LITTLE SCOUTSis a multi-level course intended for children starting to learn English. It attempts to introduce English to young learners in a way that combines fun to the learning and acquisition processes. Songs, short stories, colouring activities and class games are prominent in each and every lesson throughout the course. The course addresses the four MACRO skills of language; listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as the underlying MICRO skills; building vocabulary, improving handwriting, recognition and practice of simple structures and responding correctly to auditory and visual stimuli.
In introducing the alphabet and the linked vocabulary, the course relies heavily on young learners’ interest in the vocabulary as a primary component of language. The objective is to match the most commonly used words in the mother-tongue with their English equivalents, i.e. using words from the environment around the child, particularly those regarding the habits and activities in the child’s daily life. The approach to vocabulary is progressive, i.e. it starts with the immediate surroundings of the child; classroom and family; and then develops to less proximal surroundings; where it introduces names of animals at the zoo, words related to nature and picnic activities, etc. Additionally, when colours, numbers and shapes are introduced, they are not introduced in isolation; they are appropriately embedded into the lessons as a preamble, and then linked to familiar objects, so reference to reality is easier for the younger learner. Finally, they are consolidated together in units to make it easier for the child to grasp them in totality.
Although the book doesn’t follow a thematic approach, four main characters contribute the human element in the book. Each of the four young children has been given a dominant attribute; Ahmed the naughty boy, Farah the animal lover and photographer, Dalia the artist and Bassem the future scientist. The interaction among the four characters generates language in actual use through the vocabulary and simple structures included in the story board.
