UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
• English Language Education Section
• Curriculum Development Institute
• Education Bureau
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.
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
STEM Education (including entrepreneurial spirit) & Reading across the Curriculum e-Learning & Information Literacy
Examples
THE SENIOR SECONDARY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
S6
S5
S4
Elective Part (25%) Compulsory
Part
(75%)
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
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT GUIDE (SECONDARY 4-6), P.54
FEATURES OF A TASK
Involves learners in thinking and doing
Requires learners to draw upon a
framework of
knowledge and skills
Product Purpose
Context
Adapted from Enhancing English Vocabulary Learning and Teaching at Secondary Level (2012)
ADOPTING A TASK-BASED APPROACH IN LESSON DESIGN
Module
Cultures of the World
Task 1
Reading an email from the teacher-
in-charge of the
“Hong Kong’s Heritage Excursion”
Task 2 Listening to an interview with the
Executive Secretary of the
Antiquities and Monuments Office
Task 4 Making
recommendations for the heritage
tour
Final Task
Writing a proposal and designing a poster Unit
Heritage Conservation
Task 3
Reading leaflets about some heritage sites in
Hong Kong
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
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
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
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
14
T
EXPOSURE TO A WIDE RANGE OF TEXT TYPES
Text Types for Key Stage 1
Additional Text Types for Key Stage 2
Additional Text Types for Key Stage 3
Additional Text Types for Key Stage 4
• Advertisements
• Captions
• Cards
• Cartoons/comics
• Charts
• Diaries
• Fables/fairy tales
• Forms
• Illustrations
• Leaflets
• Lists
• Menus
• Notes and messages
• Notices
• Personal letters
• Poems
• Postcards
• Announcements
• Autobiographies
• Biographies
• Blogs
• Brochures
• Children’s
encyclopaedias
• Discussions
• Emails
• Formal letters
• Informational reports
• Jokes
• Maps and legends
• News reports
• Plays
• Questionnaires
• Recipes
• Book
reviews/reports
• Encyclopaedias
• Film reviews
• Interviews
• Itineraries
• Letters to the editor
• Manuals
• Memoranda
• Newspaper/
Magazine articles
• Presentations
• Short films
• Short novels
• Social media texts
• Talks
• Trailers
• Abstracts/synopses
• Agendas
• Debates
• Documentaries
• Editorials
• Essays
• Feature articles
• Films
• Minutes
• Novels
• Proposals
• Speeches
• Resumes
• Thesauri
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
Listening
Speaking Writing
Reading Language
across the Curriculum
• Reading across the curriculum (RaC) is a component within Language across the Curriculum
• RaC
– reading as a fundamental mode of learning
– explicit teaching of reading to be integrated with teaching the curriculum
– students learning to read
• the subject matter of pedagogic texts
• the associated language patterns
(Martin & Rose, 2005) Academic
content Awareness
+
Academic language awareness
Liberal Studies
READING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
ENTRY POINTS
English
Language
Content
Reading‐related strategies
Text structure/grammar
Rhetorical functions Language features (e.g.) LS Maths Sci
Comparison However, on the contrary, despite, whereas
* *
Procedure Imperatives * *
Recount Past tense *
Explanation Due to, because, since; therefore, so, as a result
* * *
Description Adjectives, passive construction * *
Conclusion To summarise, to conclude * *
Suggestion Can, may, suggest *
Understanding instructions Wh-words, imperatives * * *
Presentation of facts Present tense * * *
Assumption Future tense, If, let, suppose * *
Reading strategies:
• Identifying main and supporting ideas
• Working out the meaning of
unfamiliar words Content:
Overpopulation
Language features:
• Nominalisation
• Describing consequences
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
Task 1:
Understanding the Housing Issues in Hong Kong
• You will identify the housing issues in Hong Kong based on the information collected and discuss possible solutions to the problems identified.
Task 2:
Exploring the Issues of Country Park Conservation and Residential Development
• You will read a fact sheet and letters to the editor to identify arguments for and against utilising country park areas in residential development, and present your own views on the issue.
Task 3:
Examining an Argumentative Essay
• You will study a winning essay of the essay writing competition last year and analyse its language features and structure.
Task 4:
Writing an Essay for the Competition
• You will write an essay FOR or AGAINST the topic “Developing country parks into residential areas does more good than harm to Hong Kong”.
FOLLOWING AND EVALUATING
POINTS OF VIEWS
D. City planners claim that there are options other than using the readily available country parks to increase land supply. Nevertheless, these options are entirely infeasible. Reclamation, creation of man- made islands or even development of underground homes may sound fabulous, yet they do not appear with a swing of a magic wand. Can we afford any more delays in providing for the numerous hopeless children and elderly now living in tiny cages and coffin-sized subdivided flats?
Kowloon City
DEVELOPING CONVINCING ARGUMENTS
Introducing counter-arguments
• It is said/thought/believed that …
• Some people/Opponents/
Those who disagree may argue/claim that …
• One might object that …
• It seems true/possible that …
Presenting refutations
• Yet/However/Still/
Nevertheless/Nonetheless/
• While the claim may be widely supported, it is
indeed impractical/it is not necessarily true because …
UNDERSTANDING THE SALIENT
FEATURES OF ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING
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
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
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
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
Planning and Implementing
the Senior Secondary English
Language Curriculum
THE SENIOR SECONDARY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
S6
S5
S4
Elective Part (25%) Compulsory
Part
(75%)
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
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
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
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
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
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
INTEGRATING VARIOUS CURRICULUM COMPONENTS
Compulsory Part and Elective Part Elective Part and SBA
Elective Modules
COMPULSORY PART AND ELECTIVE PART
41
ELECTIVE PART AND SBA
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
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.
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.
USEFUL RESOURCES FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
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
USEFUL WEBSITES
• Learning and teaching resources
Curriculum Documents http://www.edb.gov.hk/elecg
One-stop Portal for Learning and Teaching Resources http://minisite.proj.hkedcity.net/edbosp-eng/eng/home.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
USEFUL WEBSITES
• 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/