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Life-wide Learning: English Language Education
Curriculum Aims
To provide every student of English with further opportunities for extending their knowledge and experience of the cultures of other people as well as opportunities for personal and intellectual development, further studies, pleasure and work in the English medium.
To enable every student to prepare for the changing socio-economic demands resulting from advances in information technology; these demands include the interpretation, use and production of materials for pleasure, study and work in the English medium.
Learning and Teaching
Schools are encouraged to enrich English language learning and teaching through life-wide learning; task-based learning and teaching; e-learning etc.
Providing greater opportunities for students to use English for purposeful communication both inside and outside the classroom.
Making use of student-centred instruction to promote learner independence.
Making greater use of literary or imaginative texts to promote critical thinking and encourage free expression and creativity.
Assigning quality homework to provide language practice in meaningful contexts, instead of meaningless mechanical drills.
Inviting students to read a wide range of materials with different subject content and text types to facilitate the development of a culture of “reading to learn” and
“Reading across the Curriculum” (RaC), and designing appropriate tasks for students to appreciate the value of reading.
Promoting the development of strategies, values and attitudes that are conducive to effective, self-directed, independent and lifelong learning.
Life-wide Learning
Learning is by no means limited to the classroom. It can take place at any time, in any place (including the home and community) and in any form. Teachers of the English Language Education KLA should enrich and extend students’ language learning experiences in real contexts and authentic settings through English-related life-wide learning activities. To help create a language-rich environment to support life-wide learning, teachers are encouraged to:
interact with students in English both inside and outside the classroom (e.g.
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encouraging students to join English language camps as campers, camp helpers or camp leaders);
provide students with greater exposure to authentic and integrative use of English (e.g. inviting poets and writers to give talks in English, using the media as a language learning resource, visiting international schools, business firms and institutions, or charitable organisations);
encourage students to seek and create opportunities to learn and use English in natural and realistic settings (e.g. collecting authentic materials or samples of the use of English in the community and sharing them with peers and teachers, searching for information in English on the Internet, watching films or TV programmes in English, listening to English radio programmes, interacting with people from non Chinese-speaking backgrounds in English);
maximise the use of space and resources in school (e.g. ensuring students’ easy access to computer facilities for language learning beyond lesson time, setting up an English Corner or posting authentic materials and students’ work on the bulletin boards, the walls or the school’s intranet to facilitate wide reader access); and
promote learning through co-curricular activities and English-related competitions (e.g. drama performances, inter-school debating competitions, participating in English radio programmes, visits to public libraries and museums)
Examples of LWL
There are many opportunities for students to learn English through experiential learning outside the classroom, e.g.
Making Use of Community Resources and Extending English Learning Outside the Classroom (Secondary 1-3)
Promoting Life-wide Learning through Interacting with Non-Chinese Speaking Students: “It’s a Small World” (Primary 4 — 6);
Encouraging students to participate in a variety of English learning activities such as the following:
Activities Examples on organising bodies of relevant activities
Choral Verse Speaking Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival Drama Activities / Prose Reading Hong Kong School
Drama Festival
Creative Writing School Publications
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Source from English Languaage Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 - Secondary 6) (CDC 2017)
