Joy School does teach literacy, but listening and speaking in a new language are more difficult to learn than reading, so we place a strategic emphasis on oral language, providing students with opportunities to speak again and again.
Vocabulary
Not only do students get multiple opportunities to hear and demonstrate listening comprehension of key vocabulary words, Joy School asks the students to say the words at every opportunity, recording the students' speech and playing it back for them.
Conversational Phrases
Students get to learn new phrases as modeled by real kids in authentic situations presented in videos. Students then get plenty of practice saying the phrases.
Songs
Both vocabulary words and conversational phrases are reinforced through music. Students sing songs and record themselves as they vocalize the language they've learned.
In this activity, students play a short game to reveal a picture of the target vocabulary word, and then are asked to produce the word, speaking it, recording it, and hearing it played back.
Speak Up
Students get to hear important phrases modeled by multiple native speakers, including their peers. They are invited to speak, and their phrases are recorded and played back for them.
What's Your Name
In this song, students practice the phrase "What's your name?" as well as the response, "I'm . . ." as a bear, bee, and cat share a picnic in the park.
Yes I Do
In this song, a boy is surprised to find Kady, Sady, and Brady among his belongings. Students sing along and practice the phrase "I have..."