Time Allocation

As mentioned in Section 2.3.1, schools can allocate 17% to 21% of the lesson time to the English Language Education KLA for each key stage from Primary 1 to Secondary 3 (KS1 – 3). The senior secondary English Language curriculum, which builds on the effective learning and teaching practices promoted in previous key stages, accounts for a flexible range of 12.5% to 15% of the total lesson time over a course of three years in KS4. Literature in English, as an elective subject in the senior secondary curriculum, accounts for 10% to 15% of the total lesson time over a course of three years in KS4.

Schools may vary the percentage of time allocation for different year levels of a key stage as long as the total lesson time falls within the recommended range. Schools may also capitalise on their professional autonomy to maximise the use of lesson time, leading to the achievement of a wider range of learning targets and objectives.

Suggestions on how teachers can make plans for the use of lesson time allocated to the English Language Education KLA for different key stages are provided below.

Primary (KS1 and KS2)

Two key components, namely General English Programme and Reading Workshops, can be included in the primary English Language curriculum. The General English Programme, which accounts for about 60% of the total lesson time for English Language, focuses on the learning and teaching of English knowledge and skills and their integrative use. Activities such as dictation and listening can be conducted in the lesson time allocated to the General English Programme. In the Reading Workshops, which take up about 40% of the total lesson time for English Language, teachers are encouraged to help students “learn to read” and “read to learn” through careful selection of reading materials that complement, or are related to, the General English Programme. The component of

“Reading Workshops” is not confined to the development of reading skills and strategies.

Activities that build on the reading materials can also be designed to develop students’

listening, speaking and writing skills as well as positive values and attitudes.

Junior Secondary (KS3)

With the groundwork laid at the primary level, students should have accumulated some reading experiences and developed the basic reading skills and strategies by the time they start Secondary 1. In this respect, schools are encouraged to flexibly allocate lesson time to strengthen literacy development to enable students not only to further develop and apply English knowledge and skills in a holistic manner, but also to connect their

learning experiences in English Language and the other KLAs. Specifically, initiatives to promote RaC are instrumental in developing advanced reading and generic skills.

Through exposure to a variety of text types and texts of different levels of complexity and on various subjects and disciplines, students’ knowledge base is broadened and reading experiences enriched, providing a firm foundation for self-directed and lifelong learning.

To maximise the benefits gained from reading, teachers can design writing activities which not only require students to borrow or integrate ideas from the reading input, but also allow them to use the vocabulary, communicative functions and text features they have learnt for meaningful and purposeful communication.

Senior Secondary (KS4) English Language

Both the Compulsory and Elective Parts in the senior secondary English Language curriculum include the learning of English Language in the Interpersonal, Knowledge and Experience Strands. They complement each other and comprise the same learning objectives, which embody the essential content of learning for English Language at the senior secondary level. For the sake of curriculum coherence and effective use of lesson time, the learning and teaching of the Compulsory Part and the various modules in the Elective Part could be integrated, with due consideration given to the commonality shared by these curriculum components:

• Language knowledge

• Language skills

• Language development strategies

• Generic skills

• Values and attitudes

The integration of the curriculum components facilitates the consolidation and transfer of knowledge and skills between the Compulsory Part and the elective modules. When adopted flexibly and meaningfully, this integrated approach not only provides a coherent learning experience but also allows teachers to streamline the curriculum and make more effective use of the lesson time (see Example 6).

Literature in English

Equal emphasis should be placed on the different strands in order to ensure a balanced curriculum and to help students develop a good understanding of literary forms and conventions, appreciative and interpretative abilities, as well as language skills and

awareness. The lesson time for Literature in English can be flexibly used to address students’ needs with due consideration of their strengths and weaknesses. For effective use of lesson time, teachers can adopt instructional strategies such as “Literature Circle”

and “Flipped Classroom” to engage students in independent research, lesson preparation and self-directed learning outside class time.

Schools are greatly encouraged to make flexible use of the learning time during and outside school hours to facilitate learning and teaching. Confining the learning of English to the classroom, compartmentalising lessons into the learning and teaching of the language skills, and designating lessons for dictations or drills for examinations in a rigid manner are not encouraged as they may not facilitate students’ construction and application of knowledge and skills in a coherent and integrative manner. Instead, schools can:

• arrange for more double or triple period sessions per week or cycle and include half-day or whole-day activity sessions shared among different KLAs in the school timetable to allow continuous stretches of time for extended tasks, projects, visits, student or professional performances;

• set aside a short, regular period of time per day for reading, in addition to the regular lesson time, for the development of reading skills and strategies, and to help students develop a good reading habit for lifelong learning;

• plan their timetable and calendar flexibly (e.g. adjusting the number and arrangement of lessons in each term to cater for the special requirements of the learning programmes, exploring the use of Saturdays and long holidays to encourage life-wide learning and independent learning);

• make use of weblogs, online forums or social learning networks to facilitate interaction and instant feedback, and support the building of a learning

community among teachers and students in school and in the wider world;

• introduce to students the use of web-based resources in the form of online interactive learning platforms, computer software packages and multimodal materials such as interactive books and videos to help students pursue individualised learning goals outside class according to their learning interests, progress and needs; and

• provide opportunities for engaging students in e-assignments on the school intranet, such as posts on online forums, collaborative writing and audio-visual clips, to add variety to their learning experiences and facilitate cross-fertilisation of ideas.