English - (Beginner)

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Total course completion after 3 beginner books – 60 hours class time

Prerequisite: Must have basic English skills taught in a Chinese middle school

Course Summary

The beginner level course is for the beginner student who has very little speaking, reading, listening and writing skills. After completing the course, the student will have the necessary skills to START learning how to read, write and analyze at beginning US high school level.

1st novel: Fantastic Mr. Fox
Expected time to completion: 25 Hours

2nd novel: James and the Giant Peach
Expected time to completion: 25 Hours

3rd novel: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Expected time to completion: 25 Hours

Reading

After reading through these three novels, the student’s reading comprehension and reading speed will be strong enough to start more complex novels in the intermediate level. The beginner course focuses mainly on understanding the main meaning of the text. Near the end of the course on the third book, the tutor will start to introduce critical thinking/analysis of the text in preparation for the intermediate level.

Writing

The student will learn how to give good, detailed summaries of the reading while using a wide range of grammar structures. Near the end of the course, the tutor will be able to show the student how to incorporate into their writing his/her own ideas that can be supported through textual evidence.

Speaking

In every class, the tutor will be asking many questions about the day’s reading assignment to both test the student’s understanding of the reading and also allow the student to practice his/her actual oral English skills with short 1 – 2 sentence responses. Along with asking these questions, the tutor will also give the student the opportunity to speak in greater length (5 sentences or more) by having the student give an oral summary of the entire reading. By the end of the course, the student will have the confidence and skills to speak Basic English.

Listening

By learning with the tutor on a consistent basis, the student will have a great English learning environment that will naturally improve his/her listening skills. As the tutor explains the reading and asks many questions, the student will be forced to actively listen and understand the tutor to have a successful class. By the end of the beginner course, the student should have the skills to understand Basic English from any English speaker.

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Please note:

1. We list 3 books that we typically recommend, but if the student has already read it or would like to change them to another book from our reading list, then the tutor can happily change it.
2. The amount of hours spent on each novel is different for every novel due to length and complexity of the novel.
3. The expected completion time is based on the student devoting at least 1 hour for 5 days of the week to his studies with TutorOut. By having consistent classes, the student’s progress will be able to improve much faster as he will better remember everything he has learned (as opposed to learning only 1 hour/week).
4. Although our tutors follow a set curriculum in their classes, the student can obviously use the time they have with the tutor to answer any questions that may not relate to the curriculum (interests, American culture, interview prep, American life, current school work, making a presentation, etc.). By utilizing the tutors not only as a source for English training, but also for American culture, the student will be better equipped to integrate into his school life abroad.

Reading List

Author	Title
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	Fantastic Mr. Fox «了不起的狐狸爸爸»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	James and the Giant Peach «詹姆斯与大仙桃»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	George's Marvelous Medicine «小乔治的神奇魔药»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	The Twits «蠢特夫妇»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	Matilda «玛蔕尔达»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory «查理和巧克力工厂»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator «查理和大玻璃升降机»
Roald Dahl (罗尔德 达尔)	The BFG «吹梦巨人»