Parent Handbook

Welcome Letter from our DirectorDear Parents,

We are delighted that you have chosen a British Council Young Learner course, and we would like to extend a very warm welcome to you.The British Council is a world leader in English Language teaching. Teaching English forms part of our purpose as an organisation to build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide.

We have been successfully running English language learning programmes in Malaysia for over 20 years and are dedicated to making your child’s learning a positive, enjoyable experience. This handbook outlines our aims and gives you the opportunity to see how we put our communicative approach into practice both inside and outside the classroom.

We hope you and your child enjoy your experience with the British Council.

Alison Sriparam Director, English Language ServicesBritish Council, Malaysia

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The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.We operate in 110 countries and territories

• around the worldWe have 57 years experience of working in

• MalaysiaWe have Teaching Centres in Kuala Lumpur and

• PenangWe employ 60 internationally quali� ed teachers

• and teaching managersWe provide business communications training

• to companies, organisations and government bodiesWe provide information on studying for UK

• quali� cations, both in Malaysia and in the UKWe help Malaysians sit for the IELTS and other

• professional and academic examsWe administer around 20 Chevening Awards on

• behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Of� ce each yearWe work closely with the Ministry of Education

• and other institutions involved in working with Malaysian teachers to train them in teaching principles from the UK

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Our Aims in Teaching English:ot dlihc yreve rof si mia ruO

noc dna ylraelc etacinummoc � ni yltned • hsilgnE

gninrael sih /reh yojne• noitanigami dna ytivitaerc rieht poleved•

nrael ot woh nrael• laitnetop rieht hcaer•

larutluc fo ssenerawa retaerg a poleved •ytisrevid

gnikniht lacitirc poleved• srehto htiw etarepooc ot ytiliba eht poleved•

hcaorppA ruO dnuor lla eht tuoba si hcaorppa ruO

slliks rehto gnicnahne ,nerdlihc fo tnempoleved .egaugnal ot noitidda ni

tsom si gninrael egaugnal taht eveileb eW:nehw evitceffe

etapicitrap dna hsilgnE ni tcaretni srenrael• snossel ni ylluf

hguorht egaugnal esitcarp srenrael• seitivitca gnignellahc dna gnitalumits

gninrael s’dlihc rieht ni devlovni era stnerap• retsiniM s’KU eht ,thginK miJ ot gnidrocca sa

stneraP“ :srenraeL dna sloohcS rof etatS fo gninrael eht no tcapmi erom semit xis evah

.”od srehcaet naht nerdlihc ega yramirp fo

wen htiw gninrael nuf gnivah si dlihc yM“ gnihcaet dna slairetam gnitseretni dna

.”sdohtem tnerap ,gnoohC yvI

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Our TeachersThey represent the variety and diversity of

• English speaking nations around the world

They are highly quali� ed and many are trained in •

specialist Young Learner quali� cations

Training is an on-going process for our teachers •

and workshops and in-house training sessions

are held regularly.

“I have had many opportunities for professional

development in teaching Young Learners.”

Peter Milne, Young Learner Co-ordinator and

young learner teacher

“It is very well organised with the best team of

quali� ed teachers.”Thamiwani, parent

“The teachers are excellent.”

Mohd Zainul Hilmi, senior holiday

course student

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Our Levels

When you enrol your child in a new class you can expect them to stay in this level for two years before moving up.

In class we like to:focus on what our students CAN do

• encourage them step by step on their

• ladder to successprepare students for real-life English usage

•

We also use:

portfolios as a means of continual •

assessmentthe involvement of parents in the learning

• and assessment processreport cards which are given out at the end

• of each term

“The teachers use a lot of interesting activities.” Teoh Yee Er, senior student (SF)

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Communication is the key

We communicate with parents in several ways:

Parents events and informal chats•

Reports•

Newsletters and Surveys•

Information packs given to parents of new •

students

Parent workshops•

Learn English Family Day•

Formal meetings with your child’s teacher •

once a year. Arrangements at other times

of the year can be made.

You can always send an email to us at

parents@britishcouncil.org.my

“My child has gained vast con� dence in

expressing her opinions and feelings in

English. Thank you.”Aster Thien, parent

“Emphasis is placed on participation; there

are no lone wolf-types here.”

Nik Nur Fathiyah Bt Nik Mohd Nasir,

senior student (SPM)

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Your FAQs answered

What happens if my child misses a class?

If they are ill, have a temperature or eye

infection, please do not send your child to

school. If possible, please call us. If your child

misses two lessons we will contact you.

Does my child need a course book?

Yes. Your child will need a new course book

at the beginning of every year. These will be

available to buy at the British Council on the

� rst day of term. Please come early to avoid

your child being late for class.

What materials do you use?

We use up-to-date text books as well as

supplementary books, CDs, CD ROMs, DVDs,

videos and games. Laptops are sometimes

used in class to enable students to search

for information on projects they are doing.

Interactive English computer programmes with

language activities are also used.

Do you have a discipline policy?

Yes, the British Council has a Behaviour Policy.

We have our own set of guidelines for students,

parents and teachers which are explained in

the Roles and Responsibility Lea� et. You can

� nd copies at the reception.

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?ssalc a ni ereht era stneduts ynam woH sessalc lla ni stneduts 02 fo mumixam a evah eW sBJ dna srennigeB CJ :sroinuJ gnuoy eht tpecxe

.41 ylno evah

?mret txen eht rof retsiger-er ew od nehW eht ni tuo nevig era noitartsiger-er rof sretteL

evas ot ekil dluow uoy fI .mret eht fo flah dnoces elohw a rof retsiger won nac uoy ,emit flesruoy

.sliated rof noitpecer ta ksA !raey

hsitirB ot og ot tnaw I :yas nerdlihc yM“”!licnuoC

tnerap ,nooH naL woeS

stneduts htiw noitcaretni eht si gniht tseb ehT“ ot ecnahc eht uoy sevig ti ,srehcaet dna

fo egnar ediw a morf elpoep htiw tcaretni”.sdnuorgkcab

)ES( tneduts roines ,naiQ neW kaM leirbaG

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What goes on in our classes?seitivitca evitacinummoc no sisahpme nA•

slevel lla no tnemevlovni tneduts evitcA•

dna lanoitidart fo erutxim cimanyd A• seigolodohtem egde-gnittuc

gnillet yrotS•

si ti sa hsilgnE dna erutaretil no sucof A• desu yllaer

krow tcejorP•

:sessalc ruo ni desu secruoseRsehcaorppa dna slairetam fo yteirav eguh A•

sdraobetihw evitcaretnI•

spotpaL•

strahc noitaicnunorp citenohP•

lanoitaN KU eht morf nekat slairetaM• Curriculum

nuf sesu ehs ;rehcaet licnuoC hsitirB ym ekil I“”.em hcaet ot syaw gnitseretni dna

)ES( tneduts roines ,gnoeL nnuJ wohC naI

fo egdelwonk lareneg snediw licnuoC hsitirB“ gnitseretni dna tnereffid hguorht dlrow eht

”.sdohtemtnerap ,maL ssilyhP

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Extra resources for you and your

childThe English Language Learning zone or ELLZ at

the Kuala Lumpur Centre and the Info and Reading

Zone at the Penang centre are available for you

and your child to use outside of class time.

These are located in the teaching centre and are a

great place to aid your child’s learning.

There are computers with specially designed

software for learning English. There are also

children’s books which can be taken out on loan.

As research has shown, a child who reads is likely

to be more successful with their language learning.

For more details, please ask our staff.

“Coming to the British Council makes my day!”

Renesia Chin, senior student (SPM)

“I feel free to express my ideas and opinions.

The teachers are fun and friendly.”

Ng Chien Yee, senior student (SPM)

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SafetyAt the British Council we take safety very

seriously.

Although we endeavour to make the British

Council a safe and secure learning environment

for your children, there are some things that all

parents should be aware of.

The British Council is not just a school, but a

public building with hundreds of visitors every

day. Because of this, it is not a secure place to

leave your children unsupervised. To ensure

the safety of your children, we ask you to follow

these procedures:

Before class starts:

Children under 14 must be supervised by a

parent or guardian. If you are unable to do this

please drop them off immediately before class

and pick them up immediately after.

While on our premises:

Make your child aware that they should only talk

to people they know or our staff wearing British

Council tags.

Children should not use the toilets on the

ground � oor as these are for public use. The

toilets on the teaching � oor are suitable as we

have security protection there. In an emergency

please accompany your child to the ground

� oor toilets.

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After class � nishes:Children in JC and JB classes need to be picked up from the classroom. Your children will wait in the classroom with their teaching assistant until you arrive.

Children under the age of 12 should not be allowed to leave the premises unaccompanied by an adult or a guardian.

Children should be picked up promptly after class, but in an emergency please phone 03 2723 7942 and we will make arrangements

.evirra uoy litnu retfa dekool eb ot dlihc ruoy rof

rof noitaicerppa ym sserpxe ot ekil dluow I“

ot ni tup evah uoy taht troffe dna krow eht

yrev ma I .nerdlihc ruo fo ytefas eht erusne

ot elim artxe eht klaw uoy ees ot dehcuot

”efas era elpoep gnuoy eseht erusneMrs Jenny Tan

si tI .ygolodohtem eht htiw yppah m’I“

hsilgnE kaeps ot nrael nac nerdlihc ;lamrofniquickly.”Raja Tahir Sultan, parent

”.gniticxe dna tnereffid si od ew krow ehT“

esruoc yadiloh roines ,gnoS noiS eeSstudent

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We challenge our students with;active encouragement by teachers•

competitions and events•

celebrations and talks•

project work•

a student-centred approach•

“My wife and I are most happy with our son’s development. He is able to convey his thoughts in an articulate and convincing manner.” Amreek Singh, parent

“The work we do is unique. It makes us think ”.ylevitaerc dna drah

A� f Ilman B. Mohd Amin, senior student (SPM)

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Marking and EvaluationThree words sum up our approach:

Positive•

Encouraging•

Constructive•

Our student evaluation policy is based on

continual classroom assessment. Each of our

courses is designed to develop competencies

in all four skills which can be seen in our report

cards given out at the end of each term.

ruoy tuoba noitamrofni rehtag srehcaeT yteirav a morf ssergorp dna gninrael s’dlihc

,noitavresbo ,krow ssalc gnidulcni secruos fo renrael ,sweivretni tneduts rehcaet ,soiloftrop serudecorp ruo ees oT .krowemoh dna seiraid

krowemoH eht tlusnoc esaelp ,krowemoh noael yciloP � .noitpecer ta dnuof eb nac hcihw te

sucof ot yrt licnuoC hsitirB eht ta srehcaeT krow s’dlihc ruoy fo stcepsa evitisop eht no hguohtlA .llew enod evah yeht tahw no dna edepmi taht srorre tcerroc ot tnatropmi si ti

lla tcerroc ton od srehcaet ,gnidnatsrednu si sihT .level s’dlihc eht no gnidneped sekatsim

noc s’dlihc eht niatniam ot � sucof ot dna ecned htiw thguat gnieb si taht tniop egaugnal eht no

that speci� .krow fo eceip c

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Getting everyone involved a evah nac gninrael s’dlihc ruoy ni devlovni gnitteG

deeps eht dna edutitta rieht htob no tcapmi evitisop nerdlihc rieht pleh stnerap nehW .nrael yeht hcihw ta

eneb laer era ereht ,moorssalc eht edistuo � ts for .moorssalc eht edisni tnemeveihca s’nerdlihc

lanoitacude licnuoC hsitirB ,siht htiw stnerap pleh oT ylimaF hsilgnEnraeL wen depoleved evah strepxe

,stelkoob edulcni esehT .secivres dna stcudorpworkshops and a website.

dna evitamrofni yrev era spohskrow tneraP“ erolpxe ot stnerap rof egdelwonk cisab edivorp gnihcaet dna gninrael ni sdohtem dna syaw wen

”.nerdlihc ot hsilgnEtnerap ,miharbI namzA roN

dna noitpecer ta elbaliava era stelkoob ehT.raey eht tuohguorht nur era spohskrow

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LearnEnglish Kids websiteThe LearnEnglish Kids website was created for young learners and their parents and is accessed by more than 80,000 visitors a month. See for yourself by logging on towww.britishcouncil.org/kids

“The website is probably the best learning website for children and their parents.”Eng Kah Lee, parent

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Check out these websites too:

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www.learntolearn.orgThis website is designed to give study tips and advice to help children with their learning and education. Advice for parents to help their child is also included.

www.bbc.co.uk/learn This website provides lots of ideas and information on learning. It includes sections for parents and adults and gives them tips on making the most of your study.

www.britishcouncil.org/parentsThis website provides you with information on how to help your child learn English. You can read and use a wide range of materials including games, advice, tips and downloads.

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).

KUALA LUMPURGround Floor, West BlockWisma Selangor Dredging,142C Jalan Ampang50450 Kuala Lumpur

T: +60 (0)3 2723 7900F: +60 (0)3 2713 6599E:

kualalumpur@britishcouncil.org.my

PENANG3 Weld Quay10300 Penang

T: + 60 (0)4 263 0330F: +60 (0)4 263 3262E: penang@britishcouncil.org.my

KOTA KINABALUGround Floor4 Jalan Api-ApiOff Jalan Gaya88000 Kota KinabaluSabah

T: +60 (0)88 222 059F: +60 (0)88 238 059E:

sabah@britishcouncil.org.my

KUCHINGSublot 63, Block A, Level 2Taman Sri Sarawak Mall93758 KuchingSarawak

T: +60 (0)82 256 044F: +60 (0)82 425 199E: sarawak@britishcouncil.org.my

www.britishcouncil.org.my