our Young Learners' Courses
Young Learners’ Courses are divided by ability and by age. All classes follow a skills-based timetable.
Because the course is skills based, and most participants only join for one or two weeks, we do not use coursebooks. Most lessons are based around material we have created. We also use published supplementary material. Everything is included and there is no additional cost for materials or books!
The teaching day is divided into lessons with a focus on:
Time | |
0930-1015 | Reading |
1030-1115 | Listening |
1130-1215 | Grammar |
1230-1315 | Speaking |
1400-1445 | Vocabulary (or Lesson Out) |
1500-1545 | Writing (or Lesson Out) |
Lessons Out are afternoon double lessons which take place in the city as a project, in museums or in York Minster. They will include a variety of activity types but will always last as long as the equivalent classroom-based lessons.
Students in summer will usually have one Lesson Out each week, students on other Young Learners' Courses will usually have two.
At the end of the course all students will get a report and a certificate.
What you should bring to your English Classes
All materials are included in the tuition fee and students will be provided with paper. Students should bring:
Pens
Pencils
Highlighter
Students will definitely benefit from having a smartphone for some activities or, even better, a tablet (iPad or equivalent). The College has fast, reliable WiFi in all rooms.
Accommodation
Young Learners staying in Homestay accommodation must select airport transfer to ensure they arrive at the home as planned. If arranging alternative transport these arrangements must be confirmed by Melton College first.
Young Learners can stay in Melton Guest House if accompanying their parents.
If staying in accommodation arranged privately, please let us know the address and contact information and, if not staying with parents, the name of the person looking after the student during their stay.
Lessons Out
Lessons Out are a popular feature of our Young Learners' Courses. They give the students the chance to learn English while exploring some of the many attractions of York as a city.
Our lessons out make use of the Cathedral - York Minster - and some of our world-famous museums, for example the National Railway Museum, The Castle Museum and the groundbreaking Jorvik Viking Centre. Lessons Out also include project work and the chance to interact with visitors while completing surveys and questionnaires.
On Young Learners' Courses at Easter and in October we usually have two Lessons Out each week. In summer we usually have one Lesson Out each week, nearly always on Wednesday afternoon.
How we teach
We use a skill-based timetable for our Young Learners' Courses. This has a number of benefits.
First, it is probably important to remember who our young learner students are and why they are with us. Young learners need English because they will need English in their lives. They also need English for school exams. So, some of what we teach will help with schoolwork and all of what we teach will help our students with their English.
Writing. We will help students to practice and improve different types of writing tasks. We will focus on tasks which students will need in their school lives, for example essays, and tasks they will need when using English more generally now, and in later life. The benefits are that students will improve their skills in a variety of situations, formal and informal, short messages, letters and completing applications.
Speaking. Speaking can be something you do alone - giving speeches for example - but most of the time it is about communicating with someone else. We encourage students to communicate in a variety of settings, helping them to be more comfortable in conversations with others whether talking in pairs or collaborating in a group. The benefits are that students learn to talk with people as well as to talk to people, they are better able to take part in conversations and more confident in expressing opinions, turn-taking and being able to show that they are listening. We also help students with pronunciation and the other things which make speaking a challenge, like stress and intonation.
Listening. Students are often surrounded by English! Although they need to be able to answer traditional comprehension questions for school, they are as likely to need to be able to listen for specific information, for example as part of an announcement, to be able to get a general idea of what is being said without understanding (or hearing) all the details or to be able to summarise what they have heard. The benefits are that students will become more confident in a range of listening situations that go beyond answering traditional questions. We use specially prepared materials as well as extracts from documentaries, films, TV programmes and songs.
Reading. Students read all the time but the reading that features in schools and exams is only a small part of reading. Reading also includes signs, menus, notices and instructions. Most reading is related to context and we will help students to work with the context to understand what they are reading.
Grammar. Some students love grammar! Some students hate grammar! Love it or hate it, grammar is a part of lots of school exams and so we include it in our timetable. We always teach grammar in context, so we teach how a grammatical form or feature is used in everyday English. Students benefit, not only by being more confident in schoolwork but also by understanding how the language they are learning works.
Vocabulary. English has a very large vocabulary, often with many words for the same thing! Taking an active, positive approach to learning, using and recycling vocabulary helps students develop their ability to express themselves and be able to understand how they may be understood by another English speaker.
Activity Programme
The activity programme is included in the tuition fee for Young Learners’ Courses.
The Activity Programme includes:
After-class Activities
Evening Activities
Excursions
The timing of some activities can make them both an After-class Activity and an Evening Activity!
On Young Learners’ Courses in Winter, at Easter and in October, all activities are compulsory. On Young Learners’ Courses during the summer, activities are voluntary, except the excursion which is compulsory.
The exact programme for each course can be found by clicking the “Activity Programme” button on each course page. Please note, the activities may have to change at short notice due to weather, opening restrictions etc.
We also run some optional additional activities, mainly during the summer. These are available for an additional fee.
Optional Extras
During the Young Learners' Summer Course we offer additional evening activities on two evenings each week:
River Cruise
Ghost Walk
Bowling
Cinema Trip
There is an additional charge for these activities which is set in May.
Attendance
All students must attend all lessons. All students must be on time for all lessons.
We check our junior classes within the first 5 minutes of the start of the first lesson and start to look for any students who have not arrived. Junior students must attend all lessons and all Saturday Excursions. The only exception to the rule for Saturday Excursions is for students staying with family or in privately arranged accommodation.
In addition, junior students on the Easter and October Course must attend all activities (all activities are included).
In summer, students can choose to attend after-class and evening activities.
Illness
If a student is too ill to attend, we will make appropriate arrangements.
If staying in Homestay, your child's host will contact the College.
If your child is well enough/old enough to be left alone, the host may do so.
If your child is not old enough to be left alone and the host will be out, we either send a member of staff to babysit, or we move your child to a room in Melton Guest House for the day.
Healthcare is free to UK citizens but not to visitors. We strongly advise all students (and we require all junior students) to have adequate insurance. Details on the UK health service can be found here.
Safety & Wellbeing
While we strive to make as safe and happy an environment as possible, we understand that issues may arise with students, either within or outside the college. That is why we have put a great deal of importance in creating as strong a support system as possible, with a clear point of contact at the college for students, as well as an extensive safeguarding policy which tackles any potential issues that may arise.
For more information, students and parents can view our Junior Safeguarding Programme below; if parents want a deeper understanding of our policies, they can also view our Safeguarding Policy to fully understand our commitment to your child's safety.
Junior Safeguarding Information
Safeguarding Policy
Supervision outside class times
Our students are allowed to go into the city after class. However, if they are under the age of 16 they must be in a group of at least three students and they must return home for their evening meal (unless eating as part of a College activity.) Students are allowed to travel to and from their accommodation alone at the beginning and end of the day. Parents of students aged 11~13 can ask for their child to be taken to and from College. This is our school run service which is available for an additional charge.
On excursions, students are given free time to explore the venue or town we are visiting but must do so in a group of at least three students.
All students must follow our College Curfews.
Public Holidays
The College operates as normal on all public holidays. However, students need to remember that the local buses may run to a restricted timetable!