Classic Course

Reading Explorer

Reading Explorer is the best seller among all teaching materials for English reading comprehension improvement. It is widely used by international schools and language-teaching institutes in more than 70 countries and regions, as well as private schools in the US. The research and development team of Reading Explorer has been committed to providing up-to-date reading materials for learners. Based on the feedback on the first and the second editions, Reading Explorer - 3rd Edition has been released. This reading series helps learners increase knowledge, stimulate thinking, and develop reading skills. Its articles are all adapted from National Geographic and cover a wide range of inviting topics related to culture, science, social studies, geography, animals, plants, and so on.

After the release of Reading Explorer - 3rd Edition, we have upgraded the RE course. With a large number of articles on non-fiction topics, the course continues to help arouse interest in learning, increase vocabulary, develop reading and comprehension skills, encourage critical thinking, and form a life-long reading habit for students. On top of that, the upgraded RE course puts more emphasis on students’ engagement in the learning process by applying “flipped classroom”, which helps improve learning efficiency and ensure good learning outcomes.

Levels and Arrangement of Lessons

• Edition: The 3rd Edition/American English  

• CEFR: A2-C1

• Levels: 6 levels 

• Levels from low to high: Level Foundations, Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• Each level contains 12 well-chosen units, finished in 20 lessons with 50 minutes each. Actual teaching pace could be adjusted according to the different learning paces/performances of students.

• Theme: One independent theme for each unit

• Reading: A&B two texts for each theme

• Video: One video for each theme (Video)

• Modules of reading skills and vocabulary building along with each text

Great Writing

• Incorporated with more National Geographic and academic style writing examples

• The updated unit structure contains 4 modules: 

• 1.  Elements of Great Writing  

• 2.  Building Better Vocabulary

• 3.  Building Better Sentences  

• 4.  Writing 

• The new part of Test Prep is to familiarize students with the requirements and formats of the writing tests of international standard exams(such as IELTS and TOEFL).

• Vocabulary Module emphasizes more word association, collocation, and forms of the vocabulary for writing and academic use.

• The update of content related to rhetoric devices better meets the need for programmatic writing

• There are more stunning and high-resolution photos from National Geographic to arouse learners’ interest in learning and inspire their imagination.

In addition to the highlights of the updated teaching materials, the Great Writing course of Excellent Institute continues its systematic training of writing skills, emphasizes the application of knowledge, and breaks down the complex matter of writing into step-by-step, evidence-based, practical methods and skills. Beginners make measurable and predictable progress along the way, from making sentences to writing entire essays. By mastering the structure and process of writing and applying knowledge of the English language, learners will easily and effectively improve English writing. Moreover, teaching assistants will constantly improve their work to facilitate students to prepare for classes to help them better engage in class activities and improve learning efficiency.

<Levels and arrangement of lessons>

• Edition: The 5th Edition/American English 

• CEFR: A1-C2

• Levels: 6 levels 

• Levels from low to high: Level Foundations, Level 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

• Foundations

  • 14 units 

• Level 1<Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs>

  • 8 units

• Level 2<Great Paragraphs>

  • 10 units

• Level 3<From Great Paragraphs to Great Essays>

  • 7 units

• Level 4<Great Essays>

  • 6 units

• Level 5<From Great Essays to Research>

  • 8 units

English Intensive Reading Course

Extensive reading and intensive reading are two fundamental concepts in terms of reading. Extensive reading is to understand a reading material in a general and fast way. It is not reading word by word but reading roughly to get the key information of a reading material.

However, to improve English reading comprehension ability fundamentally and have a good mastery of the English language, intensive reading is essential. Intensive reading is reading meticulously. It requires understanding each word and sentence. Readers need to analyze vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and article structure, etc. On top of that, readers need to know the background and the author’s experience so that they can better understand the ideas, emotions, and opinions expressed in a book or an article.

The intensive reading course aims to:

1.Expand vocabulary and improve grammar knowledge;

2.Augment comprehensive reading competence;

3.Build literary appreciation skills;

4.Increase overall English proficiency level through deliberate training.

Intensive reading requires much more than understanding the meaning of words. Reading has two dimensions. On one hand, reading should be in-depth. Readers need to read word by word and use critical thinking to analyze the elements and structure of a book or an article. On the other hand, reading should be extensive. Readers need to read books that are inclusive in types and large in number.We always think that it is good to read as many books as possible. It’s true, but reading a large number of books is not a guarantee for the quality of reading. Both extensive reading and high-quality intensive reading are indispensable for improving comprehensive reading ability. Therefore, the guidance of professional teachers and systematic training of intensive reading skills are essential. Only with the guidance and help of professional teachers could children know how to do intensive reading correctly and effectively.

Highlights of the intensive reading course of Excellent Institute:

①Well-chosen world famous English novels

②Original in-house lesson plans, well-designed and constantly-refined teaching content and class activities

③Experienced teachers, all native speakers

④Student-oriented course

⑤Improve reading comprehension ability, develop reading strategies and skills, form the habit of active reading, and build a mode of thinking in English

⑥Help students truly understand classic books and develop skills of English writing accordingly

TFK Topic-based English speaking course

• What is TFK?

TFK is the version of Time magazine for children. Created in 1995, it has influenced more than two million children in the US. It has been dedicated to providing authentic and credible news reports for children, which serve as valuable teaching materials for teachers in English classes.

• Why should children read TFK?

• All articles of Time for Kids are news reports created by excellent journalists, photographers, and editors of Time magazine together, using languages that could be understood by children.

• The topics of TFK cover animals, environment, science, technology, health, and the latest news of the world, etc.

• The articles help students build up vocabulary, improve reading comprehension, and stimulate critical thinking.

• TFK is such an inviting and classic magazine that it inflames students’ passion for English reading and helps them develop early-stage English reading skills and information-analyzing ability.

• TFK is a well-known learning material in the world that helps readers improve English, broaden horizons, and stimulate critical thinking.

•  What is TFK topic-based small-group English speaking class?

Designed by the academic team of Excellent Institute and delivered by native speaker teachers, TFK topic-based small-group English speaking classes guide students to learn and improve English with the help of excellent non-fiction reading materials of TFK.

TFK classes do not aim to teach complex sentence structure and grammar to students. By reading extensively and engaging in discussions, students will deepen their understanding of narrative and descriptive nonfiction articles, acquire new knowledge and vocabulary, apply what they have learned in daily communication, improve English expression, and stimulate critical thinking.

Arrangement of TFK classes:

• One topic and 50 minutes for each lesson

• One native speaker teacher and four students

• Before a class, students finish reading the chosen article

• In a class, the teacher answers questions from students and guides students to think and read at the same time. Students engage in discussions and thus achieve objectives of both increasing knowledge and improving English speaking.

• After a class, students review and absorb knowledge by watching the class recording online.

• Requirements for students:

• Before a class, students are able to make preparations by reading the chosen article independently.

• Teachers only speak English in class, so students must be able to understand the teacher and participate in discussions in English.

• Students have basic English listening and speaking competencies and hope to improve their skills in discussions and debates.

• Students want to expand the fields of their reading, increase academic vocabulary, and improve their reading comprehension of informative articles.

• Students want to master the knowledge of English, broaden horizons, develop interest in learning English, and build critical thinking skills.