At the end of the 2015-2016 year, the AMPA of Alfons I expressed concern about the level of English displayed by the students at the end of the sixth level course. As a response to this feedback, the school decided to phase in the use of English during Physical Education lessons.
The project began during the 2016-2017 academic year, and we are hopeful that, given the necessary resources and time, there will be significant long-term benefits for the students.
By introducing English during Physical Education lessons, we anticipate that the students will gain an appreciation for foreign languages in a fun, dynamic environment, with less emphasis on strict grammar, and more on verbal communication.
With this approach, the Physical Education lessons will help the students to absorb English in the form of day-to-day expressions in spontaneous situations, with specific vocabulary for practical use. Therefore, from the 2016-2017 academic year, we will use the Physical Education class not only as a means of improving the physical conditioning of students, but also as an opportunity to allow students the freedom to express themselves in English in a more relaxed setting, away from formal English classes. As such, the students will lose their fear of making mistakes, and learn to enjoy communicating with each other in a foreign language.
Ultimately, we would like students to lose the self-consciousness that stops many of us from using foreign languages. At the same time, they will experience for themselves the process of overcoming a challenge using their own skills.
