UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

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

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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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DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

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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 Unit

The Internet

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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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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

•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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T

EXPOSURE TO A WIDE RANGE OF TEXT TYPES

Examples of Text

types for Key Stage 1 Examples of Text

types for Key Stage 2 Examples of Text

types for Key Stage 3 Examples of Text types for Key Stage 4

• 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

• 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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GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF READING SKILLS

AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL

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Variety of text types Level of difficulty

Integrating reading into regular English Language lessons with

the other language skills of listening, speaking and writing

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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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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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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. level of difficulties, 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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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/resources-

support/booklet_on_professional_development_programmes/pdp_for_heads_and_teachers_web_1516/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/home.aspx

 Radio Programmes

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

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• 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

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COURSES ON OFFER IN 2015/16

Course Title No. of

Events Enrolment

per Event Duration of Event 1

Workshop on Catering for Learner Diversity in the English Language Curriculum:

(I) Reading and Listening Skills (e-run) ³ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} 2

Workshop on Catering for Learner Diversity in the English Language Curriculum:

(II) Speaking and Writing Skills (Re-run) ³ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} 3

Using Effective Assessment Practices to Enhance Learning and Teaching of English

(New) ² ³⁰ ^{3 hrs}

4

*Designing a School-based Junior Secondary English Writing Programme with Reference to

the Learning Progression Framework (Re-run) ² ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} 5

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

Reference to the Learning Progression Framework (Refreshed)

3 30 6 hrs

40

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COURSES ON OFFER IN 2015/16

Course Title No. of

Events Enrolment

per Event Duration of Event 6

Incorporating E-learning into the Development

of Integrated Language Skills (Refreshed) ₃ ₃₀ _{3 hrs}

7

Effective Use of E-resources for

Communication – Tapping into Students’

Creativity, Critical Thinking and Problem-

solving Abilities (New) ³ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs}

8

Effective Use of IT to Explore Literary Texts in the Junior Secondary English Classroom (Re-

run) ³ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs}

9

Adopting E-learning to Enhance Students’

Grammar Knowledge and Promote Self-

directed Learning (New) ³ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs}

41

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COURSES ON OFFER IN 2015/16

Course Title No. of

Events Enrolment per

Event Duration of Event 10

Enhancing Students’ Writing Skills through Promoting Self-directed Learning Strategies

(New) ² ³⁰ ^{3 hrs}

11

Enriching and Extending Students’ Learning Experiences through Reading and Writing

across the Curriculum (New) ² ³⁰ ^{6 hrs}

12

Media Literacy in the Junior Secondary English Classroom – Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills

through the Use of Digital Texts (New) ³ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} 13 The Learning and Teaching of Film in the

Literature in English Classroom (New) ¹ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} 14 The Learning and Teaching of Poetry in the

Literature in English Classroom (New) ¹ ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} 15

Effective Learning and Application of

Grammar Knowledge in the Senior Secondary

English Language Classroom (New) ² ³⁰ ^{3 hrs}

16 Adopting a Task-based Approach to Planning and Implementing the Senior Secondary

English Language Curriculum (New) ² ³⁰ ^{3 hrs} ₄₂

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