There are 10 online sessions covering the following:
- What are Very Young Learners (VYLs)
- The Very Young Learner (VYL) teacher
- Managing young children in the classroom
- Coursebooks and materials
- Materials development
- Lesson planning
- Story telling for children
- Games for children
- Music and songs for children
- Early literacy and learning
Structure
The course is delivered entirely online. It runs over 10 weeks and you complete one module a week. Across the 10 weeks the work you will do will range across discussion forums, quizzes, readings, tasks and activities to try out in your classes. There is a complete range of tasks for each module based on the subject matter of that specific week.
The first and last modules are personal reflection style tasks. In the first module you will be asked to identify what you want to take away from the course, where you think your skills might be lacking and what you would like to learn. In the last module you will reflect on the course as a whole, on what you have learnt and how you want to progress in the future. Generally the tasks do not involve essay writing and are more practical. You will be asked to do some lesson planning and try out materials in activities in your own classroom. For example, in the story telling module you will be given a story to adapt and use in a very young learner classroom.
Time commitment
Participants are expected to spend a minimum of five hours per week online. The actual time dedicated to the course varies from participant to participant dependent on involvement in discussions. Participants can expect to spend approximately two further hours per week completing portfolio tasks. These tasks will involve the practical application of the course input to the participant’s everyday Very Young Learners teaching.
The course is paced at one module per week and therefore lasts for ten weeks. After the end of Module 10, participants have a further two weeks to complete the portfolio work and final assignment.