Foundation Plus Course incorporates the contents in the former Foundation Course and the contents in the former BB2. It has also been updated in several ways.
The contents of the Foundation Plus Course
You have complete description of the
Materials on this link
This is just a brief summary of each part included in the materials we use in the face-to-face classes:
1. Introductory Course on topic-study and drafting, including
- tips on how to study the topics and how to draft good essays in English.
- an introduction to some apps and resources useful for learning and teaching in the 21st century.
- A forum to clarify questions and with a little task
2.Exam Part 1B. Topic Preparation
- 31 topics as stated in the course structure, with topic content or, in a few cases, with questions.
- Video presentations of the topics or their organisation, key elements, etc.
- A workbook per topic to help you study, understand and draft a good essay on it.
3. Exam Part 1A-Practical Language Exam Issues
- 7 units in total, of 1-7 lessons each, including various exam samples and dealing with issues covered in the topics and/or with teaching, among them:
- Listenings
- Language practice of various types
- Text analysis of various types
- Summaries and/or compositions
- Questions on teaching practice
- Translations
- Answer key to language practice
- Video presentations with essential explanations for the answer key
4. Exam Part 2. Syllabus & Unit Design
- Booklets and presentations on the connection between the topics covered and our syllabus design.
- Elements to take into account when planning your syllabus and Units, paying special attention to:
- Teaching & ICT resources
- Setting objectives & ELO
- Developing Key Competences and strategies
- Distributing contents in line with ELO, LS & AC
- Designing activities in line with the above
- A4L & Catering for students’ needs
Access to the Foundation Plus Course materials
- You may opt to buy just the materials and work on your own and at your own pace with them.
- You’ll have access to them on the Poppies’ platform. We feel that, with the video explanations, the workbooks and the answer keys you can make headway on your own.
- We strongly recommend you also get the book on Programación Didáctica. New Edition Those attending our face-to-face classes will get it as a present if they haven’t got it yet.
- If you prefer not just to have access to the Foundation Course materials, but also to have some further guidance and, above all, feedback on your work, you can have one-to-one Coaching
- Or you may prefer to have a more personal tutoring via
Face-to-face or skype classes, subject to availability
The face-to-face classes are now full for the academic year 2018-2019.
If you are a Poppies former student, do get in touch and we’ll see what we can arrange.
Frequency:
- Weekly
- 2 & ½ hour classes of 4 participants.
- 2-hour classes of 3 participants.
- 1-hour private class either face-to-face or skype. (If you feel that you need to have one hour and a half, other prices will apply).
The Organisation of Face-to-face and Skype Classes
Face-to-face and Skype Classes use the materials from the platform and the Book on Syllabus Design (Programación Didáctica).
- If you book your course to start in September, you’ll have access to the platform as from 1st September.
- During that month, we are in contact so that I get to know your preferred days and times for the face-to-face classes.
- You start doing the assignments as indicated in the Didactic Guides. I take into account your needs, but also the best times and days for you and for me.
- If you already come with a group of three or four people, then we only have to focus on the best day and time for you and for me.
- Face-to-face classes start in October, once you know your timetable.
- New classes and groups will start at other times, depending on availability.
Price for the face-to-face and Skype classes
- Payment of materials (€297) serves as the confirmation of enrolment in the face-to-face or skype classes, once we have confirmed availability.
- Monthly fee: €137
- The tutoring is included in the monthly fee.
So, if you attend weekly face-to-face or Skype classes, you only pay the monthly fee for as long as we cover the materials in the course.
The Foundation Plus Course lasts a whole academic year, from September 2018 to June 2019.
This is what some of our students say about the contents covered in the Foundation Course
Q&A: Frequent questions re the Foundation Plus Course
Q: The Materials in the Foundation Plus Course cover the 69 topics or only 30-31?
Answer: The materials we cover in the Foundation Plus Course are 30-31 topics from the list of 69.
Q: Why have you chosen those topics?
Answer: First, the topics in the Foundation Plus Course are not covered in the order stated in the 1993 list and this is so for a reason.
The idea behind the Foundation Plus Course is to give the candidate a solid foundation as a teacher so that we practise how to write essays for the topics. We also use those topics as the basis for the language practice and the syllabus. That is why the topics chosen for the Foundation Plus Course cover issues related to methodology, communicative competence, strategies, grammar —particularly in terms of phonetics, word-formation, verb forms and sentence structure, semantics, text types and genres, functions, discourse, the 4 skills and notional competences. If there is a change in the topics, they should, in principle, be very much the same.
Q: and why only 30-31?
Answer: The reason for covering only 30-31 topics is that the preparation for the exam is comprehensive and there’s no way you can properly study more than 30-31 topics and, at the same time, practise for the Practical Language Exam and organise the contents of your syllabus in 10 months or so, which is the estimated length of the course.
Q: How do you give the materials?
Answer: You can download the topics, workbooks or booklets or you can see them online. They come in pdf. For the videos, you have a link to watch them online from the platform. The fora are also on the platform.
Q: Are the materials in the Foundation Plus Course the same as those you have published with Editorial MAD-7 Editores?
Answer: No. The books published with MAD-7 Editores are paperback and they are for you to study and work on your own. And, of course, we also welcome any “preparador” using those materials in their classes.
The materials in the Foundation Plus Course have been chosen and designed for the Foundation Plus Course. The only book (also paperback) we use in the course, but it is not included in the price of the Foundation Plus Course materials, is the book on Programación Didáctica. And what we do in the Foundation Course is to use it as a reference, but we cover practical aspects which the book cannot cover.
If you still have doubts, do not hesitate to contact me.