English Language
Curriculum Objectives
Junior Grades
Our junior grade curriculum focuses on developing students’ fluency, interest and habit in learning and using the language. In G7 and G8, students learn English in a holistic approach. We teach all skills in the form of novel study. For G9, we will prepare students for and help them better transit to senior grade curriculum by adopting different theme-based texts and tasks.
Reading
- To be able to read and understand a wide variety of literature, appropriate for this grade level, using a range of strategies to construct meaning.
- To recognise varieties of text forms and text features, and demonstrate understanding of how they construct meaning.
- To read and understand a wide variety of vocabularies appropriate for this grade level.
- To reflect on their strengths as readers and their areas for development.
-
New initiatives include External Reading Scheme and DEAR Time (Drop Everything And Read), promoting students’ interest in reading physical and online books.
Writing
- To generate, gather and organise ideas and information for an intended purpose and audience.
- To be able to draft and revise their writing, using a variety of strategies to adapt and edit for a purpose and audience.
- To use proofreading, editing and publishing skills to correct and refine their work effectively.
- To reflect on their strengths and areas for development in their writing skills.
Listening
- To be able to listen to various situations with varying levels of difficulty.
- To be able to listen for specific information, understand the gist of a conversation and identify key vocabularies.
- To learn how to take notes and use the alongside written information to prepare longer writing tasks.
Speaking
- To listen to and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes.
- To be able to use speaking skills and strategies to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
- To reflect on their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies that they found most helpful in oral communication situations.
Our school’s English Debate Team was awarded two golds and one silver in the 37th, 38th & 39th Sing Tao Inter-school Debating Competitions three years in a row! |
Our supportive teachers and students sharing the victory in the Grand Finals at Queen Elizabeth Stadium |
Our English Debate Team’s representatives for the 39th Sing Tao Inter-school Debating Competition |
Our student taking the spotlight when presenting his arguments during the 19th HKPDS Summer Workshop and Tournament 2023 |
Our English Debate Team’s Captain sharing her speech during the 19th HKPDS Summer Workshop and Tournament 2023. |
Our school hosted the 19th HKPDS Summer Workshop and Tournament 2023, an international debating tournament in British Parliamentary format. |
Three of our top students from both DSE and GCE A-level cohorts were awarded the Harvard Book Prize, celebrating their excellence in English. |
Our students participating in the AFTEC Young Theatre Makers – a bilingual learning programme focusing on the process of analysing, understanding a playscript and staging an excerpt in the theatre. |
Harvard Book Prize
Our Students participated in the AFTEC Young Theatre Makers. The programme is a bilingual learning scheme aimed at secondary students. It focuses on the process of analysing, understanding a playscript and staging an excerpt in the theatre, using plays as a framework for discussion and critical thinking. Our school AFTEC's drama program is highly renowned in the field.
Senior Grades (For HKDSE Candidates)
The English Language curriculum at the senior secondary level specifically aims to enable students to:
- broaden and deepen the language competencies they have developed through basic education, so that they are able to use English with increasing proficiency for personal and intellectual development, effective social interaction, further studies, vocational training, work and pleasure;
- further develop their interest and confidence in using English as their understanding and mastery of the language grow;
- further broaden their knowledge, understanding and experience of various cultures in which English is used;
- develop and prepare themselves for further studies, vocational training or work; and;
- further develop learning how to learn skills and positive values and attitudes conducive to meeting the needs of our rapidly changing knowledge-based society, including the interpretation, use and production of texts for pleasure, study and work in the English medium.
Curriculum Framework
The NSS English Language Curriculum provides a flexible framework that broadens students’ learning experience and caters for their diverse needs, interests and abilities. It includes the learning of English Language in the Interpersonal, Knowledge and Experience Strands, which embodies the essential content of learning for English Language at the senior secondary level.
Teachers will apply the organising structure of modules and tasks to facilitate the learning and teaching of the four language skills, grammar, communicative functions, vocabulary and text-types. The curriculum also includes both Language Arts and Non-Language Arts elements such as pop culture and social issues.
Senior Grades (For GCEAL Candidates)
The course
This course is specially designed to prepare the GCE-takers at our school for IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Recognised globally by the majority of universities, particularly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, IELTS is used by a number of professional and government institutions worldwide.
The course aims to develop students’ language competency with a focus on techniques and skills for the IELTS Academic test. Students will be introduced to and thoroughly practise the language skills and test techniques for all aspects of the test.
The curriculum
The curriculum covers the four test sections (Listening, Academic Reading, Academic Writing and Speaking) in depth. It provides extensive reviews of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Students will learn test-taking strategies through regular practice and receive individual feedback on their progress. To cater for students with different needs, different sets of materials will be developed. The course materials will help students familiarise themselves with the format and requirements of the test and develop the necessary skills.
Listening
- Understanding question types and the type of answers required
- Identifying key words and synonyms
- Predicting the listening topic and content
- Summarising factual information
- Strengthening vocabulary needed for different contexts
Academic Writing
- Analysing and describing graphs, tables, charts and diagrams
- Expressing opinions; making an argument for or against a particular topic
- Presenting ideas using academic-style language and paragraph structure
- Enhancing vocabulary and grammar needed for the above
Academic Reading
- Understanding question types and the type of answers required
- Skimming, scanning and reading for detail
- Identifying answers quickly
- Paraphrasing and summarising
- Distinguishing main ideas from supporting ones
Speaking
- Building confidence in speaking ability
- Communicating information on everyday topics and common experiences
- Giving opinions with justifications
- Analysing and summarising ideas
- Improving pronunciation, fluency and coherence
- Reducing speaking errors
- Developing lexical resources
Throughout the course, students will learn how to read successfully and to write high-quality essays. Students will continue to have further practice of listening, reading, writing and speaking skills, with more focus on vocabulary and grammar input. They will also do practice tests of the four papers, learning how to maximise their scores utilising these skills. The skills covered, however, are not restricted to test-taking strategies but also reflect the broader range of language that students will encounter in an English-speaking environment.