English Clubs are popular in the countries that the English Connects programme is active in, especially in secondary schools.
They offer an opportunity to practise and develop English language skills in an enjoyable way. Many clubs tend to focus on holding debates and performing plays or sketches, singing songs and perhaps preparing for debating competitions - if they happen to belong to an English Club Association. This may mean however, that students who have weaker speaking skills, or lack the confidence to perform, could miss out on participating in club activities.
The English Connects project working with UK providers has written and piloted a number of toolkits and resources to encourage English clubs to become more interactive and inclusive for all members regardless of their level of English.
The overall aim of supporting English Clubs at secondary level with toolkits is to increase learners’ confidence and ability to use English by providing teachers/club leaders with additional resources for club activities that encourage maximising participant talking time via a focus on learner-centred communicative activities.
Working closely with Ministries of Education and English Language Teachers’ Associations in each country, our shared objective is to assist the great work of teachers/club leaders in secondary schools in further developing successful English Clubs.