The job of an LA is to help students improve and reinforce their English through the use of dialogue, at all times, no matter their level of English, be it beginner or advanced. To help them improve upon their oral English and for them to maximize their skills learned. The time spent with the LA gives the students the opportunity to put their English knowledge in to practical use, so they are able to speak it with better fluency and confidence.
The LA begins working with the students in the 3rd of Primary and continues with them all the way until they finish Secondary. The program is taught jointly with the technology program, which is also taught in English. Each course has separate activities based upon age and skill level. Depending on what activity is being done in their technology class, the LA may also spend time in the classroom helping/correcting and reinforcing the work that is being taught. Yet, most of the time the sessions with the LA are done in small groups.
For the first two years of the program the students are taken out in pairs or groups of three and they practice their English by playing interactive games, flashcards, picture recognition/description and short dialogues.
In 5th and 6th of Primary the class is divided in to two groups and one half has, ‘Lets Speak in English´ for one hour, while the other half of the group has computer technology in English. This is a great age for the students to interact with both each other and the LA, and to put their English skills in to practical use. The classes consist of various activities such as; dialogue, songs, interactive games, group projects/presentations and also very important, through writing their own skits and theatre productions. These productions are performed in front of the class and sometimes for the school.
When the students reach the ESO level they are also taken out in pairs during their technology class to practice their English through dialogue, with each other and the LA. The goal is once again to reinforce and help improve their communication skills through various activities such as; current event questions, paired speech, picture description/comparison/speculation and role play situations. These sessions are once a week and in the 4th of ESO this is increased to three times a week. Depending on what activity is being done in the class, the LA may occasionally stay in the classroom to chat with the students about the activity they are doing and to reinforce vocabulary and fluency on that particular activity.
This program allows the students an increased opportunity to put their learning in to practical use through communication activities.