Hi
there. I own English Adventure, a one
teacher school in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture. For
the first time two of my students took the YLE Starters exam at Luna
International last October.
They were a
little nervous on the day of the exam, but the friendly atmosphere at Luna soon
made them feel better. Afterwards they
both smiled and said, “Fun!” (even though the Reading & Writing section was challenging).
When
they got their results, they looked really excited, and their mums were very
pleased too! One of these students
sometimes lacked confidence in his English ability, but it was great to see how
much taking this exam boosted his confidence and made him realise what he could
do.
I
think this is one of the best things about YLE – students can have fun AND
improve their English. The YLE is
well-designed, too, and children can understand the point of the
questions. Even though it has lots of
pictures and fun activities, it is a reliable, high quality exam that is also suitable
for children who are not suited to taking more traditional exams yet.
Moreover,
unlike Jido Eiken (Junior Step) or lower levels of Eiken (STEP), it examines
all the four skills of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing, and it
contains more natural English.
Like
Jim, I hope that more school owners in Japan will embrace it and realise that
integrating it into your school can make it more special and eye-catching.
Magnus
