Ongoing Renewal of the School Curriculum

English Language Education Section Curriculum Development Institute

Education Bureau 12 December 2018

Curriculum Leadership Series:

Ongoing Renewal of the School Curriculum

for English Panel Chairpersons

Objectives

• To enhance teachers’ understanding of the role of English Language curriculum leaders in planning the school curriculum under the ongoing renewal of the school curriculum;

• To provide suggestions on how to lead the English Panel in incorporating the new emphases, in particular, the promotion of Reading/Language across the Curriculum (R/LaC) in the school English Language curriculum; and

• To share strategies and experiences on how to promote

reading and R/LaC (by the Vice Principal and LaC

Chairperson of Carmel Divine Grace Secondary School)

1) As an English Language Curriculum leader at your school,  what are the duties/jobs that have taken up a lot of your  time recently?

2) Talk about one thing that you would like to try 

out/enhance in the English Language curriculum of your  school to improve students’ English proficiency. 

In groups of 4 – 5 , share the following: 

Ice‐breaking

Role of English Language Curriculum Leaders  

Role of English Curriculum Leaders

4 Collaborate with other KLA  panels and promote a culture 

of collaboration English 

Curriculum  Leaders Plan, implement and 

evaluate the  curriculum

Keep abreast of latest  developments in the curriculum  and initiate changes as necessary

Build capacity Manage resources

Assist in implementing  the whole‐school 

curriculum

Provide appropriate  student‐centred  language programmes

Create a language‐rich  environment in the 

school Ensure 

vertical and horizontal  curriculum coherence Enhance 

assessment literacy

Curriculum Leadership and Management  

Management Leadership

Staff and resources deployment

Implementing the school curriculum and other related initiatives

 Adaptable to changes

 Goal setting

 Re-evaluating goals and modifying the school curriculum

Maintenance Development

Source: Turner, C. (2005). How to Run Your Department Successfully. London: Continuum

Curriculum  Planning

Learning  and  Teaching

Resources  Management Curriculum 

Leadership and  Management

• Enhancing students’ language and generic skills that  contribute to the success of their study 

• Developing a reading programme to support students’ literacy  skills development across levels

• Promoting reading / writing across the curriculum

Leading and working with panel members to

• teach reading and writing skills explicitly

• enrich students’ English learning experiences through  promoting LaC

• integrate e‐learning into the English Language classroom

• Collaborating with the school librarian to identify suitable reading  texts  and organising cross‐curricular learning activities 

• Seeking external resources and support (Applying for funds from  the school sponsoring body / alumni / Quality Education Fund)

For example:

Curriculum Leadership and Management

Curriculum Planning

• Teachers aligning what is taught, and discussing  the progress of learning and conduct of 

assessments to ensure key concepts are covered  in every classroom at the same level

Horizontal  coherence

• Learning logically sequenced across all levels so  that students are building on what they have  previously learnt and progress to more 

challenging, higher‐level work

Vertical  coherence

• Ensuring the curriculum is well‐planned to  facilitate learning in the subject, and enabling  communication and collaboration among all  teachers in the panel

Subject‐area  coherence

• Focusing on skills and habits that students need  to succeed in their study, such as reading and  writing skills, generic skills

Interdisciplinary 

coherence 

Respond to  local, 

regional and  global 

contextual  changes

Build on  existing 

strengths and  practices of 

schools

Curriculum  enhancement 

to benefit  student  learning 

Ongoing Renewal of the 

School Curriculum 

(CDC, 2002) (P1 – S3)

(CDC, 2004) (CDC, 1999) (CDC & HKEAA, 2007)

9  years

(CDC, 2017) (P1 – S6)

12  years

(CDC, 2004) (CDC, 2018) (CDC & HKEAA, 2007) with  updates in 2015 Supplement to 

ELE KLACG (JS)

Ongoing Renewal of the School Curriculum

https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum‐development/renewal/index.html

Updating of the English Language Education (ELE) 

Key Learning Area (KLA) Curriculum Guide 

Major Updates of the ELE KLACG (P1‐S6) Major Updates of the ELE KLACG (P1‐S6)

Catering for the Needs of SEN and Gifted Students in the Mainstream English Classroom

Learning and Teaching of Text Grammar

Extending from Assessment for Learning to Assessment as Learning

Integrative Use of Generic Skills Literacy Development

Values Education

Reading across the Curriculum (e.g STEM education)

e-Learning & Information Literacy

Multi‐

modal  texts

Sound  effects

Images

Written  texts Spoken 

language Music

“Literacy” has taken on a new meaning as texts are no longer a

linear form of presentation limited to words, but are composed

of various modes of communication

Pedagogy to Enhance Literacy Development

Understand the ideas in the multimodal texts under

teachers’ guidance Analyse and explore how

messages are presented Evaluate the messages and

values embedded in the multimodal texts

Express and create messages using different modes of

communication

Access

Understand

Analyse &

Explore Evaluate

Express &

Create

Interacting with Multimodal Texts

Producing Multimodal Texts

Access information from a variety of sources

e‐Learning

e ‐Learning refers to an open and flexible learning mode involving the use of the electronic media, including the use of digital resources and communication tools to achieve the learning objectives.

“Pedagogy empowered by digital technology"

Enhancing  interactions  in the English 

classroom

Design of interactive 

learning  activities

Effective use  of learning  and teaching 

materials

Effective use  of learning & 

teaching strategies Making use 

of e‐

environment

Enhancing Interactions in the English Classroom

Information Literacy for Hong Kong Students

Category Eight Literacy Areas

Effective and Ethical use of  information for lifelong learning

1 Use, provide and communicate information ethically and responsibly

Generic IL 2 Identify and define a need for information 3 Locate and access relevant information

4 Evaluate information and information providers, in terms of authority, credibility and current  purpose

5 Extract and organise information and create new ideas

Information World 6 Be able to apply IT skills in order to process information and produce user‐generated content

7 Recognise the roles and functions of information providers (e.g. libraries, museums, internet)  in the society

8 Recognise the conditions under which reliable information could be obtained Information users Information providers

Information need Locate information

Organise & Create Evaluate information

IT skills

Media Literacy:

Information providers

Conditions for reliable information

Integrative Use of  Generic Skills

Basic Skills Thinking Skills Personal and Social Skills

Communication  Skills

Critical Thinking  Skills

Self‐management  Skills

Mathematical 

Skills Creativity Self‐learning Skills

IT Skills Problem Solving  Skills

Collaboration 

Skills

Integrative Use of Generic Skills 

Two examples of integrative use of generic skills:

‐ Holistic thinking skills: involving the use of critical  thinking skills, problem solving skills and 

creativity 

‐ Collaborative problem solving skills: involving the  use of collaboration skills, communication skills  and problem solving skills 

to prepare students for more complicated 

tasks

National identity National identity

Values Education

Integrity

Perseverance

Commitment

Respect for others

Responsibility

Basic Law education

Life education

Media education Sex

education

Human rights education

Health &

anti-drug education Environmental

education Road

safety education

Care for others

Seven priority values and attitudes

Values education in different domains

Moral and civic

education

When incorporating values education into the  school‐based English Language curriculum, 

schools should take into consideration:

School development plan and major

concerns

Cross-KLA or Cross-

departmental collaboration

Life-wide learning School mission

and/or religious background

Curriculum planning and

task design

Grammar in Context and Text Grammar

Grammar in 

Context Complementary 

Concepts  Text Grammar

• beyond sentence level

• grammar items typical of a  particular text type

• how grammar contributes to the  structure, coherence, tone, style  and register of a text

• how to apply grammar knowledge  to create texts of different text  types

• the link between form  and function and how  grammar makes meaning  and varies in different  contexts

• how contexts shape the  choice of language used 

Strengthening Assessment for Learning  (AfL)

Homework

Quiz/

Test/Exam

Project

Portfolio Learning

Task &

Activity Online

Assessment Performance

Task

Process Writing

Oral Presentation

Adopting Diversified

Modes of Assessment

Observation

Assessment tools

Assessment data

Extending AfL to 

Assessment as Learning

Monitoring the learning process

Reflecting on learning performance &

effectiveness of strategies adopted

Formulating plans to attain goals Setting personalised

learning goals

Accommodating diverse students’needs in the mainstream English classroom 

Catering for the Needs of SEN & Gifted Students  in the Mainstream English Classroom

Gifted students

Allowing flexibility with the curriculum to address differences in the rate, depth and pace of learning

Providing enrichmentactivities which encourage creativityand original thinking

Encouraging students to pursue

independent projects or study based on their interests and abilities

Guiding students to set individual goals and assume ownership of their learning

Students with SEN Adapting the learning content Adopting a multisensory

approach to learning and teaching Using multimodal learning and teaching aids and materials

Adjusting the pace and linguistic load of instruction

Setting realistic assessment goals/objectives

Besides adopting effective strategies, such as flexible grouping, differentiating learning  tasks and promoting self‐access learning, to cater for students’ diverse needs, due  consideration should also be given to support students with special educational needs  (SEN) and gifted students. 

Mainstream English classroom

E N

S G I F TE D

You are a summer intern in the publicity team of Go Green, a non- governmental organisation committed to promoting environmental protection and green living. Your team is responsible for designing advertising materials to raise public awareness of environmental problems. Your boss has asked you to research online and read extensively to keep abreast of the latest development of environmental issues. You need to identify an issue which is worth public attention and design an e-booklet to educate the public about it.

Situation:

Subject:  English Language Level: Senior Secondary Unit: Environmental Protection

Subject:  English Language Level: Senior Secondary Unit: Environmental Protection

Task 1 Identifying and 

researching on  an 

environmental  issue

Task 2 Reading a  leaflet to learn 

the related  vocabulary and  analyse the text 

type and  language  features

Task 3 

Devising a plan for  the production of a 

6‐8 page booklet  on the chosen  environmental 

issue

Task 4 Producing the  e‐booklet using 

the app iBook  Creator for 

sharing on  Edmodo

‐ Values education: Environmental  education 

‐ Development of new literacy and  information literacy

‐ Application of new knowledge and skills, including the integrative use of generic skillsandlanguage skills

‐ Use of Edmodo to facilitate assessment for/as learning

‐ Creation of a  multimodal text 

Supplement to the ELE KLACG (S1 – 3)

Aims to provide teachers with further suggestions  on the implementation of the English Language  curriculum at KS3 (S1 – 3)

Revisits the curriculum emphases provided in the  Syllabus for English Language (S1 – 5) (1999) for  renewal and puts forth new emphases to reflect the  changing contexts

Serves as a supplement to the ELE KLACG  (2017)

http://www.edb.gov.hk/elecg

Supplement to the ELE KLACG (S1 – 3)

The Supplement consists of six chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

The Learning and Teaching of Listening

The Learning and Teaching of Speaking The Learning and Teaching of Reading The Learning and Teaching of Writing

The Learning and Teaching of Language Arts

Promoting Language across the Curriculum at Secondary Level

Break

1) What is your experience in collaborating with  teachers of other panels in promoting Reading  across the Curriculum or cross‐KLA activities to  support students’ learning of English?

2) How will you make use of the reading grant to  promote reading/RaC at your school?

Share with your group members: 

Discussion 

Reading across the Curriculum

Challenges for Secondary School Students

Primary Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary Formality

Ranging from everyday

life to formal situations

Text Complexity

Ranging from simple texts to complex

texts

English Language  Education

Fine‐tuned  MOI arrangements

Academic content awareness

+

Academic language awareness

Language demand grows in terms of

and

Reading across the Curriculum is a

component within

Language across the curriculum (LaC)

Reading across the Curriculum - reading as a fundamental

mode of learning

(Martin & Rose, 2005) Academic

content awareness

+

Academic language awareness

Reading across the Curriculum

Speaking Writing

Language across the Curriculum Listening Reading

• Reading across the curriculum (RaC) helps students

among concepts and ideas acquired in different KLAs.

• RaC

– explicit teaching of reading skills and strategies to be integrated

with the curriculum

– students learning to read

• the subject matter of pedagogic texts

• the associated language patterns

– develop students’ literacy skills, positive

and

Academic content awareness

+

Academic language awareness

(Martin & Rose, 2005)

Reading across the Curriculum

Academic content awareness

+

Academic language awareness

Chinese

English

Liberal Studies Mathematics

In terms of topics  / themes

R eading across the Curriculum

Reading across the Curriculum

Chinese

English Mathematics

Liberal  Studies

In terms of  reading skills  and 

strategies

Rhetorical Functions & Language Features

Rhetorical functions Language features (e.g.) ^PSH

E

ME SE TE AE PE

Comparison Connectives: (KS3 – KS4)

However, on the contrary, despite, whereas 

* *

Procedure Imperatives: (KS1 – KS4):

Hold the racket vertically. 

* * * * *

Recount Past tense: (KS1 – KS4)

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945.

* * *

Explanation  Connectives: (KS2 – KS4)

Due to, because, since; therefore, so, as a result

* * *

Description Adjectives: (KS1 – KS4)

Postmodern, romantic, three‐dimensional Passive construction: (KS3 ‐ KS4)

Water is pumped to the water treatment station.

* * *

Conclusion To summarise, to conclude ^{* *}

Suggestion Modal verbs: (KS2 ‐ KS4)

Can, may, could, might, should

* *

Instructions Wh‐words: (KS1 – KS4)

What is the sum of the numbers from 1 through 1000000? 

Imperatives: (KS1 – KS4)

Discuss the impacts of Meiji Restoration.

* * * * * *

Presentation of facts Present tense: (KS1 – KS4)

The Earth rotates around the Sun.

* * *

Assumption If, let, suppose: (KS2 – KS4)

The value of a gold coin is $3 200. If its value increases by  6% each year, what will be its value after 4 years?

* *

Examples

Strategies for Promoting RaC

Explicit Teaching of  Learning Strategies

Features of different text types

(e.g. text structures, rhetorical functions &

the related language items)

Use of visual representation to deconstruct the structure,

language & content of the

texts Reading & enabling

skills

(e.g. vocabulary building strategies,

phonics skills)

Communication / Interaction strategies that students can

apply in presentation &

discussion activities across

KLAs

Promoting Writing across the Curriculum (WaC)

 establish meaningful links among

concepts and ideas in other KLAs

Helping students

 develop a better

understanding of the language features of texts on cross-

curricular subjects

WaC is a meaningful follow‐up on RaC

Collaboration among KLAs

 Curriculum mapping

 The process of indexing or diagramming a curriculum to identify and address academic gaps, redundancies, and misalignments for purposes of improving the overall coherence of a course of study and, by extension, its effectiveness

 Bridging pedagogy in language development across the curriculum

 Language is the building blocks of cognitive development

 “… children first build on what they know before language, and then use language as well in constructing additional categories.”

 “Adding in systemic teaching of academic language skills helps in further developing the knowledge structure”

https://soyouthinkyoucanteachesl.com/2015/03/20/why‐is‐curriculum‐mapping‐important‐focus‐on‐curriculum‐part‐5/

Collaboration among KLAs

 Planning of curricula and collaborative development of  learning materials

 Teachers of different KLAs working closely to match the  language needed as well as the content for different  subjects

 Planning the English curriculum to facilitate and enhance  reading and writing skills for non‐language subjects 

 Working on the scheme of work of English Language to  incorporate language skills and features needed for non‐

language subjects 

 Producing learning and teaching materials for the use in 

the non‐language subjects

Collaboration among KLAs

 Conduct of cross‐curricular projects

 Small‐scale cross‐curricular projects: 

Subjects  Suggested Projects 

English + Mathematics Conduct a survey, e.g. to find out the favourite extra‐curricular activities of S1  students and present the findings in the form of statistical presentation and  oral presentation.

English + Geography  Describe the land use in the district where the school is located and suggest  alternative uses of the land. 

English + Computer  Literacy

Use of apps (e.g. “Explain Everything”, “Book Creator”) to produce English  digital multimodal texts

Collaboration among KLAs

 Conduct of cross‐curricular projects

 Large‐scale cross‐curricular projects:

 Collaboration of several KLAs on one project

Example: A project on a school tour to the Mainland History:

Students study the history of the place.

Geography:

Students read the map of the place and plan the tour.

Mathematics &

Computer Literacy:

Students prepare a statistical

presentation.

English:

Students present their findings in English.

English Language Education Section Language Learning Support Section

Native‐speaking English Teacher Section Quality Education Fund Thematic Network School‐based Professional Support Section Information Technology in Education Section

Support Professional 

Support

Professional Support by EDB

The English Language Education Webpage

http://www.edb.gov.hk/ele

Curriculum  Documents PDPs (Slides) References & 

Resources

 Literacy Development / Values Education

Resource Package on “Using Storytelling to 

Develop Students’ Literacy Skills and Positive Values” (2016)

ETV / DVD on “Exploring Text Types at the Secondary Level” (2015)   

Feature Article

News Report and Editorial

Persuasive Writing

Supplementary Notes on “Building a Strong Interface between the  Junior and Senior Secondary Curricula: Focusing on the Development  of Literacy Skills” (2016)

Resources in Support of the ELE KLACG (2017)

 e‐Learning

Resources in Support of the ELE KLACG (2017)

ETV on “Enhancing Students'  Language Skills with Multi‐modal  Texts” (2017)

Supplementary Notes on “Promoting  e‐Learning in the Senior Secondary  English Classroom” (2016)

 Cross‐curricular Learning 

Suggested Book Lists for Reading to Learn across  the Curriculum (KS1 – KS4)

 Assessment Literacy

Resources in Support of the ELE KLACG (2017)

The Learning Progression Framework for English  Language (2014)

Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing

 Supplementary Notes on “Promoting 

Assessment for and as Learning at the Senior  Secondary Level: Focusing on the Development  of Writing Skills” (2016)

 Text Grammar

Supplementary Notes on “The Learning  and Teaching of Grammar” (2016)

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

e‐Learning and Information Literacy

• e‐Learning Series: Media Literacy in the Junior Secondary English Classroom – Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills through the Use of Digital Texts

• e‐Learning Series: Effective Use of e‐Resources for Communication – Tapping into Secondary Students’ Creativity , Critical Thinking and Problem‐solving Abilities

• e‐Learning Series: Effective Use of Multimodal Materials in Language Arts to Enhance the Learning and Teaching of English at the Junior Secondary Level

Language across the Curriculum

• Enriching and Extending Students’ Learning Experiences through

Reading and Writing across the Curriculum at the Secondary Level

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

Catering for Learner Diversity

• Catering for Learner Diversity Series: Adopting e‐Learning to Cater for Students with Special Educational Needs in the Junior Secondary English Classroom

• Catering for Learner Diversity Series: Effective Strategies for Accommodating the Diverse Needs of Students in the Secondary English Classroom

• Catering for Learner Diversity Series: Stretching the Potentials of Advanced Learners in the Secondary English Language Classroom

Learning and Teaching of Grammar and Language Skills

• Adopting an Inductive Approach to Enhance Secondary Students’

Grammar Knowledge and Promote Self‐directed Learning

• Grammar as Choice: The Role of Grammar in Enhancing Students’ Writing

in the Senior Secondary English Language Classroom

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

Assessment Literacy

• Developing Reading and Listening Skills of Secondary Students with Reference to the Learning Progression Framework

• Developing Secondary Students’ Writing and Speaking Skills with Reference to the Learning Progression Framework

• Effective Assessment Practices in the Secondary English Language Curriculum

Integrative Use of Generic Skills and New Literacy Skills

• Developing Students’ Creativity and New Literacy Skills through Language Arts Elective Modules

• Developing Students’ Thinking Skills through Non‐language Arts

Elective Modules

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

PDPs for 2018/19 s.y.

Curriculum Leadership and New Teachers Series

• Curriculum Leadership Series: Ongoing Renewal of the School Curriculum for English Panel Chairpersons (Secondary)

• Curriculum Leadership Series: Ongoing Renewal of the School Curriculum for English Teachers (Secondary)

• Understanding and Interpreting the English Language Curriculum for

New English Teachers

Useful Websites

Learning and teaching resources

Resources developed by the Native-speaking English Teacher

Section, CDI

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

Resources developed by the Language Learning Support Section,

CDI http://cd1.edb.hkedcity.net/cd/languagesupport/resources.html

One-stop Portal for Learning and Teaching Resources

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

ETV Programmes

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

RTHK Teen Time Radio Programme

http://app3.rthk.hk/special/teentime/mainpage.php

HKedCity English Campus

https://www.hkedcity.net/english/

Promotion of Reading Grant

Purpose

• To support schools in strengthening the promotion of reading

• To encourage students to develop a good reading habitfrom a young age

Amount of Grant

• Primary schools: $20,000 ‐ $40,000

• Secondary schools: $50,000 ‐ $70,000

• Special schools: $30,000

Use of Grant

• Procuring reading resources, including printed books and e‐books

• Organising learning activities related to the promotion of reading

For details, please refer to EDB Circular No. 10/2018 Promotion

of Reading in Schools.