UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING

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UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

• English Language Education Section

• Curriculum Development Institute

• Education Bureau

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WARM-UP ACTIVITY

In groups, discuss the following:

How far do you agree with the following statements?

1. Students should do more past exam papers in class in order to get good results in the HKDSE examinations.

2. Teachers are required to teach 3 elective modules in the Elective Part.

3. Since the elective modules are not properly assessed in the HKDSE examination, they need not be taught.

4. There is a huge gap between the JS and the SS

curricula.

(3)

BY THE END OF THE WORKSHOP, YOU WILL HAVE

 a better understanding of the design and the features of the three-year senior secondary English Language curriculum;

 explored strategies for curriculum planning and implementation; and

 designed task-based activities for senior secondary

students.

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(5)

THE SENIOR SECONDARY

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

S6

S5

S4

Elective Part (25%) Compulsory

Part

(75%)

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THE COMPULSORY PART

Meaningful use of:

through the task-based approach and the organising structure of Modules, Units and Tasks by adopting a range of approaches and strategies

Reading / Writing Listening / Speaking

Vocabulary

Text Types

Grammar Forms &

Communicative

Functions

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT GUIDE (SECONDARY 4-6), P.54

While Modules, Units and Tasks are to be adopted for

organising learning and teaching in the Compulsory

Part, the modules in the Elective Part may not

necessarily follow the M-U-T structure. However, the

general approach to teaching the modules in the

Elective Part remains task-based – that is, teachers are

encouraged to continue with the principles and

practices associated with task-based learning, namely

using learner-centred instruction, providing

opportunities for meaningful and purposeful

communication and promoting integrative and creative

uses of language.

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FEATURES OF A TASK

Involves learners in thinking and doing

Requires learners to draw upon a

framework of

knowledge and skills

Product Purpose

Context

Example: Officer of the Hong Kong Tourism Board

• An online survey

• Presentation and discussion

• Pamphlet for visitors

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 Provides contexts for:

• integrated use of language skills

• meaningful and purposeful use of English for communication

 Facilitates effective grammar and vocabulary learning and teaching

 Uses learning and teaching resources of a variety of text types

 Promotes a learner-centred approach

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Adapted from Enhancing English Vocabulary Learning and Teaching at Secondary Level (2012), pp.141-188

ADOPTING A TASK-BASED APPROACH IN LESSON DESIGN

Module

Communicating

Task 1 Listening to a

speech delivered by the

Advisor of the English Debating Club

Task 2 Reading a

magazine article entitled

“Should the Internet be Censored?”

Task 3 Studying an online forum on

people’s opinions of the

Internet

Final Task

Writing a debate speech The InternetUnit

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Building on the strengths of students and considering their future learning needs, plan for a Junior Secondary English Language curriculum to gear students towards the learning targets and objectives in the English Language curriculum

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE INTERFACE

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Further studies and work

Lifelong language learning

Interface in Literacy Development across Key Stages

KS1&

2

Reading Workshops

Reading to Learn

KS4

Reading Skills Writing Skills

KS3

Developing Basic Reading and Writing Skills & Strategies

• 40% of English lesson time on Reading Workshops

• Using literary & information texts to facilitate the

development of reading skills in context

• Applying the vocabulary &

language items from the reading texts in follow-up writing activities

Consolidating the Reading and Writing Skills & Strategies Acquired

• Facilitating the application of literacy skills in an integrated and creative manner

• Providing opportunities for students to reflect on, monitor and evaluate their own

reading/writing progress, and enhancing their metacognitive awareness to become

independent language learners

Expanding the Repertoire of Reading and Writing Skills &

Strategies

• Building on students’ learning experience and helping them progress further in the development of literacy skills

• Extending students’ learning experience through promoting Reading across the Curriculum (RaC) & using Writing across the Curriculum (WaC) activities as a follow-up

12

(2-3 modules)

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Junior Secondary

•Exposure to a wide range of print and non-print texts

•Extensive reading and viewing

•Further development of reading skills and strategies

Senior Secondary

•Exposure to a widened range of more complex text types

•School-based

Assessment: critical and imaginative responses to texts

•Comprehension of more complex messages in more formal texts

Primary

•Exposure to a range of text types

•Incorporation of Reading Workshops into the School-based English Language

Curriculum

•Development of basic reading skills and

strategies

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

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Junior Secondary

•Exposure to a wide range of print and non-print texts

•Extensive reading and viewing

•Further development of reading skills and strategies

Senior Secondary

•School-based

Primary

•Incorporation of Reading Workshops into the School-based English Language

Curriculum

strategies

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

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15

T

EXPOSURE TO A WIDE RANGE OF TEXT TYPES

Examples of Text types for Key Stage 1

• Cartoons and comics

• Diaries

• Fables and fairy tales

• Rhymes

• Charts

• Labels

• Lists

• Menus

• Notices

• Rules

• Signs

• Time-tables

• Cards

• Plays

• Announcements

• Informational reports

• Maps and legends

• News / Weather reports

• Pamphlets

• E-mails

• Formal letters

• Discussions

• Telephone conversations

• Procedures

• Recipes

• Book

reviews/reports

• Film reviews

• Itineraries

• Manuals

• Newspaper articles

• Short novels

• Short stories

• Interviews

• Presentations

• Editorials

• Debates

• Documentaries

• Essays

• Feature articles

• Films

• Novels

• Minutes

• Public speeches

• Proposals

• Resumes

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Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary

•School-based

Assessment: critical and imaginative responses to texts Comprehension of more complex messages in more formal texts

Primary

Curriculum

strategies

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

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READING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

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• To promote reading as a means to help learners seek information, develop thinking skills, enrich knowledge, enhance language proficiency and broaden perspectives

• To promote the development of functional reading skills to help learners relate English Language learning to daily life in real world

• To encourage extensive reading of a wide variety of resource materials with different subject content to enhance learning

English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4 - 6) 2007

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Science

CONNECTING STUDENTS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCES

English

Language

Content

• Theme: Living things Reading-related strategies

• Locating specific information

• Working out meaning of unfamiliar words

Language features

• Rhetorical functions

• Text features

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Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary

•School-based

Primary

Curriculum

strategies

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

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Depth of Processing

Range and application of reading strategies

Text complexity

Abstractness

Organisation Density of information

Understanding

- Locating information

- Working out meaning of words and phrases

- Connecting ideas

- Identifying main ideas and supporting details

- Distinguishing facts from opinions - Organising information and ideas

Inferring

- Inferring feelings

- Deducing information and ideas

- Comparing information and ideas

- Working out main ideas and themes

Interpreting

- Analysing information and ideas

- Synthesising - Evaluating - Justifying

Cognitive processes involved in reading

- Activating learners’ prior knowledge and experiences

- Selection of a wide range of texts of appropriate lengths and different topics - Interplay between texts and tasks

- The provision of teacher support and the need to promote learner independence

Underlying principles

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COMPLEXITY OF TEXTS

Easier texts More difficult texts Abstractness

 Ideas and information explicitly

stated

 Straightforward & factual information

 Ideas and information implicitly stated

 Meaning hidden between lines or beyond lines

Organisation

 Well-defined text structure

 Organisation of paragraphs following sequence of events, logical progression (general to specific)

 Use of short paragraphs,

subheadings & cohesive devices

 Lack of well-defined text structure, mix of text-types

 Organisation of paragraphs not following a common pattern (problem-solution)

 Lack of signposts to facilitate understanding of texts

Density of information

 Most sentences/paragraphs containing one piece of information

 Sentence structures and

language largely simple, with occasional use of complex structures

 High lexical density – with a large amount of information- carrying words

 A wide range of complex sentence structures and language

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Depth of Processing

Range and application of reading strategies Text complexity

Abstractness

Organisation Density of information

Understanding

- Locating information

- Working out meaning of words and phrases

- Connecting ideas

- Identifying main ideas and supporting details

- Distinguishing facts from opinions - Organising information and ideas

Inferring

- Inferring feelings

- Deducing information and ideas

- Comparing information and ideas

- Working out main ideas and themes

Interpreting

- Analysing information and ideas

- Synthesising - Evaluating - Justifying

Cognitive processes involved in reading

- Activating learners’ prior knowledge and experiences

- Selection of a wide range of texts of appropriate lengths and different topics - Interplay between texts and tasks

- The provision of teacher support and the need to promote learner independence

Underlying principles

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IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING

• To teach reading strategies explicitly

• To review the reading assessment items (e.g. levels of difficulty, range of reading skills)

• To ask appropriate questions for different pedagogical purposes

• To provide feedback to students on their reading

skills development

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Planning and Implementing

the Senior Secondary English

Language Curriculum

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THE SENIOR SECONDARY

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

S6

S5

S4

Elective Part (25%) Compulsory

Part

(75%)

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THE ELECTIVE PART

• Adds variety to the English Language curriculum

• Caters for students’ diverse needs and interests

• Broadens students’ learning experiences

• Provides them with opportunities to apply

what they have learnt in the Compulsory

Part

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Language Arts Non-Language Arts

8 Elective Modules

Learning English through Drama

Learning English through Short Stories

Learning English through Poems and Songs

Learning English through Popular Culture

Learning English through Social Issues

Learning English through Debating

Learning English through Sports Communication Learning English through Workplace Communication

THE ELECTIVE PART

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(I) Choices of module, considering:

 Learners’ background, needs, interests and abilities

 Teachers’ expertise and readiness to teach the module

 Learning objectives and content of the modules

 Resources available, both inside and outside school

THE ELECTIVE PART

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Compulsory Part

Reading/ Writing Listening/ Speaking

Vocabulary

Text Types

Grammar Forms &

Communicative Functions

Speaking Skills

• pronunciation

• stress

• rhythm &

intonation

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

THE COMPULSORY AND ELECTIVE PARTS

(AN ILLUSTRATION WITH THE DRAMA MODULE)

Elective Part (Drama module)

Dramatised Reading

Role play / Drama performance Text Types

• dialogues

• stories

Extension, application and consolidation of what has been learned

• stress &

intonation

• expression of emotions and feelings

• short scene writing

• production of an original script

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PLANNING THE ELECTIVE MODULE IN CONTEXT (KEY CONSIDERATIONS)

• Approaches to implementing the elective module (as a standalone module or integrated with other curriculum and assessment components)

• Adaptations of the S.O.W.

(e.g. selecting appropriate learning focuses)

• Sources of learning and teaching materials

(e.g. textbooks, school-based materials, resource packages, the media)

• Teacher deployment

• Interface with the JS curriculum

• Timetabling

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TIMETABLING

Example 1: Module-specific lessons in a single block

CYCLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8

Example 2: Module-specific lessons in two or more smaller blocks

CYCLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8

CYCLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Lesson 7

Lesson 8

Example 3: 2 periods on the module per cycle

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INTEGRATING VARIOUS CURRICULUM COMPONENTS

Compulsory Part and Elective Part Elective Part and SBA

Elective Modules

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COMPULSORY PART AND ELECTIVE PART

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1. Reading a webpage article

2. Surfing websites on sports

3. Writing a presentation plan

1. Reading some fan material (e.g. magazines, letters, profiles)

2. Watching a video clip

3. Surfing websites and reading magazines on a sports player

1. Viewing part of a film on sports outside class 2. Writing a journal entry on a film on sports

3. Surfing websites on message boards of the film Task 1 (7 lessons)

Hot Sports

(Introducing a sport in the morning assembly)

Task 2 (5 lessons) Fan Talk

(Writing a piece of fan material on a sports player)

Task 3 (6 lessons) Open Forum

(Discussing a film on sports)

ELECTIVE PART AND SBA

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Examining the content, language and stylistic features

of advertisements

-Examining an issue from different perspectives

-Using language functions that signal

cause and effect

Producing a leaflet giving advice on how

to be a wise and sensible consumer

INTEGRATION OF ELECTIVE MODULES

Popular Culture

Social Issues

Final

Product

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ACTIVITY

• In groups, design three tasks set against a particular context to develop or consolidate the target

knowledge and skills pertaining to any two modules

in the Elective Part.

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EXPERIENCE SHARING

• In your group, share with others your experience in planning and/or implementing the senior secondary curriculum. You may want to talk about:

• if your school integrates different curriculum components;

• the challenges you encountered/you anticipate in planning and delivering the curriculum; and

• how you overcame the challenges/you think the

challenges could be tackled.

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USEFUL RESOURCES FOR THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

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USEFUL WEBSITES

• Professional development programmes (PDP)

 Information on PDP by Curriculum Development Institute, EDB

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/eng-edu/professional-development-programmes.html

Application and Details

http://tcs.edb.gov.hk

• Learning and teaching resources

 One-stop Portal for Learning and Teaching Resources

http://minisite.proj.hkedcity.net/edbosp-eng/eng/home.html

 Curriculum Documents

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/eng-edu/curriculum-documents.html

 References & Resources

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/eng-edu/references-resources.html

 ETV Programmes

http://etv.edb.gov.hk/home.aspx

 Radio Programmes

http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=4034&langno=1

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• Other useful websites

 Central Resources Centre by Curriculum Development Institute, EDB http://www.edb.gov.hk/crc

 Language Learning Support Section, EDB

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/applicable-to- primary-secondary/sbss/language-learning-support/index.html

 NET Section, EDB

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/resource- support/net/index.html

 The English Campus of HK Education City http://www.hkedcity.net/english/

USEFUL WEBSITES

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COURSES ON OFFER IN 2016/17

Course Title Mode Month/Year

1 Curriculum Leadership and Management for English Language Education Key Learning Area – Ongoing Renewal of the School Curriculum (Refreshed)

Seminar &

Workshop

Oct-Dec 2016

2 Developing Students' Thinking Skills through the Non-

language Arts Elective Modules (New) Workshop Apr-Jun 2017

3 Effective Learning and Application of Grammar

Knowledge in the Senior Secondary English Language Classroom (Re-run)

Workshop Apr-Jun 2017

4 Developing Junior Secondary Students' Writing Skills with Reference to the Learning Progression Framework (Refreshed)

Seminar &

Workshop

Oct-Dec 2016

5

Catering for Learner Diversity in the English Language Curriculum at the Secondary Level: (I) Reading and Listening Skills (Re-run)

Workshop Jan-Mar 2017

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COURSES ON OFFER IN 2016/17

6 Catering for Learner Diversity in the English Language Curriculum at the Secondary Level: (II) Speaking and Writing Skills (Re-run)

Workshop Feb-Apr 2017

7 Adopting e-Learning to Enhance Secondary Students' Grammar Knowledge and Promote Self-directed

Learning (Re-run)

Seminar &

Workshop

Jan-Mar 2017

8

Effective Use of IT to Explore Literary Texts in the

Junior Secondary English Classroom (Re-run) Seminar &

Workshop

Jan-Mar 2017

9 Enhancing Assessment Literacy in the English Language Curriculum at the Secondary Level: (I) Reading and Listening Skills (New)

10

Enhancing Assessment Literacy in the English Language Curriculum at the Secondary Level: (II) Speaking and Writing Skills (New)

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COURSES ON OFFER IN 2016/17

11

Enhancing the Interface: Developing Reading Skills of Junior Secondary Students with Reference to the

Learning Progression Framework (Re-run)

Seminar &

Workshop

Jan-Mar 2017

12

Effective Use of e-Resources for Communication –

Tapping into Students’ Creativity, Critical Thinking and Problem-solving Abilities (Re-run)

Seminar &

Workshop

Mar-Apr 2017

13

Adopting e-Learning to Cater for Students with Special Educational Needs in the Junior Secondary English Classroom (New)

Seminar &

14

Enriching and Extending Students’ Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing across the Curriculum at the Secondary Level (Re-run)

Seminar &

15

Media Literacy in the Junior Secondary English

Classroom – Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills through the Use of Digital Texts (Re-run)

Seminar &

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