Why
Once a level is complete, teachers normally introduce some form of written or oral assessment. Alternatively, this may be a count of stars/stickers or any other form of evaluation introduced throughout the course. Instead of simply introducing the results, you have a unique opportunity to turn this into a festive ceremony. The rationale behind this is the following:
1. We all like our work to be appreciated. Moreover, many of us would simply love to or already have a wall of fame. I, for one, received a toy Oscar statue with "World's Greatest Teacher" inscribed on it. For years, I have been carrying it around and placing on the most visible spot in my classroom.
Imagine how significant it will be for your students to receive the appreciation and recognition for their work. Apart from the special things you can do on each and every lesson, the end of the course level can be a good time for this.
2. The idea of the Royal Tournament can be a source of motivation throughout the course. I have the crowns for the king and the queen placed on a visible place in my classroom. At the beginning of the course I tell my students that based on the end-of-level results we are going to crown them.
What
Royal Tournaments are special lessons at the end of the course level, when students receive their certificate of completion and, based on their final test results, are crowned as queens and kings. It normally consists of three sections.
1. Introducing the results and celebrating individual achievements.
At Study for Success we normally use international tests covering four language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. Some end-of-level tests, such as the ones by English in Mind, also include grammar, vocabulary and everyday English sections. At the beginning of the tea party the results are displayed on the board (or the screen, you can use a google sheet for this). I then go over each section and encourage everyone to give a big hand to the students who scored the highest in each skill. This is a chance for everyone to receive their share of glory.
2. Presenting the certificates and the crowning ceremony
At this stage I ask my students to line up and play the British Anthem or Artsakh. You are free to choose any other festive music you like. I then hand out the certificates. With each and every student I repeat the following text: "According to the results of the Royal Tournament the duke/duchess of "name of the group or level", e.g. English in Mind 5 is "name of the student"". I then shake hands with the student, bow, make eye contact, praise their individual achievementս and say what they need to pay more attention to with words like "Congratulations! I am proud of you. You have made a big progress with speaking. Now you need to work on vocabulary".
The king and the queen are left for the end of the ceremony. I approach them both with the certificate and the crown and say: "Finally, according to the results of the Royal Tournament the king/queen of "name of the group or level" is "name of the student". I then shake hands with them, bow and say: "Your Majesty!". If possible, you may also choose to give each student a medal or badge and present the king and the queen with a special present, e.g. an English book. Lately, I have been handing out Study for Success pens to all the graduates and Study for Success mugs to the royals.
Once everyone has received their certificates, group and individual photos are taken. The royals are allowed to keep the crowns till the end of the lesson but may not take them home. You might want to replace the crown with a cup or a trophy they can take home with them.
3. Celebration
This part is optional. You may tell the students beforehand to bring some food and/or games and turn the rest of the lesson into a tea party. Alternatively, you can ceremoniously hand out their new coursebooks and start the first lesson of the new level reminding them that there is going to be another tournament at the end of it.
How to Make Certificates
On our certificates we mention the actual coursebook completed and any international levels/examinations it corresponds to. Theses are usually mentioned at the end of the book. Below is the information on the main coursebooks we use as well as resources to calculate the correspondence to a IELTS and TOEFL scores.
Big English Plus
English in Mind
New English File
CEFR to IELTS Converter
IELTS to TOEFL Converter
Follow the link.
To be on the safe side, mention the minimum expected score.
Sample Texts for All of the Books
Big English Plus
This is to certify that
Miss Arina araqelyan
has successfully completed Big English Plus 3 course in General English.
The course represents the first stage of the training necessary to complete Movers (Cambridge English) and Springboard (Pearson Test of English) international ESL tests at CEFR >A2 level of proficiency.
English in Mind
This is to certify that
Mr Grigor Sargsyan
has completed English in Mind 3 course in General English.
The course corresponds to CEFR B1 level of proficiency and provides sufficient foundation for Preliminary (PET) examination.
New English File
This is to certify that
Mrs Ani Avalyan
has successfully completed New English File Intermediate course in General English.
The course represents the fourth stage of the training and corresponds to CEFR B1 level of proficiency. The holder of the certificate is expected to reach the minimum score of 31 in TOEFL iBT and the minimum band score of 4 in IELTS international language proficiency tests.
The certificate should include the signature of the teacher and the head of the school, the date on which the certificate was issued and the official stamp of the company. If a student has scored 50% of the total test score, they pass and receive a certificate. If they score 70% and higher, the receive a certificate with distinction. If they fail the test, they do NOT receive a certificate and further steps are discussed.
A sample distinction certificate text:
This is to certify that
Miss Mane Sadoyan
has completed English in Mind 4 course in General English with distinction.
The course corresponds to CEFR B2 level of proficiency and provides sufficient foundation for First (FCE) examination. The holder of this certificate is expected to reach the total score of 46 in TOEFL iBT and the minimum band score of 5.5 in IELTS international language proficiency tests.
Step by Step Process of Creating a Certificate:
1. Choose a sample certificate.
2. Edit the text based on the example given above.
3. Create certificates for the whole group.
4. Convert Word to PDF.
5. Print the certificate on A4 photo paper 200g/m2, 210mmx297mm. If the paper is too thick the printer will not process it.
6. Sign it.
7. Ask the CEO to sign and print it.
8. Put the printed certificate into a file.
9. Get ready for the Royal Tournament.