NEWPORT

BRISTOL

EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK

BARNSTAPLE

STONEHENGE

BIDEFORD
TIVERTON

EXETER

TINTAGEL

TORQUAY

SOLS LOCATION
SOL HAS THREE CENTRES, ALL BASED IN DEVON IN THE SOUTH-WEST OF
ENGLAND. ITS MAIN CENTRE IS IN BARNSTAPLE WITH SATELLITE
CENTRES IN BIDEFORD AND TIVERTON.
BARNSTAPLES
medieval
bridge over its tidal river is
the view our students have
through the classroom
windows. It is a market
town of 25,000 people and
is the main town of North
Devon so has the feel of a
place twice its size. Its long
history includes being one
of the main English ports in
the 16th and 17th centuries.
Thousands of the earliest
settlers to America left from
here.
The SOL centre is
also right next to the
trac-free town centre.

BIDEFORD is 12 km to the
west and just 6km from the
sea and has a population of
15,000. The quay, one of its
main streets, is still an active
port. Some SOL classes are
in the redbrick building you
see in the picture.
This town also has a great
sea-faring history and In the
16th
century
it
was
Englands 3rd biggest port.
Local man Sir Richard
Grenville was a national
hero with Sir Francis Drake
in defeating the Spanish
Armada in 1588.

TIVERTON is in mid Devon

so is closer to the English
Channel coast and also just
30 minutes from Exeter, the
County town. Our Centre is
situated overlooking a very
attractive park just a few
minutes from the town
centre. The location of the
town makes for easier visits
to south coast destinations
but the Atlantic is not
forgotten
in
the
programme! Tiverton also
has a very long history with
its wealth being built on the
wool trade.

MANY MORE DETAILS OF OUR CENTRES AND LOCATIONS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE:
WWW.SOL.ORG.UK

THE SOL EXPERIENCE

OUTSTANDING PROGRAMMES
FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND LEARNERS
OF ENGLISH IN BEAUTIFUL DEVON,
ENGLAND

THE SOL TEAM

ALL ENQUIRIES TO THE TEAM CAN BE SENT TO SOL@SOL.ORG.UK

S R
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O TO
YE EC
E IR
LL D
VI VE
N TI
RE U
G XEC
E

ALBANIA
EDUINA YMERI
EDUINAYMERI@YAHOO.COM

BULGARIA
STEFKA ILEVA
SOLBULGARIA@ABV.BG

CROATIA
IRENA VRAGOLOVI
IVRAGOLOVIC@YAHOO.COM

CZECH REPUBLIC
KARLA MIKEOV
MIKESOVA@GML.CZ

HUNGARY
DELI KATI
DELIYEO@UPCMAIL.HU

MACEDONIA
DRAGICA ZDRAVESKA
JORDANOSKADRAGICA@GMAIL.COM

POLAND
RENATA IEBA
RENATA.M.ZIEBA@POCZTA.ONET.PL

ROMANIA
MONICA COTUL
MAMICOTUL@YAHOO.COM

SERBIA
SANJA ONJAGI
SANJA_SOVRA@YAHOO.COM

SLOVAKIA
KLAUDIA BEDNROV
KLAUDIA.BEDNAROVA@GMAIL.COM

SLOVENIA
LANE VUKANOVI
LANA.VSLAPAR@GMAIL.COM
FOR ALL OTHER ENQUIRIES PLEASE
CONTACT US AT: SOL@SOL.ORG.UK

OUTSIDE BRITAIN
In order to make opportunities for contact
with SOL trainers more accessible, as well
as our presence at most national teacher
conferences, we also now run workshops
for teachers abroad, organised by our own
in
country
co-ordinators
teacher
associations. Details of these will always be
on our website.
In addition we also ran a very successful
SO(u)L camp for teachers in Slovakia in
July 2013 and plan to run it again in 2014
and there could be other similar camps
elsewhere.
This involves not only new methodologies
but a holistic approach for coping with life
as a teacher. A course abroad we see as a
natural extension of our work knowing that
many teachers are unable to get to the UK.
At SOL we use a methodology which is very
much project based, cross curricular,
experiential, and involving fieldwork. Whilst
drawing on the local for the lesson content
we are very interested in exploring
possibilities for this kind of approach in
teachers own countries.

Also several intensive four day Reflective

Teacher courses have been held in
Romania, based on the UK summer course
with the same title - it can be available in
other countries too.
We are very interested in co-operating with
teachers who may well be interested in
doing projects in their own countries and
then following up on them in Devon later.
The trainers who have been running the
teacher courses we organise in Devon are
the same people who have been doing the
workshops and courses in Central and
Eastern Europe and we think that this kind
of continuity and familiarity with the
educational culture of those we work with is
very important for the success of our work.
In the past we have recruited over 700
native speaker teachers to work in State
schools in Central and Eastern Europe and
have seen it as an important part of our
mission. However the demand and
feasibility for his work has fallen and so our
focus abroad is now more on training.

Our
courses
work
on
dierent levels: language
development, reflection on
your
own
teaching,
observing your own tutors
teaching, deepening your
knowledge of life in a predominantly English speaking
country, experiencing the
classroom from a students
point of view (again) and
finding out about more
practical activities for the
classroom.
And of course one of the
major features is actually
being immersed in an
English speaking culture 24/7
with all the benefits that
brings with it for your own
language development.
All our courses have social
evenings which include pub
quizzes and folk nights. We
like you to get a flavour of
what is currently going on in
Britain by exploring local and

national media and working

on it from a classroom
methodology
perspective.
We even organise surf
lessons for you, should you
so wish!
There are common teacher
development elements on all
our courses, each with a
specific
emphasis.
One
focuses on intercultural skills
and fieldwork, exploring
local Devon life, meeting
prominent
local
people
about current issues, visiting
the maritime museum and a
local school.
Another also involves a local
school visit and includes
drama
and
dialogue
activities, preparing students
to deliver formal presentations, use of images, five
minute activities, creative
writing tasks, music, using
hand-held devices in the
classroom and assessment

... and for Trainee Teachers

Experiencing an English language and culture
environment prior to teaching English gives a
confidence and authenticity to a new
teachers work. SOL regularly provides low
cost but top quality opportunities to do just
that in conjunction with various University

IN DEVON

OUR TEACHER
PROGRAMMES

strategies. This course has a

strong reflective element
built in and has opportunities for peer teaching.
Our third is unplugged,
promoting
choice
and
encouraging you to help your
learners to take more
responsibility for their own
learning by actually experiencing what it is like to do a
project yourself in the local
area, reflecting on how you
might do the same thing
back home.
All are about caring about
what we do in the classroom,
wanting to do things a bit
better and making continuous professional development
a routine part of our lives.
Where better to do it in the
summer than near the
Atlantic coast with its dramatic clis and long sandy
beaches!

Faculties of Education. An intensive short

8-10 day programme includes a day and a
half in a local school as well as visits,
professional discussions, and fieldwork
meeting plenty of real language. Overall an
experience of great value!

ABOUT SOL
SOL is a unique non-profit organisation
based in Devon, whose mission, for more
than 22 years, has been to provide real
support to both teachers and learners of
English in Central Eastern Europe. It has run
low cost high quality programmes in Devon
for both and is now doing so abroad. Plus
native teacher recruitment for State schools
as well.
SOL has a special understanding of both
educational and economic circumstances in
the region. This is reflected in both the pricing
of its high quality programmes in England as
well as the commitment to this direct support
referred to above.

their confidence in using English in real

situations.
SOLs philosophy is to work through teachers
of English who bring their students with them
wanting to give their students the real
advantage of coming to SOL. We build and
maintain relationships on a personal level,
agreeing on the programme, with our
in-country coordinators provide a local link
and support where needed.
The other big dierence is shown on the
following page with our focus on a fully
interactive programme with the visits and
time in the family being central to it. Students

Since 1991, more than 40,000 students and

5,000 teachers have benefited from these
programmes which in themselves oer
something very dierent from most
traditional language courses oered by
commercial language schools.

are paired in most families as our evidence is

clear that they speak far more English if they
are with a friend, rather than on their own or
with another student they dont know. Many
of the home tasks set require them to work
together.

Our focus is on doing things which cannot be

done back home, taking full advantage of
being in England. Each programme is
student-centred and provides a strong
cultural experience as well as developing

Full details of our student culture & language

programmes (from 10 - adult) and all our
courses for teachers are shown in the insert
with this leaflet and at: www.sol.org.uk

THIS SIGN MEANS WHAT IT SAYS!

OUR STUDENT PROGRAMMES

CONTEXTS FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND FIELDWORK

WHY CHOOSE SOL?

Special knowledge of schools in Eastern
& Central Europe
22 years of experience
Full day integrated programmes
We plan the programme content with
accompanying teachers
Complete immersion in English
Very communicative approach
Fieldwork activities are core
Friendly and safe small towns
The Atlantic Ocean and the beautiful
Devon countryside
Friendly families, who are an essential
part of the programme
Open all year
Local coordinators there to help
Outstanding value for money

CENTRAL
TO
ANY
SOL
PROGRAMME are the visits and
time in the family. This diagram
highlights the themes and topics,
which
provide
relevant
and
interesting content for the students
to explore and discuss.
Our teachers build on this to
support students learning and to
boost their confidence in using
English. Through an experiential
approach to learning, real language
is used in meaningful and
memorable contexts.
Each day a full 8 hour programme
includes visits and fieldwork. Time
in the SOL centre focuses on the
language met from all the varied
experiences outside the classroom.

What else SOL stands for is

also Speaking, Observing
and Listening - key skills
practised
in
our
programmes,
helping
students to benefit more
thoroughly
from
this
immersion in both the
English language and the
local culture. The daily
writing of a journal, in which
students
record
new
language as well as their
feelings and experiences in a

dierent culture, is a key

element of the course. Done
in a comparative way, it
helps them to understand
English culture, their own
culture
and
even
themselves - better.
All this is carefully managed
by
our
teachers
and
interactive guides so that our
students maximise their
learning opportunities and
make the most of their stay
in England.

The students will also

develop a small project,
finding out about their
chosen topic of interest from
the wide range shown in the
diagram above. This can
even be started before they
come or continue after they
leave. On the final day, they
present their findings to their
peers in a presentation
which can also involve acting
out little dialogues as well.