These levels are designed to introduce children to the phonetic rules of the English Language in the same way native English speakers are taught. The main goal of these levels is to stimulate and strengthen speech output, pronunciation and reading with tolerance in spelling and grammatical mistakes; more emphasis on the oral than written language. Moreover, interactive games and activities along with craftwork introduce young learners to the fun of learning English constantly keeping them motivated.

The junior graduates are able to compose short writing output about themselves, their family and friends and complete short and basic projects in addition to wonderful craftwork made in class or at home under the school’s guidance and support from available materials not used or no longer needed.

Without neglecting speaking, in these levels, Columbia Private Institute slowly increases emphasis on grammar and writing. Students acquire a large vocabulary that will be fundamental in the subsequent levels and it is enforced in all four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Vocabulary building and grammar understanding are learnt effortlessly with role plays, fun games and interactive activities both inside the classroom and at home using CPI’s exclusive online English learning software.

Elementary students become quite confident speakers and listeners who can engage in natural conversations with their peers from English speaking countries on simple everyday topics. Their writing output is also further developed to become more independent and creative though online projects and story writing illustrated with pictures of their choices. By the end of the school year students are able to produce between fifteen to twenty short pieces of writing, either guided or freestyle.

When students reach these levels, they are confident and fluent speakers of English, therefore, emphasis is shifted towards attention to detail. The focus is on the finer shades of meaning, such as idioms, phrasal verbs, and the distinction between formal and informal English. In addition, further concentration on nuances in pronunciation, like intonation, rhythm, and variations in English accents is enforced. Since in all levels, CPI’s aim is to create independent and autonomous learners, teaching the language through presentations, projects and other creative and interactive activities continues, either inside the classroom or outside, with CPI’s unique online English learning tool.

Intermediate students are very confident English speakers and listeners on a variety of topics that reflect their age and development. Their writing and reading skills are further refined through journal writing, news presentations and exposure to authentic material and guidance to longer and more complex pieces of reading and writing and more than twenty writing entries. CPI’s draft rewriting and editing approach is a habit students acquire and it can now be more effective.

IGCSE EDEXCEL, IGCSE CAMBRIDGE

All the previous levels are carefully designed to prepare students for their final milestone. Students graduate from the institute after they have received a diploma in one of the university-entry exams (IGCSE EDEXCEL and CAMBRIDGE). Passing grades in these exams would secure students a place in any English speaking university and would assure future employers of the students’ high English competence. In addition to working on improving the students’ English language use for general purposes, in these levels language focus is on specific skills that would help students cope with the tests themselves. Knowing English well and having developed a strategy to target the challenges of these tests guarantees success.

Advanced students are very confident speakers and listeners as they are exposed to a variety of accents and complex theoretical topics. They can produce long formal as well as informal pieces of writing and can read authentic English material from newspapers and magazines. They are able to make more complex projects and presentations with little guidance. By the end of the year, they write more than thirty essays, some of them revised through process writing and all of them commented by the instructor making students more autonomous to face exam conditions. Mock tests under exam conditions with insightful comments, guidance and useful techniques fully equip students to handle exams with less stress and more confidence. A* students who secure places in prestigious English and American universities are proof of the school’s hard and appropriately chosen work.

IELTS

This is a world-recognised diploma that is mainly an entrance requirement for BA, MA/MSc, PhD programmes as well as an English Language requirement for private and government employment.

The IELTS course is an intensive course held for three months or more depending on the student’s level of English at entering the course. There are new courses starting every two or three months delivered by experienced teachers who have been teaching IELTS for more than ten years. Special techniques and approaches to this timed exam are provided to enable students to achieve their goals.

A four-month course starting in February for students who are taking English for the Pancyprian Entrance Exams, on condition that the student has passed the IGCSE. Experienced teachers at Columbia Private Institute have been successfully preparing students for these exams for over thirty years.