Startups are generally considered to be new, technology-focused companies that are less than five years old. For the most part, they aim to disrupt industry with innovations, grow in terms of users and revenues and provide value to customers and shareholders.
It may not appear that startups have much in common with English Language Teaching (ELT), but there is, in fact, plenty to learn from startups and the way they work.
By understanding how startups think and looking at their best attributes, we can bring more creativity to our classrooms. Not only can we find new ways for our students to learn, collaborate and grow together, but we can also help our students develop much-needed leadership and critical thinking skills.
At its core, startup thinking is about problem-solving and growth. User-focused and data-driven, startup teams theorize, research, plan and test their products on new markets. Their strength is in their agility, being able to "pivot" quickly: change products, services and technology based on feedback from their customers.
They also operate on a number of key principles, all of which can be applied in the classroom:
Startups are entrepreneurial by definition. Their staff work in teams, but also have no problem going it alone, finding solutions and taking responsibility for new projects and initiatives. These are all excellent traits to encourage in the classroom as they will not only help your learners in an educational context, but in their professional lives too.
By learning to be accountable to themselves, measuring their own progress and seeing their achievements, autonomous learners develop self-confidence and progress faster as a result.
It’s therefore important to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning. Rather than being solely reliant on their teacher, autonomous learners seek out ways to practice and improve their language skills in ways that appeal to them.
To do this, brainstorm strategies with your students to help them find ways to use English outside the classroom. They could, for example, keep a journal in English, watch English language films and take notes, read short stories or news articles, or even set their technology and social media language settings to English.
Startups have a common goal: to establish a business model and achieve a product-market fit. This goal focuses people’s attention and develops rapport among team members. As an additional benefit of working together, startuppers learn their own strengths and weaknesses and begin to collaborate with team members with complementary skills.
By learning about your students’ interests, objectives and needs, you can find inspiration to design relevant class projects. These give your students a common goal and the chance to collaborate effectively. What’s more, project work is rich in language learning opportunities and makes students accountable to one another. This in turn increases motivation and provides a genuine context for language learning.
Startups are not afraid to get things wrong. In fact, all entrepreneurs embrace mistakes, as they are part of coming to the right solution. As Thomas Edison once said "I have not failed 10,000 times – I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work." ?Some startups go as far as to reward and celebrate failure – saying that it’s a sign that a person is trying to succeed.
Encourage students to see mistakes as learning opportunities. Creating a safe space in the classroom where everyone is treated with respect and mistakes are viewed as natural learning experiences. This will help your students learn the language at their own pace, without fear of ridicule.
Startups are famous for focusing on growth and believing in improving their products. They see both negative and positive feedback as opportunities to grow. By always seeking to optimize their products and services, they improve the user experience and earn loyalty.
Similarly, it’s key to foster a growth mindset in your learners. ?A growth mindset perceives intelligence and ability as attributes to be developed, whereas a fixed mindset sees intelligence and ability as innate and unchanging.
Students with a growth mindset will therefore believe they can improve, be more motivated and see more progress as a result.
Startup founders mentor and support their team members when they face challenges, when they need to grow and when they are not reaching their potential. This increases the value of the workforce and enables them to be more productive.
Teachers are often already naturals at this. We know how important it is to offer support to our students, especially when they are feeling frustrated or disappointed with their progress. With our encouragement and support, our students can achieve things they never thought possible. So perhaps, in this final point, startup leaders could learn a thing or two from us.
この最终ブログでは、これまでの2つのブログ（「Horizontal Syllabusとは」と「児童向けアセスメントに活かすべき発达の7つの特徴」）と2025年8月に行ったウェビナーの内容をまとめ、horizontal syllabus?をMy Disney Stars and Heroesシリーズの学習単元に応用します。対象はBook2のUnit 6「My Day」です。この単元は日常の活動と時間帯に焦点を当ており、授業時間は11コマです。ユニット計画は下記の通りで、11コマ目は復習と単元テストに充てられます。シラバス内の課題タイプについては、表下部のキーを参照してください。詳細は以下で説明します。
At the beginning of every school year, we welcome new learners into our classrooms with the same core question: Where are our students now, and how far can we take them?
For English teachers, this reveals a huge challenge. In a single class, we might have one student at an A2 level, while others are solidly B1 or just entering A2+. Navigating such a wide range of abilities can feel overwhelming.
We’ve all seen it: students can spend months (or even years) studying English and still feel like they haven’t moved up a level. Teachers work incredibly hard, and students put in the effort, but progress feels intangible. Why is that? And more importantly, how can schools make it easier to see and support that progress?
In recent years, I have found a powerful ally in answering that question: the Global Scale of English (GSE). Backed by 色猫AV and aligned with the CEFR, the GSE offers more than just levels, it provides a clear, data-informed path to language growth. Most importantly, it gives teachers and school leaders the ability to set meaningful goals and measure real progress.
But, how is this useful at the beginning of the school year?
To get a clear picture from the start, assessment is essential; there’s no doubt about it. However, it can't just be a punctuation mark at the end of a term or a requirement from administration. Used strategically, this first assessment can be the compass that guides instruction and curriculum decisions, empowering both teachers and students from day one. This is why choosing the correct assessment tools becomes fundamental.
Unlike the broad bands of the CEFR, the GSE provides a granular scale from 10 to 90, breaking down each skill into precise learning objectives. This allows educators to monitor progress at a much closer level, often identifying improvements that would otherwise go unnoticed.
When learners see that their score has moved from 36 to 42, even if their overall CEFR level hasn’t changed, they gain confidence. They recognize that learning is a continuous process rather than a series of steps. Teachers, in turn, are able to validate growth, provide clear evidence of learning and tailor instruction to the learner’s current needs, not just their general level.
For example, two students might both be classified as "A2", but the GSE gives us a much clearer picture: a student with a GSE score of 35 is likely mastering simple sentences, while another student scoring 40 might already be comfortable writing simple stories and is ready to tackle B1-level tasks.
This isn't just data: it's a roadmap. It tells us exactly what to teach next, allowing us to differentiate with confidence instead of relying solely on gut feeling.
色猫AV offers a comprehensive range of GSE-aligned assessment tools that support different stages of the learning journey. Each tool plays a distinct role in placement, diagnosis, benchmarking or certification.
Whether you’re picking up Spanish for travel, Mandarin for business or French just for fun, you’re not only expanding your communication skills, you’re also giving your brain a powerful workout. But what actually happens inside your brain when you learn a language??
Your brain is made up of many parts and two areas are significant for language:
When you start learning a new language, these areas get busy. They work together to help you listen, speak, read and write in your new language (Friederici, 2011).
