UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

(1)

UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

• English Language Education Section

• Curriculum Development Institute

• Education Bureau

(2)

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 spend 25% of the lesson time on the teaching of the Elective Part.

3. There is a huge gap between the JS and the SS curricula.

4. Since the elective modules are not properly assessed in

the HKDSE examination, they need not be taught.

(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.

(4)

Planning the New Senior

Secondary English Language

Curriculum at Classroom Level

(5)

DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

9 Gener ic Sk il ls V alues and Atti tudes

Flexible and Diversified Modes of

Curriculum Planning +

Effective Learning, Teaching and Assessment

Overall Aims and Learning Targets of English Language

Knowledge

Interpersonal Experience

Learning Objectives: Forms and Functions Skills and Strategies Attitudes

The English Language Curriculum

Strands

(6)

THE SENIOR SECONDARY

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

S6

S5

S4

Elective Part (25%) Compulsory

Part

(75%)

(7)

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

(8)

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.

(9)

THE COMPULSORY PART

 Task-based Learning

 Grammar in Context

 Language Arts

 Integrated Skills

 Assessment for Learning

 Self-access Language Learning

(10)

FEATURES OF A TASK

Involves learners in thinking and doing

Requires learners to draw upon a

framework of

knowledge and skills

Product Purpose

Context

(11)

 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

(12)

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 Unit

The Internet

(13)

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

(14)

Junior Secondary

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

•Extensive reading and viewing

•Further development of language 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 and production 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 language skills and strategies

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

(15)

Junior Secondary

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

•Extensive reading and viewing

•Further development of language skills and strategies

Senior Secondary

•School-based

Primary

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

Curriculum

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

(16)

16

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

(17)

Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary

•School-based

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

Primary

Curriculum

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

(18)

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF READING SKILLS

AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL

18

Variety of text types Level of difficulty

Integrating reading into regular English Language lessons with

the other language skills of listening, speaking and writing

(19)

READING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

19

• 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

(20)

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

Reading texts Focus questions

Cross-KLA activities

(21)

Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary

•School-based

Primary

Curriculum

LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACROSS KEY STAGES

(22)

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

(23)

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

(24)

Example:

2013 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B1 Easy Section

Example:

2012 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B2 Difficult Section

Reading text 2 Para 7 and 8

Group courses for beginners comprise eight weekly classes of 45 minutes and cost HK$1,680. Each focuses on the basic skills of string plucking, correct body posture while playing and proper use of both hands.

One-to-one classes are available for beginner, intermediate and advanced students and cost HK$420, HK$480 and HK$550 respectively. Skype lessons are available for people who would find travelling to the school difficult.

Reading text 4 Para 10

Many young Chinese lament there is no Bill Gates of China. And the most cutting-edge scientific institutions are research centers run by Western-educated administrators wooing Chinese-born scientists back from the West, where they had relocated in order to enjoy the more rewarding research

environment abroad. If they had the money and the clout and the personal connections to do so, Chinese moms would want to send their kids to Harvard (as several top-level Chinese leaders have done). In other words, the key to success is seen as a hybrid of East and West, at least when viewed from the lair of the Tiger Moms.

ABSTRACTNESS

(25)

ORGANISATION

Example: Practice Paper Part B1 (Reading texts 3 & 4) Easy Section

(26)

Example: 2013 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B1 (Reading text 3) Easy Section [5] The study revealed that people with

low self-esteem were more negative than people with high self-esteem and liked less by strangers who rated their participants’ status update.

[6] The study also found that people with low self-esteem got more responses from their Facebook friends when they posted highly positive updates, compared to less positive ones. People with high self-esteem, on the other hand, used Facebook less and got more ‘like’ replies after posting something negative, perhaps because these responses are rarer for them.

[10] In theory, social networking websites like Facebook could be great for people with low self-esteem.

Sharing is important for improving friendships. But in practice, people with low self-esteem seem to behave counterproductively, bombarding their friends with negative tidbits about their lives and making themselves likeable.

ORGANISATION

(27)

ORGANISATION

(28)

Example:

2013 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B1 Easy Section

Example:

2012 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B2 Difficult Section

Reading text 3 Paras 2 & 3

New research suggests that so-called power users, who contribute much more content than the average Facebook user, are

unwittingly revealing undesirable personal traits to their peers. The recent study also suggests that Facebook is not good for those suffering from low self-esteem.

‘We had this idea that Facebook could be a fantastic place for people to strengthen their relationships,’ says Amanda Forest of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

Reading text 3 Para 1

The Wall Street Journal’s provocative January 8 headline alone – ‘Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior’ – would have been enough to spark intense discussion. But coupled with an excerpt from Amy Chua’s parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (Penguin Press, Jan.), that sharply contrasts so-called ‘Eastern’ and

‘Western’ styles of parenting, what

resulted was nothing less than a firestorm.

DENSITY OF INFORMATION

(29)

IMPLICATIONS FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING

• To review the texts in the examination

papers/textbooks/skills books/practice papers in relation to students’ language abilities and learning needs

• To select different texts for different pedagogical

purposes (e.g. teaching/practising/assessing reading skills)

• To plan reading programmes which include a range of

texts to cater for learner diversity

(30)

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

(31)

Planning and Implementing

the Senior Secondary English

Language Curriculum

(32)

THE SENIOR SECONDARY

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

S6

S5

S4

Elective Part (25%) Compulsory

Part

(75%)

(33)

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

(34)

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

(35)

(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

(36)

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

(37)

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)

• Timetabling

• 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

(38)

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

Lesson 9

(39)

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

Lesson 9

TIMETABLING

(40)

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

Lesson 9

Example 3: 2 periods on the module per cycle

TIMETABLING

(41)

41

INTEGRATING VARIOUS CURRICULUM COMPONENTS

Compulsory Part and Elective Part Elective Part and SBA

Elective Modules

(42)

COMPULSORY PART AND ELECTIVE PART

(43)

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

(44)

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

(45)

Target Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes

Popular Culture ^ the content, strategies, language and stylistic features of

advertisements/commercials

 linguistics and stylistic features of a leaflet

 organising structure of a leaflet

Social Issues ^ understanding how various

perspectives and lines of reasoning are presented within a reading text

 demonstrating critical awareness of the complex nature of the issue by examining it from different

perspectives

 language functions that signal causes and effects in a discussion

ELECTIVE MODULES

(46)

46

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.

(47)

47

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.

(48)

USEFUL RESOURCES FOR THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

(49)

USEFUL WEBSITES

• Professional development programmes (PDP)

 Information on PDP by Curriculum Development Institute, EDB http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/resources-

support/booklet_on_professional_development_programmes/pdp_for_heads_

and_teachers_web_1415/index.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

 Radio Programmes

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

(50)

• Other useful websites

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

 Language Learning Support Section, EDB

http://cd1.edb.hkedcity.net/cd/languagesupport/resource/index_e.htm

 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

(51)

THANK YOU

(52)

(53)

(54)

COURSES ON OFFER IN 2014/15

Course Title No. of Events Enrol. per Event Dura- tion per Event 1 Workshop on Catering for Learner Diversity in the English

Language Curriculum: (I) Reading and Listening Skills (Re-run) 2 30 3 hr 2 Workshop on the Language Arts Modules: Learning English

through Popular Culture (Re-run) 2 30 3 hr

3 Workshop on the Language Arts Modules: Learning English

through Short Stories (Re-run) 2 30 3 hr

4 Exploring Film in the Literature in English Classroom (New) 1 30 3 hr

5 Workshop on Catering for Learner Diversity in the English

Language Curriculum: (II) Speaking and Writing Skills (New) 2 30 3 hr 6 Exploring Literary Texts through e-Learning in the Junior

Secondary English Classroom (New) 2 30 3 hr

7 Incorporating e-Learning into the Development of Integrated

Language Skills (New) 3 30 3 hr

8 Strategies on Using e-Resources to Cultivate Students’

Creativity in Speaking and Writing (New) 3 30 3 hr

9 Connecting Reading and Writing in the Secondary English

Language Classroom (Re-run) 2 30 6 hr

(55)

COURSES ON OFFER IN 2014/15

Course Title No. of Events Enrol. per Event Dura- tion per Event 10 Understanding and Interpreting the English Language

Curriculum (New) 2 30 3 hr

11 Workshop on the Non-language Arts Modules: Learning

English through Workplace Communication (Re-run) 2 30 3 hr

12 Workshop on the Non-language Arts Modules: Learning

English through Social Issues (Re-run) 2 30 3 hr

13 Curriculum Leadership and Management for English

Language Education (Secondary) (Re-run) 2 30 3 hr

14 Designing a School-based Junior Secondary English Writing Programme with Reference to the Learning Progression

Framework (New) 2 30 3 hr

15 Enhancing Students’ Grammar Knowledge and Skills through

e-Learning (New) 3 30 3 hr

16 The Reading Journey across Key Stages: Enhancing Students’

Development of Reading Skills and Strategies at the Junior

Secondary Level (New) 2 30 3 hr

17 Promoting Assessment FOR and AS Learning (New) 2 30 3 hr

(56)

(57)