As I sit down to write this today, many things are swirling around in my mind, but one thing could not be clearer: the direction in which I'm going to take my little community this September.
I've spent the last few weeks researching the Cambridge Starters, Movers and Flyers exams, and I found that my teaching philosophy was completely echoed in the "Can Do" statement system. However, the biggest realisation I came to was that my lessons, although always creative and fun, sometimes lacked the context and foundations that my students actually needed.
After a very thorough meeting with myself (and Mr. ChatGPT!), the biggest takeaway from my research was this:
How can my students learn to run if they can't even walk?
And this is exactly why I'm going to work even harder to create exciting, creative lessons while giving children the context and foundations they need to grow.
Every lesson I plan next year will begin with a few simple questions:
What can my students do because of this lesson? How is this activity going to help them? How well can they follow classroom instructions? What language are they actually using?
Following this reflection, I've spent a huge part of my first weekend closed for the summer creating roadmaps for each age group, all aligned with the Cambridge "Can Do" philosophy, beginning with Pre A1 Starters.
I've designed a curriculum framework that will make it much easier for me to build lessons, while still keeping the creative spark that has always been at the heart of my courses.
For example, last year I took my students "Around the World". We integrated Geography with English in a CLIL-like way, learned about the continents and the globe, and visited one country from each of the seven continents over two fantastic months. We finished by creating beautiful posters, and the students truly took away so much from the experience.
Looking back now, however, I realise I can make those lessons even more meaningful.
Yes, we'll still travel to Japan... but first we'll learn about the different forms of transport we need to get there.
Yes, we'll still visit Bondi Beach in Australia... but before we go, we'll need to pack our suitcase with the right clothes!
The destination hasn't changed.
The purpose has.
This realisation has been such an eye-opening moment for me—not only as a teacher, but also as the leader of my own little community of learners.
I've already seen fantastic results this year, with my students growing in confidence and excelling in English at school. Now I'm incredibly excited to refine my curriculum even further and align it with the Cambridge philosophy—not because I want to "teach to the test", but because I want every lesson to have a clear purpose and every child to leave knowing what they can do in English.
After all, learning a language isn't about memorising grammar rules.
It's about using English with confidence.
And that's exactly what I want every child who walks through the doors of The English Studio to experience.
Because at the end of the day, we shouldn't just celebrate what our students know.
We should celebrate everything that they CAN DO.
And don't worry, adults—I haven't forgotten about you!
I've also created roadmaps for every stage, so that you can clearly visualise your own progress, whether you're moving from A2 to B1, B1 to B2, or B2 towards proficiency.
Yes, it's been a very busy few weeks in my mind, but the results from this year speak for themselves, and I genuinely can't wait to welcome both new and returning students through the doors again this September.
