expectations and routines

We believe that any child should walk into any lesson at Linguajoy and experience the same high levels of expectation and mutual respect. We achieve this through the following:

Clear Expectations

Linguajoy's 3 expectations underpin every lesson we teach:

1. One voice listened to

Valuing each other comes from careful listening. When a child contributes to the lesson, their voice should be the only one we can hear. Not only are others able to learn from them, but they will also feel valued and respected. Similarly, when a teacher gives an instruction or demonstrates knowledge, it is important that only their voice is heard. This is so that learning is most effective, everyone's safety is prioritised and an environment of mutual respect is established.

2. Be kind

Tolerance of others is key to a safe and stimulating environment. Everyone works with everyone, so when children are asked to work in groups, they will do so. They will be polite in how they communicate with each other and take into consideration the needs of others. We will be kind to ourselves and do the right thing, even when no one is watching.

3. Be brave

There is a gap between learning the language and using it. This gap is called 'bravery'. We believe, that with a safe learning environment, all children can adopt a courageous attitude to learning a language, ensuring their learning journey is most efficient and effective.

Transitions and Routines

Every Linguajoy teacher will deliver the following set of standardised transitions and routines, so that every lesson has pace and purpose. You can find examples of these in our video bank:

• Greet at the door

You will greet every child personally, warmly and positively as they enter the classroom. A handshake, fist bump or elbow touch goes a long way!

• Sitting in a circle

Children will enter the room by sitting in a circle with you. The circle will be closed, with no gaps. This sets up a safe and inclusive environment, ready to start the lesson with focus and intent.

• Warm-up

Every lesson begins with a warm-up. They are essential in setting up a focused, engaging and inclusive learning environment. A fun variety of warm-ups are available for you to use in our video bank. Read the room; if the children enter excitable, use a focusing warm up to regain the balance. Likewise, if there is a more reserved and shy atmosphere, introduce an active and energetic warm-up. Boss your classroom!

• Hello Song

After the warm-up and before the learning content is introduced, everyone sings the 'Hello Song'. This indicates that the lesson is about to start.

• Clean-Up Song

If there are resources to tidy away, everyone will sing the 'Clean-Up Song' as everyone tidies up together. This maintains the pace of the lesson as well as encouraging teamwork and joint effort.

• Goodbye Song

Just as we start with the Hello Song, we end by having the student come back to the semi-circle and singing the goodbye song. This indicates to the children that the lesson has come to an end.

• Stickers

Children each have their own sticker card and can chose one sticker to add to it per lesson. You have the responsibility of maintaining the cards throughout the term, and at the last lesson of the semester the children get to take their sticker cards home.

• 7-3-1

To emphasise our 'one voice listened to' expectation, all teachers will use '7-3-1' before delivering the next activity. This ensures transitions are seamless, quick and instructions are clear.