The Global Scale of English (GSE) Partner School program by ÃÛÌÒapp stands as a beacon of innovation and excellence. This initiative is not just about enhancing English language ability: it's about transforming the educational journey for both teachers and students. Today, we celebrate the success stories of two institutions: Batari School and Maitreyawira School, both of which have embraced the GSE Partner School program with inspiring results.
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Since joining the ÃÛÌÒapp GSE Partner School program, Batari School in Medan has witnessed a remarkable transformation in its approach to English language education. With students from diverse backgrounds, the GSE framework has empowered teachers to tailor their teaching methods to align with each student's specific language level. This personalized approach has not only improved language proficiency but also built confidence and competence among students.
Bapak Feliex Lee, a teacher at Batari School, talks about how the GSE Toolkit makes lesson planning easier and helps create quality, level-appropriate lessons for students. This tool reduces teachers' workload so they can focus more on student growth. The ÃÛÌÒapp English Journey program, with its courses, tests and certifications, guides students to reach fluency efficiently.
The results speak for themselves. Batari School has reported measurable progress in students' language skills, with average gains of 5.9 points on the GSE scale between grades 11 and 12. This success shows how effective targeted support and a clear plan are for learning a language. Before joining the GSE Partner School program, teachers worked with varied methodologies, leading to inconsistencies. Now, with regular tests, teachers can find out where students need help and give the right support to improve their English.
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At Sekolah Maitreyawira School in Deliserdang, the GSE Partner School program has been a catalyst for change. The school wanted a reliable international way to measure students' English skills. The GSE framework provides that, helping teachers set clear goals and customize lessons for each student.
Ibu Hera Feitra Lubis, an educator at Maitreyawira School, emphasizes the value of the training provided by ÃÛÌÒapp. This training has equipped teachers with the skills to set goals using the GSE Learning Objectives, integrate them into lesson plans, and focus on the critical language skills needed for proficiency. The digital assessments have further empowered teachers to measure progress and support students according to their individual needs.
Maitreyawira School has embraced the GSE program to not only teach English but to enable students to live it. The program ensures that every student develops real communication skills, equipping them with the tools needed to thrive in the world. The GSE's data-driven approach has personalized learning, resulting in increased student engagement and motivation. With clear learning objectives at every point on the GSE scale, teachers can design the best learning pathways and work towards achieving specific goals.
The impact has been strong, with students at Maitreyawira School improving their GSE scores by an average of 5.4 points. This shows how dedicated the teachers are and how effective the GSE curriculum is. The school's overall approach helps students become confident global citizens.
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Both Batari and Maitreyawira Schools show how the GSE Partner School program transforms educational practices. By offering a structured and consistent framework for teaching and assessment, these schools have boosted both student results and the quality of English instruction overall.
Teachers now have the tools to deliver effective, level-based lessons, while students enjoy a clear understanding of their progress and the steps needed to achieve their goals. This alignment has brought consistency to teaching practices, raised proficiency levels and encouraged a collaborative environment among educators.
The success of these institutions highlights the importance of equipping teachers with the necessary tools, training and support. As educators gain confidence in delivering skills-based teaching, students become more engaged and motivated, paving the way for future success.
The stories of Batari School and Maitreyawira School are a testament to the dedication of educators and the transformative potential of the ÃÛÌÒapp GSE Partner School program. By aligning teaching practices with internationally recognized standards, these schools are preparing students for global opportunities and a brighter future.
The GSE Partner School program extends beyond curriculum improvements; it acts as a driver for educational excellence. Empowering teachers and motivating students sets the stage for a future in which learners are not only skilled in English but also confident in seizing opportunities.Ìý
Read our posts 'Planning for success with the GSE' and 'Real-world English: How GSE Job Profiles bridge learning and work'.
As the leaves turn golden and the air becomes crisp, it's not only the ghosts and ghouls that come out to play. Halloween may happen only once a year, but learning about spooky idioms and phrases can add an exciting twist to your language journey throughout the year. So, grab your torch and let's delve in.
It’s almost Halloween, and the ghosts and vampires will soon be coming out to play. Did you know that although we often associate Halloween with pumpkin carving and eating candy, the festival has much older origins?Ìý
is an ancient Gaelic festival that celebrates the end of the harvest and the start of winter. This is why people often associate the colors of orange and black with Halloween: orange is the color many leaves turn in autumn and black is the color of the darker winter months.
People used to believe that spirits walked the Earth on the night of Samhain. The tradition of dressing up as ghosts and demons started as a way to hide from the spirits who walked the streets. Similarly, people used to leave treats outside their houses for the spirits and from this came the tradition of trick-or-treating.
So to help get your younger students in the Halloween spirit, here are five spooky ideas to try in your primary classes.Ìý
Pumpkin carving is fun - but it’s also messy and pumpkins can be really heavy. Instead, bring in an orange for each student and give them a black marker pen. Get them to draw a scary face on their orange and then write a short text describing it.Ìý
My pumpkin orange, Ghoulie, has two big eyes. He’s got a small nose and a big mouth, with lots of teeth. This Halloween, he’s going to sit outside my house. He’s going to scare people but he doesn’t scare me. I think he’s very funny.
This is a great way to practice questions and review language with your younger students. Have your students cut out bat shapes on card and tell them to write a question on the back of each one. They can write personal information questions, such as ‘What do you eat for breakfast?’ or questions related to topics you’re studying at the moment, like ‘How do you spell dinosaur?’Ìý
Attach a paper clip to each bat and put them on the floor, with the questions face down. Then attach a magnet to a piece of string.
Divide the class into teams and have students take turns to fish a bat from the floor. When they catch a bat using the magnet, a student from another team asks them the question written on the bat. If the team can answer correctly, they keep the bat. If they don’t answer correctly, the bat goes back on the floor.
When all the bats have been fished, the team with the most wins.Ìý
This is a good activity to review prepositions of place and house vocabulary. Before you start, elicit some scary things from the students, such as ghost, spider, witch, zombie. If these words are new for your students, draw a picture dictionary on the board for them to refer to in the next stage.
Next, give students an outline of a house with the rooms labeled, but without any furniture. Then dictate a sentence to the students and have them draw what you say on their individual houses. For example, ‘In the kitchen, there’s a big cupboard. In the cupboard, there’s a witch.’ Or, ‘In the living room, there’s an old sofa. A zombie is sitting on the sofa.’
You can then divide the class into pairs or small groups and have them take turns dictating sentences to each other. When they finish, they can compare their pictures and then write a short story about their haunted houses.Ìý
Draw a 7x5 grid on card and add Start and Finish squares. Number the other squares so the students know what direction to move in. Then, on some of the squares write Trick and on some of the other squares write Treat. Finally, prepare a set of ‘trick’ and ‘treat’ cards for each group. (There are some ideas for tricks and treats below).Ìý
Before students play, teach them some phrases to use while playing the game. For example:
Then divide the class into groups of four and give each group a board, a set of ‘trick-or-treat’ cards, a dice and a counter. Have them take turns to roll the dice and move. If they land on a TrickÌýor Treat square, they have to take a card and do what it says. Then they put the card at the bottom of the pile.ÌýThe winner is the first person to reach the Finish square.
Ideas for ‘trick’ cards
Ideas for ‘treat’ cards
Are your students bored of celebrating Halloween every year? Mix things up with stories or readers. Allowing their imagination to run wild. There are lots of you can use or get inspiration from, creating your own. If you want your pupils more involved you could also have them make or take part in your very own 'create your own adventure' spooky story.Ìý
After reading the story, have your students create comic strips of different parts of the book and display them around the classroom. If your students prefer theatrics, get them to act out or sing parts of the story.Ìý
Why is it that some groups work smoothly together, whereas for others it always seems to end in arguments? It may seem logical to avoid group work with classes where it often leads to disagreement, but is there such a thing as ‘healthy disagreement’?
Perhaps the groups that appear to be working well together are actually just letting one or two people do everything? This would certainly avoid conflict, but they might also be avoiding learning very much.Ìý
Sometimes conflict is a necessary step that teachers (of all subjects, not just language teachers) have to acknowledge as an important part of a learner's development.Ìý
