Community Program
During the Fall and Spring semester, October to May, the English Language Institute offers twice-a-week non-intensive courses for children ages seven to fourteen. The courses are offered at 7 levels, 120 hours each.
During the Summer semester the same courses are offered intensively for three weeks in June. The courses are offered at 7 levels, 60 hours each.
Tuition: EUR 266 per semester
Discounted tuition for Bulgarian applicants: EUR 133 per semester
If you are interested in registering your child for the courses, please contact us at +359-73-888555/557/552. You can also ask questions at: eli@aubg.edu
A detailed description of each level follows below.
Pre-Starter A
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Pre – Starter A course consists of 120 academic hours. Classes are taught two times a week (two 40 minute classes with a 10 minute break between) by a Bulgarian instructor. Fairyland 3 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The basic goal of the instructor in Pre –Starter A is to develop the students’ long-term interest in learning English. At the same time we teach fundamental habits and ways of learning a foreign language – writing words several times, keeping a dictionary book, doing homework, repeating words and phrases to acquire correct pronunciation.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The level starts with the alphabet and phonics. Then, it proceeds with basic vocabulary, songs and some structures. Grammar at this stage focuses on learning phrases and practice with the minimum amount of theory because it is not comprehensible for students that age.
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: The verb ‘to be’; a/an; Plurals; Possessive case/adjectives; Prepositions; There is/there are; Have got/has got; Verbs in present continuous and simple; This/these, that/those.
Vocabulary: Colours; School items; Family members; Parts of body; Animalс; The weather; Clothes; Abilities.
Functional Language: Introduce yourself; Numbers; Giving commands; Make birthday wishes; Talk about toys.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53-65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.
Pre-Starter B
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Pre – Starter B course consists of 120 academic hours. Classes are taught two times a week (two 40 minute classes with a 10 minute break between) by a Bulgarian instructor. Fairyland 4 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The basic goal of the instructor in Pre –Starter B is to continue to develop the students’ long-term interest in learning English. At the same time we teach fundamental habits and ways of learning a foreign language – writing words several times, keeping a dictionary book, doing homework, repeating words and phrases to acquire correct pronunciation.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The instructor further helps students gently develop and practise all four skills – reading, writing, speaking and listening in a fun way. We proceed by expanding basic vocabulary and some structures through songs and dramatized context. Grammar at this stage focuses on learning phrases and practice with the minimum amount of theory because it is not comprehensible for students that age.
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: The verb ‘to be’ ,‘have got’, ‘can’; Possessive adjectives; Present Continuous; Adverbs of frequency; Present Simple; Must/mustn’t; Should/shouldn’t; Object pronouns; Some/any; Much/many/a lot of; Comparisons of adjectives; Past Simple – regular and irregular; Will and be going to.
Vocabulary: Countries; Appearance and character; Buildings, places; Sports and actions and free-time activities; Musical instruments; School subjects; Clothes; Jobs; Illness; Food and containers; Animals; Knights and castles; Months and Ordinals; Holidays and activities.
Functional language: Talk about countries and origin; Talk about abilities; Give directions; Everyday activities; Tell the time; Give and follow rules; Talk about illness; Give advice; Compare animals; Ask for help; Talk about feelings; Tell a story; Plans and intentions.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53- 65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.
Starter
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Starter course consists of 120 academic hours in two semesters. Classes are taught two times a week (two hours per session) by a team of a Bulgarian instructor and a native speaker. More 1 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The main goal of the course is to take the learners to the next level of more conscious language learning after grades 4 or 5. The instructor continues to consolidate previously acquired habits for learning vocabulary and grammar and further helps learners improve their reading, listening, speaking and writing skills by involving students with more real-world topics. The course aims at increasing learners’ confidence in English and their awareness of making progress.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. With Starter level through various interactive formats in the classroom learners should be able to use language in situations where they can freely introduce themselves and other people, talk about their possessions, hobbies, feelings, every day and leisure activities, listen to and understand international words, talk about favourite food and shopping, countries and nationalities, follow and give instructions, make and reply to offers and requests, relate stories in the past.
2. Learners should be able to write about and distinguish activities at the moment and everyday activities – the proper use of present simple and present continuous achieved by lively realistic context in stories of their own.
3. Write stories about past situations using the creative inspiration from learners’ personal experience or imagination.
4. Describe people’s appearance and emotions with engaging flashcards, videos and dramatizations.
5. Develop learners’ own self-assessment skills and promote individual work with the language at home.
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: Present simple of ‘be’; Subject pronouns and possessive adjectives; Imperatives; Questions with Who, Where, Why, What; Possessive ‘s; Have got/Has got; Present simple –negative, questions and short forms; Adverbs of frequency; Object pronouns; Demonstrative adjectives and pronouns; Countable and uncountable nouns; Can for ability; Present continuous; Articles; Past simple.
Vocabulary: Classroom objects; Numbers and colours; Days of the week and months; Feelings; Body parts; Words for furniture and rooms; Parts of the body; Countries and nationalities; Food; Clothes; Ordinal numbers; Computer; Shops
Functional Language: Introduce yourself; Ask how people feel; Describe people; Offers and requests; Eating habits and diets; Asking and telling the time; Writing about daily routines and free-time activities; Bying food and clothes; Things we like doing; Asking for permission; Writing a postcard; Making invitations; Writing a short story in the past.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53-65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.
Elementary
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Pre-Intermediate course consists of 120 academic hours in two semesters. Classes are taught two times a week (two hours per session) by a team of a Bulgarian instructor and a native speaker. More 2 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The main goal of the course is to teach students English grammar and vocabulary at level A2 . This level will benefit students who are in fifth or sixth grade at school . It will consolidate the skills they have developed and add more. It reinforces and expands their knowledge in grammar and vocabulary, reading and listening skills.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Introduces students to the theoretical and practical knowledge of using: past simple, comparisons, going to, must/mustn’t, prepositions-at, on, in, past continuous, If clauses
2. Introduce modal might/mightn’t, should/shouldn’t.
3. Provide sufficient practice for the students; hand out additional materials if/when necessary; show practical application of all new grammar and verbal constructions.
4. Teach new vocabulary as prompted by the themes included in the book; teach words and their synonyms when appropriate.
5. Wh- questions
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: Past simple of be, past simple regular verbs; Past simple irregular verbs; Past simple negative, questions and short answers; Comparisons; Be going to, have to; Must/mustn’t, adverbs of manner; Present continuous for future, prepositions on, in, at; Past continuous, superlatives; One/ones, a lot of, much, many; Should/shouldn’t, conjunctions: and/so/but/because; Will/won’t, might/might(not); If clauses.
Vocabulary: Clubs and groups; TV programmes and films; Transport; Physical appearance; Jobs in the house; School subjects; Sports; Aches and pains; Emotions; Directions and places; Weather;Holidays.
Functional Language: Ask about favourite things; Talk about film and events; Talk about transport; Describe people; Talk about future plans; Talk about school subjects; Talk about future plans; Listen and complete an Amazon quiz; Read a story and match sentences; Ask for and give directions; Listen and draw weather symbols; Do a quiz about a book.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53- 65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.
Pre-Intermediate
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Pre-Intermediate course consists of 120 academic hours in two semesters. Classes are taught two times a week (two hours per session) by a team of a Bulgarian instructor and a native speaker. More 3 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The main goal of the course is to teach students English grammar and vocabulary at levels A2 to B1. This level will benefit students who are in sixth or seventh grade at school . It will consolidate the skills they have developed and add more. It reinforces and expands their knowledge in grammar and vocabulary, reading and listening skills.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Introduces students to the theoretical and practical knowledge of using: present perfect vs past simple, present and past passive, future predictions- will, going to, 2nd conditional, Used to, Reported speech, Be used to
2. Introduce modal verbs of deduction.
3. Provide sufficient practice for the students; hand out additional materials if/when necessary; show practical application of all new grammar and verbal constructions.
4. Teach new vocabulary as prompted by the themes included in the book; teach words and their derivatives when appropriate.
5. Causative “have”
6. Phrasal verbs
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: Present perfect, irregular past participles; Present Perfect vs Past Simple; Will/ going to; Prepositions, phrasal verbs; Relative pronouns, question tags; Present simple passive, make and let; Used to, so do I/neither do I; Past passive; Second conditional, everyone, someone, no one, anyone; Make deductions, causative have; Reported speech p.1; Reported speech p.2.
Vocabulary: Words for objects; Words for types of film; Words for geographical features; Words for star signs; Words for places; Words for jobs; Words for music; Words for catastrophes; Words for computers; Words for holidays; Words for the environment; Words for physical appearance.
Functional Language: Ask questions and give advice; Say what films you like/ don’t like; Talk about sports activities; Talk about superstitions and star signs; Read a historical text; Talk about ambitions; Speak about a pop star or band; Speak about things to take to a desert island; Give advice, talk about people; Talk about holiday plans; Read and write about ecology; Identify a person.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53-65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.
Intermediate A
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Intermediate A course consists of 120 academic hours in two semesters. Classes are taught two times a week (two hours per session) by a team of a Bulgarian instructor and a native speaker. More 4 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The main goal of the course is to consolidate students’ knowledge and practical skills acquired in the previous level as well as to take them to new unexplored areas and develop their skills further. It reinforces all four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing acquired previously by involving learners into a number of realistic and communicative activities. The course aims at increasing learners’ confidence in English and their ability to comprehend as well as use the language efficiently and productively. The Intermediate course aims to continue and efficiently complete students’ Pre-Intermediate level of English skills.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Expand students’ theoretical and practical knowledge of using: question forms; present simple; past simple; present continuous; past continuous; to be going to/future simple/present continuous for future; have got; present perfect; past perfect; present and past passive; questions with “like”; verb patterns.
2. Introduce model verbs of permission and obligation/speculation.
3. Provide sufficient practice for the students; hand out additional materials if/when necessary; show practical application of all new grammar and verbal constructions.
4. Teach new vocabulary as prompted by the themes included in the textbook; teach words and their derivatives when appropriate.
5. Introduce reported speech.
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: Present simple, continuous and perfect; Past simple, continuous perfect; Should/shouldn’t, could, might, may; Future simple, be going to and other ways of expressing future; Passive; Used to; Present perfect continuous; Reported speech/questions; Conditional sentences(1st and 2nd).
Vocabulary: Types of bookс; Hobbies and pastimes; Body movementс; Personality adjectives; Food; Money and shopping; Sport clothes; Travel; Special events; Award shows; Work places.
Functional Language: Give reasons; Talk in a shop; Write a letter; Talk about books; Make offers; Write a film review.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53-65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.
Intermediate B
COURSE DESIGN AND DURATION
The Younger Learners Intermediate B course consists of 120 academic hours in two semesters. Classes are taught two times a week (two hours per session) by a team of a Bulgarian instructor and a native speaker. English in Mind 3 is the course book used in this level.
COURSE GOALS
The main goal of the course is to prepare students who have completed the Intermediate level and are ready to join the program for adults. This level will benefit students who are in eight grade and are studying a foreign language other than English at school as well. It will consolidate the skills they have developed and add more. It reinforces and expands their knowledge in grammar and vocabulary; they develop critical reading skills.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Expand students’ theoretical and practical knowledge of using: present perfect vs past simple/present perfect continuous, present and past passive, future predictions, 1st and 2nd conditionals, reported speech, gerunds and infinitives, be used to.
2. Introduce model verbs of deduction.
3. Provide sufficient practice for the students; hand out additional materials if/when necessary; show practical application of all new grammar and verbal constructions.
4. Teach new vocabulary as prompted by the themes included in the book; teach words and their derivatives when appropriate.
5. Introduce 3rd conditional.
6. Introduce non-defining relative clauses.
LANGUAGE INPUT
Grammar: Present simple, continuous and perfect; Past simple, continuous and perfect; Should/shouldn’t, could, might, may; Future simple, be going to and other ways of expressing future; Modal verbs of deduction; Used to; Non-defining relative clauses; Reported speech/questions; Conditional sentences(3rd); Passive in different tenses.
Vocabulary: Collocations with sat and talk; Jobs and work; Body language; Personality adjectives; Noun suffixes; Crime verbs; Problems; Anger; Adjectives with prefixes; Expressions with feel; Extreme adjectives.
Functional Language: Predicting and retelling a story; Talking about impressive things you’ve done; Giving advice; Job interview; Talking about fame; Talking about rules at home; Talking about lies, unlikely situation; Talking about computer games; Discussing fears and hopes; Discussing happiness.
TESTING AND GRADING
Learners’ progress is objectively assessed by conducting tests on a regular basis. Tests and quizzes are specially drawn up on the language material that has been studied so far. The number of tests may vary. There is always a mid-term test in the end of the first semester of the course and a final test in the end of the year. Students’ achievement is graded, using the following evaluation scale (BG grading): 90-100 % - 6; 78-89% - 5; 66-77 % - 4; 53-65 % - 3; 0-50 % - 2. The overall course grading includes regular attendance of classes, conscientious work in class, systematic homework assignment fulfillment, and test scores. A score of 66% and above is considered a passing result.