The accelerated approach - a quick guide

Children cannot learn if they feel stressed or threatened. The classroom must be a warm and welcoming place.

Children will not learn if they have low self-esteem and lack confidence: Teachers need to reassure and encourage them all the time.

Children need to be able to see "what's in it" for them. Learning needs to have easily understood targets attainable within a reasonable time.

Children learn in different ways. Lessons must include learning through sight, sound and touch.

Learning is most effective if it involves as many of the intelligences as possible, so the use of music, rhythm, role-play, games and film make it more likely most children will learn most of the time. Overall achievement seems to be boosted if children exercise all their intelligences.

There are proven methods to make sure knowledge is transferred from the short-term to the long-term memory. Those involve reviewing what has been learnt, using visual imagery for abstract concepts, and combining words and music so both sides of the brain are involved.

Children's attention span is limited: even adults find it hard to concentrate for more than 25 minutes at a time. Learning should therefore be broken down into "chunks" with regular breaks for reinforcement and refreshment.