pedagogical principles at Akelius

Akelius develops high-quality, free, and fun learning programs in languages, mathematics, vocational training, and more subjects to come.

Akelius content is open to all users. Users can learn depending on their preferences, without following a rigid sequence.

Learners make progress in a lot of small steps, through a variety of activities.

Online activities are complemented with analog materials. Green learning through leaving the classroom opens new ways of strengthening learning success.

Learning activities are short, fun, and include storytelling and humor.

The portfolio of available courses and materials is steadily growing.

mission and target group

Akelius courses are designed for schools, refugee camps and educational centers, as well as the general public around the world.

• refugees learning the language of their new country
• school students learning reading and writing in their mother tongue
• school students and general public learning a foreign language

Vocational courses also teach languages, but with the specific goal of integration into the work system.

The goal of Akelius Math is to increase access to learning mathematics.

design principles

All Akelius courses use simple language like present tense, active form, short and simple sentences and easy words.

Courses do not focus on complicated names and rules, like grammar names for languages, or the Greek letters for math.

Learning activities are short, fun, and include storytelling, humor, or anecdotes. The idea behind is that stories are easier to remember than schoolbooks texts.

Akelius learning content also includes variation and gamification to avoid being repetitive or boring.

learning principles

general principles

a thousand steps

Learning happens in a lot of little steps. Akelius courses split complex concepts into simpler ones.

Learners tackle activities that are easy to digest, and keep building on previous knowledge, like building blocks.

In Akelius courses, language and math are introduced slowly and assimilated by repetition and constant practice.

stress free methodology

Tiny progressions and short activities are easier to understand and complete. They also avoid frustration and stress.

guidance against failure

The course offers hints and guidance, so students can solve tasks with minimal failure and gain self-confidence.

trying first before getting hints or explanations

Students are encouraged to think first by themselves. Only the students who need or ask get explanations or hints.

Trying is also a part of learning. Therefore, learners should try first, before receiving explanations.

The courses encourage users to correct their own mistakes, rather than simply providing them with the right answers.

The courses provide immediate feedback. Learners practice with this feedback until they fully understand the concept.

consistency over perfection

The stimulus of praise and credit for good work have remarkable effects, even for well-educated adults.

The courses reward learners with coins for time spent learning, not for performance or perfection. This way, students study more efficiently and more often.

Lessons, exercises, and praise do not promote smartness, or being better than peers, but rather putting on the time spent studying.

learning in context

The Akelius courses use hands-on tasks to help learners use what they learn in context.

Learning by doing ensures better retention and facilitates practical application of the acquired knowledge.

reinforce repetition and variation

The courses include different activities, like games. These activities have two functions. On one side, they reinforce repetition and variation. On the other side, they avoid boredom.

Short learning units, rewards, diplomas, and progress tracking encourage students to spend more time learning.

Learning progress is reinforced through gamification elements that increase engagement and provide clear feedback.

learners learn what they want, when they want

To increase autonomy and motivation, the courses do not follow a rigid sequence.

The method prioritizes non-linear parallel learning, where students can choose what to study based on their interests.

There are different types of activities, so that students choose their own preferred way of learning.

Each topic offers different ways to learn, including lectures, songs, games, drills, guessing, and tests.

not only memorizing, but also reflecting

Materials help to develop and assess analytical thinking, and teachers should ask learners to explain their thought processes.

no grades

Grades often demotivate learners. Akelius courses use more motivational ways of feedback, like a coin reward system that allows students to personalize their mascot.

green learning, use multiple senses

Green learning is an important part of the Akelius courses.

Green learning encourages leaving the classroom, playing outdoors, and using hands, feet and other senses as part of learning.

Movement is good for both children and adults.

Therefore, activities in the classroom should involve movement or different senses such as charades, acting, or even tasting food.

the courses in the classroom

blended learning, mixing app and traditional methods

Blended learning is a teaching method that combines traditional classroom learning with digital tools.

The Akelius course can be used in blended learning, complementing the learning in the classroom with diverse digital interactive activities.

station rotation, a different way of learning

Teachers can create multiple learning stations in the classroom.

Each station can use a different activity of the Akelius online course or analog materials. Stations can also combine individual, pair, or group work. This reinforces the idea of multimodal learning.

use content when best needed

• an opening activity
• a mid-lesson activity
• a closing activity

• further practice
• an active break
• a diversification activity

six students per group

The students act together. A coach is a leader.

one coach per student

Research shows that one-on-one training in languages and mathematics is ten times faster, compared to a classroom with thirty students.

Akelius recommends that each student gets a private coach, ten to fifteen minutes per day.

Students should also explain concepts to the coach in order to reinforce their learning and comprehension.

Another method is that the coach finds problems, and corrects them.

The coach does not need a formal teaching degree. The largest part of individual training is the online platform.

learning by teaching

Learning by teaching is a method of learning in which students are expected to comprehend the material and then teach it to their peers.

The process of explaining helps learners organize their knowledge and enhance their own understanding of the topic.

This method helps learners strengthen other soft skills, like communication, presentation skills and creativity.

Akelius contents and materials

the Akelius application

• interactive and engaging content
• adaptive learning paths
• progress tracking

• multilingual support
• offline functionality

language courses

focus on communication

The courses aim to improve communication, and try to include real-life scenarios.

lexical approach

Words are introduced one at a time, supported by images, sound, and text.

Words are gradually added like building blocks to previously learned words.

Sentences are formed using only known vocabulary.

sentences instead of words

Learning a sentence is better than learning a single word.

not an overload of grammar

Grammar is introduced together with the words in context, instead of being explained in detail.

Learners do not need to learn academic grammar terms, like superlative or perfect, but rather have examples of how to use grammar in context.

levels

The Akelius course is organized in four main levels from A1 to B2. Each level includes a middle level. This makes a total of eight levels.

lessons

Each level is divided into lessons.

Each lesson includes a test and a mix of different activities, including games.

A lesson takes from thirty to forty minutes for a student to complete.

Only content necessary to pass the tests is included in the lesson completion time calculation. These include lectures, grammar, guessing, flashcards, and tests.

lectures

Lectures are where learners acquire most of the vocabulary. Each lecture includes between four and six new words to learn.

Each word is introduced in context first, and then followed by two pages of exercises.

• 10 minutes for A1-A2
• 13 minutes for B1-B2

grammar

Grammar is not explained in regular lectures.
Each new grammar point has its own dedicated grammar lecture.

These lectures explain the grammar concept and give examples.
They are followed by grammar exercise.

• 7 minutes for A1-A2
• 11 minutes for B1-B2

Grammar lectures have a fixed structure.

• an example use of the grammatical topic
• an official grammar term
• explanation of the grammatical problem

Next three slides present an explanation of the grammatical topic and examples of its use.

The last twenty slides are exercises for the learner.

guessing

In the guessing activity, learners use the vocabulary from the lesson to guess the correct answer.

Guessing activities do not last more than five minutes for A1 and A2 levels.

flashcards

Flashcard activities do not last more than five minutes for A1 and A2 levels.

tests

Tests are another learning tool to motivate the learner.

Tests should allow enough time to think. Each lesson test comprises twenty questions. There is also a test at the end of each level. These level tests have hundred questions, testing knowledge from lessons in the level.

variations

Variations are lessons to revise the knowledge of the three previous lessons.

games

Games include a random surprise or a time stress. Games can also require special skills or luck.

vocational courses

Vocational courses focus on learning daily common sentences for specific job positions.

Vocational learners need an entry level of around five hundred words to follow the course.

Vocational courses use interesting narratives, which are one of the best methods to learn. These narratives should include characters, as well as humor and twist.

math

Math courses are intended for schools that lack resources and for refugee camps.

Math courses avoid complicated names and symbols, and use visual real objects instead of abstract examples.

Explanations are small steps that use everyday experiences and incorporate games or storytelling whenever possible.

Math courses can also incorporate worksheets and workbooks.

The average time to pass a lesson, task, or test is five to ten minutes.

The number of answers or clicks needed to finish an activity is fifteen to twenty.

Math lessons are questions with detailed explanations.

There are three types of math lessons.

parallel lessons

Parallel lesson are lesson that explain the same facts in more than one source. This improves learning.

explained lessons

This type of lesson explains concepts in detail and provides examples.

Explanations can be with videos, photos, or other illustrations.

regular lessons

They are similar to textbooks. They have several examples and take twenty clicks to finish.

There are also summary lessons that learners can use to quickly check their knowledge after or even before a regular lesson.

analog materials

Analog materials are additional resources that support blended learning.

Akelius offers textbooks, illustrated art books, classic literature books, board games, and printed flashcards.

Some materials align with the digital course and support different teaching formats. Others are stand-alone products.

easy readers

Easy readers do not follow the course, but complement the learning with narratives.

Easy readers are very simplified adaptations of classic literature, but keep the original story.

• 1000 words
• 500 words
• beginner

500 or 1000 words have nothing to do with the course. It is just to give an idea of the level.

Learners should read the books as a story, not interrupted by long explanations. It does not matter if the student understands all the words.

The objective is to get an interest in the story, and a desire to read other stories.

boxes

Akelius offers boxes for languages and boxes for math.

The boxes consist of games, books and tools. They are an addition to online courses, as well as teaching aid.

The boxes enrich and diversify lessons, and supplement learning with interactive materials.

Math boxes also allow students to build, test, and move objects before they work with numbers and symbols.

printed flashcards

Printed flashcards can be used to practice communication by playing charades.

Charades can be useful in practicing how to communicate with just a few words.

It is encouraged to practice full sentences when possible.

schoolbooks

The Akelius schoolbooks are based on the Akelius digital courses.

Schoolbooks offer moving, writing, and playing activities.

With schoolbooks, learners can write down new words, match images and text, draw pictures, play games, write down notes, or revise.

Akelius offers schoolbooks for both languages and math.

audiobooks

Akelius audiobooks have extra articulation and are slow enough so that they are easy to follow.

Audio books also include pauses after each sentence and mark important words.