Courses for company employees organised by an external company specialised in providing such services. They are usually adjusted to the needs of a given institution and focus on developing various professional skills, including language competences.
Any person who was raised in the area of influence of a given language and treats this language as his or her mother tongue. The term is used most often in the context of foreign language education. Native speakers are particularly useful for more advanced students, who want to speak with more ease and have contact with real-life language.
Method of language teaching that emphasises development of communication skills through interaction in the target language. In this method, the teacher uses as many authentic materials as possible. Students are granted significant autonomy in terms of learning process planning and management. An attempt is made to connect the material covered during the class with students’ linguistic activity in everyday life. During the classes, teachers use such techniques as role play, interviews, information gaps, language games, questionnaires, pairwork and groupwork.
Foreign language learning method focusing mainly on developing conversational skills. During the educational process, the teacher is attempting to encourage students to participate in natural conversations conducted in a foreign language. The teacher uses real-life sentences in a real context and students decipher the message on the basis of the context of the conversation. Only the target language is spoken during the classes and emphasis is put on using everyday vocabulary. Grammatical rules are introduced through induction, which means that students are expected to be given a number of examples and on their basis deduce the rule on their own.
A language teaching method whose goal is for a student to master four basic language competences, from listening and speaking to reading and writing. Following the ideas of behaviourism, the whole learning process is focused on developing proper habits, which means that certain stimuli should evoke certain reactions. The aim is to develop an automatic, non-reflective language habits through numerous repetitions, retention and constant revision of the covered material. The new information is introduced in a form of a dialogue. The student imitates the teacher and tries to memorise whole sentences. No grammatical explanations are provided and language is not analysed formally.
Language teaching method based on an assumption that learners use inborn mechanisms of data processing. The data transferred by the teacher are not only elements to remember and recreate. They gradually accumulate in a student’s mind and form a specific system of language rules, which enables independent creation of a never-ending number of sentences. Contact with authentic language in an understandable context is the main factor conditioning the development of this competence. Learning is based on trial and error approach. If any difficulties occur, the method allows for using explanations and grammatical comments.
Techniques used during language classes involving audiovisual aids such as videos, audio recordings (songs, dialogues), multimedia applications. They can be applied in different ways at every level of proficiency. Appropriate use of audiovisual techniques makes classes more dynamic and students more interested and engaged in a lesson.
Difficulties with communication in a foreign language, which do not only stem from low language proficiency. It is a common problem faced by students who want to communicate in a language fluently. The difficulties may be rooted in one’s personality, e.g. lack of self-confidence, self-consciousness or perfectionism. Another factor might be a lack of proper practice and erroneous ideas about effective communication i.e. attaching too much importance to the formal elements of a language.
Educational methods using all the accessible electronic devices, such as computers, tablets and other mobile devices, providing access to special Internet applications, lectures and online sessions, language social media, virtual classes etc. Students do not have a direct contact with the teacher, owing to which they gain more autonomy, flexibility and control over the learning process.
Blended learning is a teaching method bringing together the traditional teaching style (involving direct contact with the teacher) and all types of online activities. The frequency and type of classes are adjusted to the course aims, the students’ needs and the teacher’s preferences. As in the case of e-learning, students are provided more autonomy, flexibility and control over the learning process.
CEFRL, or CEF, introduced by the Council of Europe is a system of validation of foreign language ability aimed at standardising the terminology concerning proficiency levels. It is a unified comparative scale. CEFRL/CEF system describes the level of basic language competences: reading, writing, listening and speaking. The scale is divided into 6 levels.
Can understand and use popular expressions and phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type;
Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as place of residence, friends and possessions;
Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.
A2
Can understand sentences and frequently used everyday expressions concerning, e.g. basic personal and family information, local geography, employment;
Can communicate during simple and routine tasks requiring a direct exchange of information on daily matters;
Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, education and basic, everyday needs.
Independent user B1
Can understand the main points of clear standard input on matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure;
Can deal with most situations likely to arise while travelling in an area where the target language is spoken;
Can produce simple spoken or written text on everyday topics or matters concerning his/her personal interests;
Can describe personal experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
B2
Can understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization;
Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes effective and regular interaction with native speakers possible;
Can produce clear, detailed written or spoken text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions.
Proficient user C1
Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit, indirect messages;
Can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions;
Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes;
Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed written or spoken text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.
C2
Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read;
Can summarize information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation;
Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations.
