Sat April 27, 2024CURRICULUM AIMS
The main aims of the Department are to ensure students reach a level where they are capable of using English in their everyday life as a communicative tool and to enhance language competencies to not only handle the demands of HKDSE but also to be able to help them develop life skills that promote positive values and attitudes and provide opportunities to develop generic skills. The Department also aims to provide an authentically English-rich environment where students and teachers feel comfortable using the language in and out of the classroom and where students develop an interest for the language.
CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES
- to increase students’ proficiency for personal and intellectual development, effective social interaction, further study, vocational training, work, and pleasure;
- to broaden students’ knowledge, understanding, and experience of various cultures and global issues through language and non-language arts;
- develop learning how to learn skills and positive values and attitudes conducive to meeting the needs of our rapidly changing knowledge-based society;
- to give students a platform to demonstrate, realise and enhance generic skills such as collaborating with others, communicating their ideas, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, self-management skills, I.T., and study skills.
For lower form students, focus will be on foundation-building and enhancing their language skills, as well as to provide opportunities that encourage extensive reading.
Higher form students will mainly focus on preparing for the HKDSE, equipping themselves so that they will be able to demonstrate skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Grammar will be revisited and certain items and terms stressed depending on the level of difficulty. More reading and writing assessments are assigned to give them more practice in enhancing reading skills and writing in different genres. Students are also expected to help run activities to promote English to younger schoolmates.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Students will gain a wider range of vocabulary and knowledge of different topics around the globe.
- Students will gain more confidence in speaking in English.
- Students will read and think more critically and creatively.
- Students will collaborate better with different people, value different cultures, and respect different values.
- Students will develop a sense of responsibility for society.
SYLLABUS FOR S1-S6
| Level | Textbook | Others |
| S1 | Students are exposed to various texts with topics close to their life, such as Family and School Life, Holidays, Tourist Attractions and Festivals in and out of Hong Kong, through which reading comprehension and interaction skills from discussion sessions are learned. Both formal and informal text types are taught for them to compose letters, diaries, short articles, blogs, and creative stories. | Language Arts is also incorporated into their lessons through exposing them to drama and poems and songs so that students learn to appreciate language arts. An extensive reading scheme (VRSS) is adopted to promote reading, build up general knowledge, and to prepare students for the SBA component in the senior forms. Various lunchtime or after-school activities, such as drama competitions are held to encourage students to use the language and to work with classmates. |
| S2 | Secondary Two looks at further building up their language skills through familiar topics such as Teen Problems, Nature, Technology, as well as Cultures and People around the world. Grammar is strengthened from basic tenses and various simple common language structures to making connections and comparisons. Secondary Two writing moves towards writing more formal pieces such as articles and letters to the editor, advice letters alongside short stories, drama scripts, blogs, and diary entries. Students learn to elaborate and expand their ideas. Presentation and group discussion skills are further emphasised. | Secondary Two continues to adopt the extensive reading scheme to promote reading and building up general knowledge. Various lunchtime or after-school activities, such as story-telling and drama competitions are held to encourage students to use the language and to work with classmates. To better prepare students for the challenges of the world as well as expand on the breadth of their knowledge, local excursions and related projects will be arranged. |
| S3 | Secondary Three calls for more awareness of world issues, preparing them for senior level studies. Students look at a more intermediate level in grammar, such as with conditionals, passive voice, and inversion. They also move on to more formal writing such as complaint letters and argumentative essays. Debates are added into the curriculum to stretch their reasoning and speaking skills. They are also well prepared to take the Territory-wide System Assessment in English. | The extensive reading scheme continues to be part of the curriculum to promote reading and building up general knowledge. Various lunchtime or after-school activities, such as newspaper quizzes and drama competitions are held to encourage students to use the language and to work with classmates. |
| S4 | New Senior Secondary 1 (Secondary Four) curriculum mainly focuses on preparing students for the public exam – Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination, equipping them so they will be able to demonstrate skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Basic reading comprehension skills are taught such as skimming and scanning, identifying topics and themes, and inferring meaning from the texts. Students also learn to paraphrase and summarise. More intensive practices are done in writing various types of writing, from stories to argumentative essays. For listening, students work on listening for keywords, main ideas and taking notes. They also learn to read data files which contain various text types such as charts, articles, letters and speeches and extract information from the data they are given. Grammar is revised and new items and structures are introduced. Group interaction and individual presentations are heavily emphasised to ensure students speak up and organise their ideas logically. The School Based Assessment (SBA) component is also a speaking assessment where students share a print/non-print fiction/non-fiction text in front of the class, as part of the public exam. | To build up vocabulary, reading comprehension and enhance the different skills, students are required to complete a range of weekly tasks to expand the breadth of their knowledge. Various lunchtime or after-school activities, such as debates, quizzes and English public speaking competitions are held to encourage students to use the language and to work with classmates. To better prepare students for the challenges of the world as well as expand on the breadth of their knowledge, local excursions and related projects will be arranged. |
| S5 | New Senior Secondary 2 (Secondary Five) curriculum continues to focus on preparing students for the public exam (HKDSE). Reading comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking skills (including SBA skills) are developed through practice papers and past papers that use texts from a wide variety of sources. Topics are mainly about social issues, technology, popular culture and debatable issues. Grammar is revisited and certain items and terms stressed if difficulty among students is found. | More writing practices are done to stretch the students moving towards mainly writing articles, formal letters, and essays. Teachers continue to encourage students to make speaking in English a more comfortable learning habit to boost their confidence. To build up vocabulary, reading comprehension and enhance their writing skills, students are required to complete a range of weekly tasks to expand the breadth of their knowledge. Various lunchtime or after-school activities, such as debates, quizzes and translation competitions are held to encourage students to use the language and to work with classmates. |
| S6 | New Senior Secondary 3 (Secondary Six) curriculum focuses on consolidating what students have learned. Hence, practices on all papers (Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking) are emphasised and the skills required for success in the HKDSE are further strengthened through the use of practice and past papers. | To build up vocabulary, reading comprehension and enhance their writing skills, students are required to complete a range of weekly tasks to expand the breadth of their knowledge. To better prepare students for the challenges of the world as well as expand on the breadth of their knowledge, local excursions and related projects will be arranged. |
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
The Department assesses students in different ways in different areas but mainly to assess if students are able to demonstrate the ability to use the language appropriately when completing tasks in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
- For writing, students are given marks according to Content, Language, and Organisation (7 marks each, totalling 21)
- For reading, students are asked to answer various types of questions to assess their skills in handling Vocabulary, Reference, Main Idea, Inference, Theme, and Grammar type questions.
- For listening, students are assessed mainly on their understanding of the situation, ability to make amendments to documents, complete and interpret surveys, and explain charts from listening to different dialogues in various situations. They should also be able to extract relevant data from a Data File and synthesise them in an appropriate and organised manner in written form.
- For speaking, students are mainly assessed on four domains: Pronunciation and Delivery, Communication Strategies, Vocabulary and Language Patterns, and Ideas and Organisation (6 marks each). SBA is also incorporated as part of the speaking examinations.
- S1-S3 – 1-minute VRSS presentations assess students on their ability to share a book or movie they have read using the same four domains to evaluate their performance on their speaking skills.
- S4-S6 – Individual Presentations and Group Interactions are done where students talk about a book/movie they have viewed, using the same four domains to evaluate their performance on their speaking skills.
ASSESSMENT DESIGN
INTERNAL Interim and Final/Mock Examination for S1-S6
| Level | Type of Paper | Parts | Total Marks | Time Allocated |
| S1 | Paper 1 Reading | 2 comprehension passagesComprehension questionsFilling in blanksMatchingCloze passageProofreading | 60 Examination: 48 Uniform Test: 12 | Examination: 1 hour Uniform Test: 30 minutes |
| Paper 2 Writing | Task1: Short Writing TaskGuided writingTask 2: Extended Writing Task2 topics for students to choose and one should be selected for writing write | 75 Part A (120 words): 19.2 Part B (T1/T2: 150/200 words): 28.8 Cont. Assessment (Wrt1 & Wrt2): 15 Cont. Assessment (Wrt Set): 12 | 1 hour | |
| Paper 3 Listening and Integrated Skills | Five to Seven Tasks: MC questionsFormsTablesFill in blanks1 to 3 Extended Tasks | 90 | 1 hour 15 minutes | |
| Paper 4 Speaking | Group Discussion, Individual Response | 60 | 5 mins. – Group Interaction 1 min. – Individual Response 1 min. – VRSS Presentation | |
| School-based Assessment | VRSS Presentations—Individual Presentation | 15 | ||
| Viewing Reading Speaking Scheme | Based on tasks completed in VRSS Portfolio | GRADE | — | |
| S2 | Paper 1 Reading | 2 comprehension passagesComprehension questionsFilling in blanksMatchingCloze passage Proofreading | 60 Examination: 48 Uniform Test: 12 | Examination: 1 hour Uniform Test: 30 minutes |
| Paper 2 Writing | Task1: Short Writing TaskGuided writingTask 2: Extended Writing Task2 topics for students to choose and one should be selected for writing | 75 Part A (150 words): 19.2 Part B (T1/T2: 200/250 words): 28.8 Cont. Assessment (Wrt1 & Wrt2): 15 Cont. Assessment (Wrt Set): 12 | 1 hour | |
| Paper 3 Listening and Integrated Skills | Five to Seven Tasks:MC questionsFormsTablesFill in blanks1 to 3 Extended Tasks | 90 | 1 hour 30 minutes | |
| Paper 4 Speaking | Group Discussion, Individual Response | 60 | 6 mins. – Group Interaction 1 min. – Individual Response 1 min. – VRSS Presentation | |
| School-based Assessment | VRSS Presentations—Individual Presentation | 15 | ||
| Viewing Reading Speaking Scheme | Based on tasks completed in VRSS Portfolio | GRADE | — | |
| S3 | Paper 1 Reading | 3 comprehension passagesComprehension questionsCloze passagesFilling in blanks Proofreading | 60 Examination: 48 Uniform Test: 12 | Examination: 1 hour 15 mins Uniform Test: 30 minutes |
| Paper 2 Writing | Task 1: Short Writing Task (Guided writing)Task 2: Extended Writing Task2 topics for students to choose and one should be selected for writing | 75 Part A (200 words): 19.2 Part B (T1/T2: 300/350 words): 28.8 Cont. Assessment (Wrt1 & Wrt2): 15 Cont. Assessment (Wrt Set): 12 | 1 hour 15 minutes | |
| Paper 3 Listening and Integrated Skills | Five to Seven Tasks:MC questionsFormsTablesFill in blanks 1 to 3 Extended Tasks | 90 | 2 hours 10 minutes | |
| Paper 4 Speaking | Group Discussion, Individual Response | 60 | 6 mins. – Group Interaction 1 min. – Individual Response 1 min. – VRSS Presentation | |
| School-based Assessment | VRSS Presentations—Individual Presentation | 15 | ||
| Viewing Reading Speaking Scheme | Based on tasks completed in VRSS Portfolio | GRADE | — | |
| S4 | Paper 1 Reading | 2-3 comprehension passagesComprehension questionsFilling in blanks | 60 | 1.5 hours |
| Paper 2 Writing | Part A: Short Writing TaskGuided writingPart B: Extended Writing Task4 topics for students to choose and one should be selected for writing | 75 Part A (300 words): 30 Part B (400 words): 45 | 2 hours | |
| Paper 3 Listening and Integrated Skills | Five to Seven Tasks: MC questionsFormsTablesFill in blanks2 to 3 Extended Tasks | 90 | 2 hours 10 minutes | |
| Paper 4 Speaking | Group Discussion & Individual Response | 30 | 8 mins. – Group Interaction 1 min. – Individual Response | |
| School-based Assessment | Individual Presentations & Group Interactions | 45 | — | |
| Multi-Modal Assessment | Based on the work and tasks done in exercise books/online | GRADE | — | |
| S5 | Paper 1 Reading | 2-3 comprehension passagesComprehension questions Filling in blanks | 60 | 1.5 hours |
| Paper 2 Writing | Part A: Short Writing TaskGuided writingPart B: Extended Writing Task4 topics for students to choose and one should be selected for writing | 75 Part A (300 words): 30 Part B (450 words): 45 | 2 hours | |
| Paper 3 Listening and Integrated Skills | Five to Seven Tasks: MC questionsFormsTablesFill in blanks2 to 3 Extended Tasks | 90 | 2 hours 10 minutes | |
| Paper 4 Speaking | Group Discussion & Individual Response | 30 | 8 mins. – Group Interaction 1 min. – Individual Response | |
| School-based Assessment | Individual Presentations | 45 | — | |
| Multi-Modal Assessment | Based on the work and tasks done in exercise books/online | GRADE | — | |
| S6 | Paper 1 Reading | 2-3 comprehension passagesComprehension questionsFilling in blanks | 60 | 1.5 hours |
| Paper 2 Writing | Part A: Short Writing TaskGuided writingPart B: Extended Writing Task4 topics for students to choose and one should be selected for writing | 75 Part A (300 words): 30 Part B (450 words): 45 | 2 hours | |
| Paper 3 Listening and Integrated Skills | Five to Seven Tasks: MC questionsFormsTablesFill in blanks2 to 3 Extended Tasks | 90 | 2 hours 10 minutes | |
| Paper 4 Speaking | Group Discussion & Individual Response | 30 | 8 mins. – Group Interaction 1 min. – Individual Response | |
| School-based Assessment | Group Interactions | 45 | — | |
| Multi-Modal Assessment | Based on the work and tasks done in exercise books/online | GRADE | — |
SBA FOR INTERNAL ASSESSMENT
*Continuous Assessment for Junior Forms
- 36% of the Writing mark is derived from writing tasks in class
- 64% of the Writing mark is derived from examination for each term
Continuous Assessment for Senior Forms
- SBA marks will be used as continuous assessment marks, which is 15% of the English subject marks.
#SBA FOR PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS
15% will be counted towards the English subject mark. The marks are derived from:
- 7.5% of best assessment mark in S5
- 7.5% of best assessment mark in S6