The Scaffolding Method

At Optimus Language School in Orange County, California, our first goal is to ensure that all of our students looking to learn English have the opportunity to do so in an effective and personal learning environment. Our efforts here in Brea to achieve the most immersive ESL experience globally are achieved through a tried and true teaching method: scaffolding. Employed by countless educators at all different levels and subjects of academia, scaffolding is a proven method that we believe to be the most effective way to teach language learners English.

Originally coined by the well-known Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, the scaffolding method has acquired a myriad of strategies and techniques over the years to the point that nearly all teaching atmospheres utilize it in some way. Named after scaffolding as seen on the sides of buildings under construction, this proven method has the ultimate ideal of starting a student with some basic knowledge on a subject, and then slowly working in more complex ideas and situations as time goes on, that the student could not hope to understand without the assistance of a professional instructor. Once a physical piece of scaffolding is removed from a building, the building stands new and tall, better than it was before. Here at Optimus Language School, we hope to achieve a similar goal with all of our ESL students. After having made their way through our program, we hope that all of our learner’s minds will stand stronger and taller than they had previously stood.

The scaffolding method is put to work here at Optimus as the backbone of our curriculum. Our most rudimentary English learning classes begin at basic level and continue onto our most advanced level, level five. While these textbooks share a distinct similarity in subject matter, the complexity gradually increases from level to level. By use of reliable placement tests, we find the most suitable starting level for all of our students, and their road to English language proficiency begins from that point. In addition to being able to effectively utilize scaffolding through these textbooks, we also gain the opportunity to expose our students several times to the same subject, but with new pieces of information each time. Repetition has been proven to be a crucial tool in the language learning process, and our system here at Optimus Language School ensures that our students from all over the world will benefit from taking more than just a single look at the subjects we deliver to them.

The scaffolding method is one of many teaching methods that has proven to be successful not only for ESL students, but for all kinds of learners all around the world. The effectiveness of the gradual progression of difficulty speaks for itself when test time rolls around, and our students are ready and confident to perform at their peak. It is our hope, as students join us here at Optimus Language School in Orange County that have traveled from as far as Asia all the way to the United States, and then to our small section of Southern California, that the extra care we provide with our techniques such as the scaffolding method will prove to them that their long journey was worth what we have to offer. Call, click, or come in today, and tell us about your individual needs so we can find you an individual solution!

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Published on July 12, 2016

A leading English language school accredited by the CEA (Commission on English Language Accreditation) and approved by SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) located in Los Angeles, California. Learn English in LA with our ESL classes, TOEFL preparation, and English speaking classes. Are you serious about improving your English? Join a class today!