Making Preschool English Sparkle

A course for the accidental preschool teacher

Created by Niki Joseph, materials writer (Cambridge, NatGeo, Helbling), teacher and teacher trainer.

Does this sound familiar?

You have just started a new job. You have an English language teaching qualification, and on the course you did an hour or so of primary teaching. You can’t really say you were paying that much attention - after all the qualification was in teaching adults, and really, you were looking forward to travelling.

So when the head/ director of studies/head teacher hands out the timetables, you are slightly surprised to see you have a class of … 3 year olds? Oh no, wait, 4 and 5s as well!

Imagine if…

… you could walk confidently into the room of little people.

… you had great lesson plans and ideas in hand.

… you knew you and the children were going to enjoy classes and learn together.

… you actually look forward to these classes.

This online course won’t make you an expert in childhood development but it will give you some practical tools to be able to teach English to this age group, and enjoy it!

The lessons are all audio, and self-paced. This means you listen at your own pace. Need to pause? That’s fine! Press play when you can!

There are four modules, and each modules has an average of eight lessons. Each lesson lasts 10-15 minutes. Lessons are accompanied by companion downloads ready to use. There are twelve companion downloads.

What’s inside the course:

Module 1 Understanding your learners

The developmental stages, language acquisition, and classroom energy that makes preschoolers so different to teach - plus a look at the skills you already have (even if it doesn’t feel like it yet!) .

Module 2 Knowing what to do

Practical, ready-to-use routines, songs, TPR, and story telling techniques plus how to handle behaviour, what to do when a lesson goes sideways, and how to look after yourself.

Module 3 Planning beyond Monday

Planning a unit of work based on a theme, or a story, choosing and using a course book and ideas for mixed ability and inclusion in the Very Young Learner classroom.

Module 4 Communicating outside the classroom

Explaining learning to parents and carers in different situations, some tips for parents’ evenings and a brief look at gathering evidence for assessment and progress checks.

Each module comes with audio lessons, downloadable toolkits and practical activities ready to use in class.

Why audio, and why self-paced?
Because accidental preschool teachers are busy people. You can listen in the car, on a walk, or while you’re doing the washing up, then pick the activities that suit your class on Monday.

No live sessions, no deadlines, no falling behind.

Start when you like, pause when you need to, and come back whenever you’re ready.

You’ll go from accidental preschool teacher to confident one.

By the end of this practical course, you'll be better equipped to:

• Understand what to expect from children aged 3–6 as language learners.

• Establish routines that help your lessons run smoothly.

• Use songs, movement and stories purposefully, rather than simply filling lesson time.

• Know what to do when an activity doesn't go to plan.

• Start planning beyond individual lessons.

• Explain to parents what their children are learning, even when they aren't yet speaking much English.

No specialist preschool training required. Just a willingness to learn, try things out and make your classroom sparkle.