Learning English through Play

Prior to becoming Director of ESF Language & Learning in 2015, Emma Dorrell was a teacher, teaching and designing the English curriculums for playgroup, kindergarten, primary and secondary classes. Dorrell holds a masters degree in psychology, an English teaching certificate and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the UK. With her rich experience and passion for teaching, she and her team are devoted to developing after-school language programmes for children to learn English in an easy and comfortable environment. “For us, it’s important that learning is practical. We want students to be able to use a language interactively. At ESF Language & Learning, students do not learn things through tests or memorization, but through activities such as report writing after a science experiment or grammar searching through a recipe. Hopefully the engagement is more interesting and encouraging for students so that they want to come to our classes. Hong Kong students are quite busy with a lot of after school activities and may have pressure at their own school. We want students to find it fun to come to us,” says Dorrell.

ESF Language & Learning has various programmes covering English and Spanish as well as enrichment programmes covering writing for children aged from 6 months to 16 years old. Initially the programme was started to help students prepare for admission into ESF schools, but then it evolved as the growth in demand for English learning rose in Hong Kong. Dorrell said “That’s our uniqueness. We are always reviewing the curriculum constantly to make adjustments. We have our own quality assurance procedures to ensure the curriculum is relevant and is delivered to a high standard.” Senior teachers visit classes regularly throughout the year, as it is a good way to see the progress and students’ reaction to the curriculum. Quality assurance procedures are also in place to make sure teachers are following the high standard of teaching as required of every teacher who joins the ESF team. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) events and workshops are held regularly as part of teachers’ training to ensure curriculum is delivered appropriately and effectively.

Aside from children’s education, ESF Language & Learning also focuses on parent education as well. “We need parents to understand the purpose of what we are doing in class since our play-based learning classes are quite different from the mainstream language classes. Especially for younger students, our free play sessions allow them to be independent and learn to make decisions. It is important to educate parents and caregivers so that they understand and know how they can support learning outside the classroom,” said Dorrell. On a monthly basis, ESF Language & Learning conducts parent workshops covering a wide range of topics related to kids and parenting, such as positive parenting, the importance of play, raising bilingual children, etc.

Regarding the future plans of ESF Language & Learning, Dorrell believes in strengthening their current language programmes and focusing on what they do best. “Currently we do English and Spanish well, and have started to involve Mandarin a little bit more. I think we will just focus on that and strengthen what we are already doing. It’s important for us to make sure what we offer is always the best that it can be. Education is changing quickly. We need to stay on top of that,” said Dorrell.

Together with ESF Sports and all ESF Schools, ESF Language & Learning is a member of whizpa.com. Dorrell thinks that word of mouth is huge and powerful. “It’s important for parents to have a voice. We trust what we are doing and believe parents enjoy what we do, but we still need to take feedback, both the good and bad ones. Having something like whizpa, it’s powerful.”

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