Frequently Asked Questions

Series Author Dr. Ken Beatty answers your most frequently asked questions about Starship English. If there is something you want to know, e-mail him at kenbeatty@mac.com.

How would you summarize Starship English in a sentence?

Starship English is a new, exciting, and comprehensive English course for young learners that is easy to teach. Breaking this sentence down, we can say that because Starship English is new, it has been able to take advantage of the latest understandings in applied linguistics, allowing the student to benefit from the most up-to-date thinking in the teaching of English. Starship English has an exciting presentation with custom characters and extensive original illustration. It’s easy to teach because of the detailed Teacher's Book.

What’s the program’s pedagogy?

Starship English uses a Notional-Functional syllabus with the Communicative Method.

A Notional-Functional syllabus uses notions, or contexts, such as a grocery store, and ties it to functions, such as the various kinds of communicative acts you would do at a grocery store: asking for directions, negotiating a price, clarifying information and so on.

The Communicative Method or Communicative Approach is all about giving learners language that they can use in the real world in creative ways. There is little or no emphasis on simply memorizing set phrases. Instead, learners are encouraged to use various strategies to express themselves in different ways.

How is the scope and sequence organized?

Starship English includes a starter level that focuses on the alphabet, numbers, pronunciation, key vocabulary, basic speaking and listening skills, and useful formulaic expressions. The next six levels follow a progression taking the learners from familiar surroundings to the wider world, in keeping with their developmental stages. Each of these features a variety of notions or contexts and the function language that learners are likely to use in each one.

Level 1 – the home
Level 2 – the school
Level 3 – the neighborhood
Level 4 – the city
Level 5 – the country
Level 6 – the world

What skills does Starship English offer?

Starship English focuses independent and integrated use of the four skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Skills are developed separately and integrated in a variety of activities in both the Student Book and the Activity Book. Reading and writing are taught from the beginning, at a simple level appropriate to the developmental stage of the learners.

How are grammar and phonics taught?

In keeping with the Communicative Method, grammar and phonics are taught methodically, but without using the technical terms. However, grammar and phonics are explained in depth in the Teacher’s Book. Comparison Phonics books are available for levels 1 through 4.

What’s the unit flow?

Starship English follows the PPP model of Presentation, Practice, Production.

Learners read and listen to new vocabulary and structures being used.
Learners have many opportunities to practice them with substitutions and variations.
Learners have several opportunities to practice speaking and writing in semi-structured ways.

What’s the language progression?

The language is carefully and progressively introduced with extensive recycling, in keeping with current research findings on how children learn English as a second language.

Is Starship English already in use?

Yes! Starship English is already popular in Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan and Vietnam, and is starting to become popular in other countries around the world. To find out if Starship English is available in your country, please contact your local Account Executive at international@hmhco.com.

How many hours does an average unit take?

It depends on the ability level of the learners, the number of hours of instruction learners have each week, and how fast the teacher wants to progress through the materials. The Teacher's Book includes countless extra activities for teachers who want to add to the class.

Are all the levels published and the components ready?

Yes! The series goes from starter book through to level 6. There are Student Books and Activity Books (both with audio CDs), Teacher's Books, flash cards, an assessment package, a phonics strand and interactive whiteboard materials.

Besides the Teacher’s Book, what other resources are there for the teacher?

The Teacher’s Book is extensive but there are also the resources on this website and teachers are always welcome to contact me, the series author, Dr. Ken Beatty, directly. My email is kenbeatty@mac.com.

Is vocabulary recycled?

The vocabulary is recycled extensively within units, within individual books, and across the series. Learners learn best by encountering core vocabulary in new contexts and having opportunities to practice them over and over.

How does the series relate to the Common European Reference (CEFR)?

Starship English follows the principles of CEFR. Books 1 to 3 are in the area of A1, book 4 is A1 to A2 and books 5 and 6 are A2. These are appropriate levels to the cognitive abilities of young learners and, by book 6, they are well on their way to becoming self-directed learners of English. For those who are interested, detailed examples of the CEFR correlations are available. Write to Dr. Ken Beatty at kenbeatty@mac.com.

Is the website for teachers only?

Not at all! Parents will also find many useful materials to help their children learn English more efficiently and effectively.

Are writing projects included?

The Activity Books provide opportunities for writing appropriate to the developmental level of the student. As the series progresses, the tasks become more open-ended.

What would be the approximate level of a student who completes the entire program?

The answer will vary depending on the age and interests of the students but the aim of the series is to move students from teacher dependence to learner independence. This means that by the end of the program, students should have enough language awareness that they can continue to learn on their own and communicate effectively or ask the questions necessary to clarify anything they don’t understand.