Page 26 - 香港教師會李興貴中學（特刊）

English Learning and English Activities
English Learning and English Activities

English Teaching

W e take a multi-faceted approach to improving our students’ success with learning and using English.

Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, we designed and implemented a completely new school-based
English programme for S.1-3 students. Our objective is to help students build a stronger foundation in
English and prepare them to face the challenges of their senior secondary curriculum. Considering the
many obstacles which may have held our students back from learning English in the past, our teachers
designed a series of theme-based teaching and learning modules for students with support for various
abilities and specific needs. This year, the S.3 career module was enhanced with an excursion to three
workplaces and follow-up activities and report writing.
We introduce phonics in the new curriculum to help students develop the awareness of the relationship
between the English spelling and sound systems. We also provide a customized vocabulary book to
cover the essential words required in reading, co-ordinated with reading and writing activities which teach
structured writing from the ground up. In order to make the learning of English more engaging, we use
movie tie-in readers, something students find attractive and interesting.
This year we continue to refine and improve the S.1-3 programme and update it taking into account the
needs of the new intake of students. With teacher-created materials, we are also able to customize the
content to cater for stronger students and to provide extension materials.
By the senior secondary curriculum in S.4 to S.6, they are able to make use of the standard textbooks with
school-based materials for teaching speaking and listening.
Helping senior students to tackle the public examination is another major concern. We run a series of
energizing and enhancement programmes, allowing students to take extra exam practice and oral training
sessions. The programmes are organized after school or during school holidays.
We believe that the above incentives and strategies can bring our students a step forward in engaging their
learning.

24 English Activities

very year, the English Department and the English Society organise a series of activities which engage
Estudents in the fun of using English.

Besides running the English corner on Fridays, the English Society members join activities such as a film
appreciation excursion, drama workshops, eating out using English to order western cuisine, playing board
games, public speaking skills training, sharing books, and advanced idiomatic English workshops. They
also present notices, announcements and presentations in our “English Wednesday” morning assemblies
and participate as helpers in our NAC workshops.

The theme of English Day this year was “Bring the World to School”. Guests from many different countries
and continents including Europe, Africa and Asia, visited the school and ran cultural sharing sessions in the
hall, classrooms and in the playground on a Friday afternoon. Students in small groups could ask questions,
try out new languages, try a special Brazilian martial art, Indian dance, Australian music, Korean drama,
Latvian games, meet the local Nepalese community and learn more about many countries.

Once again last year, a group of ambitious and enthusiastic English students joined the ‘Speak Out Act Up’
improvised drama competition organized by the EDB NET section. With the hard work and creativity of our
students and the encouragement from teachers, our students did a great job devising and performing two
short plays. It is the fifth year that our students have joined this challenging extension activity. The drama
team later re-staged one of the short plays they had devised, “Singa Vs the Merlion”, for the school’s end of
year graduation ceremony.
In Life-wide learning day this year, the English Department ran a careers experience day which extended
classroom learning of S.3 students. The students had a chance to find out about the work of a wedding
dress designer, a toy designer and a coffee shop barista. After a fruitful morning of hands-on learning in
three locations in Hong Kong, students spent the afternoon preparing reports from their observations and
photos, and sharing their diverse experiences with their groups.

Our department has also worked with the counselling team to organize a series of programmes for the NAC
students, focusing on how to improve their knowledge of English and help them adapt to their new school
life. We organize outings such as visiting Hong Kong Disneyland and a western restaurant for the students
through which they can learn more about different cultural aspects of Hong Kong. They also attended a
drama workshop and a cooking class in the post-exam period to enhance their skills. Through these various
activities, students have authentic opportunities to use English to communicate.