English language Courses for Children (age 3-12)
A unique English language holiday for your children.
Killarney School of English is one of the few English schools in Ireland that offers English classes for small children. Our school in Muckross (opposite Killarney National Park ) has a specially designed area behind the main school building just for small children (age 3-12s), which we call the ‘Kids Zone’. We have English classes at five different levels from Introduction to Pre Intermediate.
What is Kids Zone?
Kids Zone consists of 5 classrooms, a performance area, picnic tables and large play area. Its close proximity to the main building, where the adults have classes, means that you can keep an eye on your children, while enjoying your own classes in peace. Our teachers are all fully-trained in teaching English to young learners and the programme methodology reflects all the current thought in language teaching .
Class sizes are small (no more than 10 students per class) which means that each child can receive a lot of teacher attention. In addition, we have a children’s coordinator who is responsible for looking after all teacher and student needs and for organising all afternoon activities. This should make parents secure in the knowledge that their little ones are safe and getting the most out of their classes.
Please See a YouTube Video of our children’s Area ‘Kidzone’
Which English Courses are available for children?
| Course: | General English Course (GE1) | English Plus Activities (GE3) |
|---|---|---|
| Content | 15 hours General English (Group Class) | 15 hours General English (Group Class) + 15 hours activities |
| Timetable | Summer only 09.45-1pm Mon-Fri |
Summer only 09.45 -1pm; 2-5pm Mon-Fri |
| Average Group Size | Summer 6-10 students | Summer 6-10 students |
| Price | €350 | €500 |
What English Level is my Child?
Children are asked to complete a short online test before their arrival at the school. This enables us to put them in the appropriate level. During the first morning those students from 7-12 are assessed again through spoken interaction and a short written test. If the teacher feels that the child is in the wrong level, a decision can be made in conjunction with the children’s coordinator, director of the school and parents to move them up or down a level.
What do the children study?
The children’s English language curriculum is designed to make the act of language learning both fun and stimulating for young learners. It combines the most up-to-date communicative language teaching methodology with role play, songs and games to ensure that children leave with a positive feeling about their learning experience in Killarney.
What are the five English levels?
Killarney School of English offers five levels:
Introductory 1
This level is mainly for the 3-5 year age range who have little or no English and can only cope with very basic vocabulary.
Introductory 2
This level is mainly for the 6-7 age range who again have little or no English but have the ability to learn more advanced sets of vocabulary and very basic grammatical structures.
This is a short video of parents describing the teachers for children age 3-6
For the 7-12s there are three possible levels depending on the children’s scores in the test and their performance in class on the first day.
Beginner
This level is for those children who have little or no English but are old enough to make rapid progress.
Elementary
This level is for those children who already have a fair vocabulary base for everyday topics and a grasp of certain grammatical structures such as the present simple tense.
Pre-intermediate
This level is for those children who have a very good vocabulary base for everyday topics and some knowledge of different tenses such as the present, past and future tenses.
This is a short video of parents describing the teachers for children age 7-12
What do Children do in the afternoons?
Killarney School of English runs a specific activity programme in the afternoons from 2-5 pm. Activities include:
- Jaunting Car: Enjoy seeing the sights of Killarney on a jaunting car(horse and cart)ride around Killarney National Park, followed by playtime in Knockreer playground.
- Animal Roadshow; learn about and touch a variety of different animals such as owls, snakes and lizards from this visiting zoo and do a selection of arts and crafts based on these animals.
- Traditional Irish Music Lesson; Learn how to play the tin whistle and bodhran with a professional music teacher.
- Visit to Kennedy’s Pet Farm; a chance for children to pick up and stroke all kinds of domestic animals from puppies to ponies.
- Clayfun with Robin and Tim making clay models . Irish dancing classes with Lisa; learn how to wow people back home with a genuine Irish jig or reel! Arts and Crafts.
- Creative afternoon of art and Drawing Sports day: enjoy this afternoon of, rounders and fun team games.
- Drama Session; Enjoy playing drama games, dressing up and performing short sketches.
- Nature trail: Enjoy this magnificent walk to Muckross Abbey through the national park; followed by nature project work
Please download 2024 Children’s afternoon activity programme
What do the Children do on Fridays?
Every Friday between 11:20-12:00 a performance is held in ‘the Kidz Zone’ for the benefit of the parents. This is an opportunity for children to show what they have learnt during the week both in the morning classes and in the afternoon activities. This should give children great motivation during the afternoons as they know they will be performing at the end of the week. Here is a basic idea of what is covered during the performance.
-
- 11:20-11:40 songs sung by each class rehearsed in the mornings.
- 11:40-11:45 Short Irish dance or short traditional music piece rehearsed during Irish dancing or traditional music lesson in the afternoons.
- 11:45-11:55 short play rehearsed in the drama lesson but using art props designed in the art class.
- 11:55-12:00 certificate ceremony for those leaving that week
Fees also include:
- All course materials
- An information pack on arrival
- Bus transport to and from school
- A certificate of attendance and achievement on course completion
- A photograph of class in final week
- Free bike rental on a first come first served basis
- Free access to the self-access room with Graded Readers, Exam Papers, Pronunciation guides, Reading and Writing Practice, Grammar and Vocabulary Practice, DVDs and English Language Magazines.
Would you like more information?
If you have any questions please email us at info@ksoe.com
If you want information on our other courses please click here
If you want to see our Youtube playlist with the different English language levels for children please click here
If you wish to book a courses please click here