NEW SENIOR SECONDARY (NSS) UNDERSTANDING
AND INTERPRETING THE CURRICULUM SERIES:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS –
THE SENIOR SECONDARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGIES FOR
PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION (REFRESHED)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION SECTION
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
EDUCATION BUREAU
How is the English
language curriculum
planned in your school?
What do you expect
your students to
achieve in terms of
English language
learning after
completing S6?
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.
Planning the New Senior
Secondary English Language
Curriculum at Classroom Level
DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OF THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
FRAMEWORK
The English Language Curriculum
Interpersonal Knowledge Experience
Learning Objectives:
Forms and Functions
Skills and Strategies
Attitudes
Flexible and Diversified Modes of
Curriculum Planning
+
Effective Learning, Teaching and Assessment
Overall Aims and Learning Targets of
English Language
Values and Attitudes
9 Generic Skills
Strands
FEATURES OF A TASK
Context
Purpose
Product
Involves learners in
thinking and doing
Requires learners to
draw upon a
framework of
knowledge and skills
 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
Adopting a Task-based Approach in Lesson Design
Module
Cultures of the World
Unit
Heritage Conservation
Task 1
Reading an email
from the teacherin-charge of the
HK’s Heritage
Excursion
Task 2
Listening to an
interview with the
Executive
Secretary of the
Antiquities and
Monuments
Office
Task 3
Studying some
leaflets about the
heritage sites in
HK
Task 4
Making
recommendations
for the Heritage
Tour
Final Task
Writing a proposal and designing a poster for the Heritage Tour
Adapted from Enhancing English Vocabulary Learning and Teaching at Secondary Level (2012), pp.81-137
2013 HKDSE READING PAPER (PART A, COMPULSORY)
9
A feature article about restoring the original colours of the
Terra-cotta warriors through the use of science and technology
QUESTIONS REQUIRING GENERAL READING SKILLS
Questions
Candidates are required to
5. According to paragraph 3, what
were the farmers doing when
they first discovered the terra-cotta
warriors?
11. According to paragraph 5, why
did the colours of the warriors not
survive?
24. Match the 6 given sub-headings
to the paragraphs in the article.
25. The text is (option C) a feature
article.
QUESTIONS REQUIRING MORE ADVANCED INTERPRETATION
OF THE TEXT
Candidates are required to
Questions
1. What is the tone in paragraph 1?
Excited (Option B)
2. What is special about the
earthen pit (line 6)?
3.What is ‘ancient jigsaw puzzle’?
9. What does ‘Qin Shi Huang
Di packed a lot into his earthly
reign’ (line 38-39) tell us about
the first emperor?
12. In line 61, the writer mentions
boiling an egg to show how
vibrant pieces of history are lost
in a short period of time.
EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE
THE INTERFACE
- Understand students’ previous learning and future
learning needs
- 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
Learning Experience across key stages
Primary
Junior
Secondary
Senior
Secondary
•Exposure to a range
of text types
•Incorporation of
Reading Workshops
into the School-based
English Language
Curriculum
•Development of basic
language skills and
strategies
•Exposure to a wide
range of print and
non-print texts
•Extensive reading
and viewing
•Further development
of language skills and
strategies
•Exposure to a widened
range of more complex
text types
•School-based
Assessment: critical
and imaginative
responses to texts
Comprehension and
production of more
complex messages in
more formal texts
Learning Experience across key stages
Primary
Junior
Secondary
Senior
Secondary
•Exposure to a range
of text types
•Incorporation of
Reading Workshops
into the School-based
English Language
Curriculum
•Development of basic
language skills and
strategies
•Exposure to a wide
range of print and
non-print texts
•Extensive reading
and viewing
•Further development
of language skills and
strategies
•Exposure to a widened
range of more complex
text types
•School-based
Assessment: critical
and imaginative
responses to texts
•Comprehension and
production of more
complex messages in
more formal texts
Text types Across Different Key stages
Examples of Text Types
for Key Stage 2
• Plays
• Announcements
• Informational reports
• Maps and legends
• News / Weather reports
• Pamphlets
• E-mails
• Formal letters
• Discussions
T
• Telephone conversations
• Procedures
• Recipes
15
Examples of Text Types
for Key Stage 3
• Book reviews/reports
• Film reviews
• Itineraries
• Manuals
• Newspaper articles
• Short novels
• Short stories
• Interviews
• Presentations
Examples of Text Types
for Key Stage 4
• Editorials
• Debates
• Documentaries
• Essays
• Feature articles
• Films
• Novels
• Minutes
• Public speeches
• Proposals
• Resumes
Learning Experience across key stages
Primary
Junior
Secondary
•Exposure to a range
of text types
•Incorporation of
Reading Workshops
into the School-based
English Language
Curriculum
•Development of basic
language skills and
strategies
•Exposure to a wide
range of print and
non-print texts
•Extensive reading
and viewing
•Further development
of language 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 and
production of more
complex messages in
more formal texts
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PLANNING FOR
READING PROGRAMMES AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL
Related topics
Variety of text types
Level of difficulty
Integrating reading into regular English Language lessons with
the other language skills of listening, speaking and writing
17
READING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
To promote reading as a means to help learners seek
information, develop thinking skills, enrich knowledge,
enhance language proficiency and broaden
perspectives
To promote the development of functional reading skills
to help learners relate English Language learning to
daily life in real world
To encourage extensive reading of a wide variety of
resource materials with different subject content to
enhance learning
18
English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4 - 6) 2007
READING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
TOPIC: EARTH
Info. about the Earth
and environment
protection
Textbook:
The Beautiful Planet
Grammar items and
structures, skills
development…
Extended Reading:
The Earth
(An information book)
Discover and Experience
(A government pamphlet – Electrical
& Mechanical Services Department)
Cause-and-effect
relationship
Adjectives to
describe the Earth
Text structure of
explanation text
Reading Skills
& Strategies
Writing an article on the use of alternative energy
sources for generating electricity
Learning Experiences across key stages
Primary
Junior
Secondary
•Exposure to a range
of text types
•Incorporation of
Reading Workshops
into the School-based
English Language
Curriculum
•Development of basic
language skills and
strategies
•Exposure to a wide
range of print and
non-print texts
•Extensive reading
and viewing
•Further development
of language 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 and
production of more
complex messages in
more formal texts
Depth of Processing
Cognitive processes involved in reading
Understanding
Inferring
Interpreting
- 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 feelings
- Deducing information
and ideas
- Comparing information
and ideas
- Working out main ideas
and themes
- Analysing information and
ideas
- Synthesising
- Evaluating
- Justifying
Underlying principles
-
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
Abstractness
Text complexity
Organisation
Density of
information
Range and application
of reading strategies
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
 Lack of well-defined text
 Organisation of paragraphs
structure, mix of text-types
following sequence of events,
 Organisation of paragraphs
logical progression (general to
not following a common
specific)
pattern (problem-solution)
 Use of short paragraphs,
 Lack of signposts to facilitate
subheadings & cohesive devices
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 informationcarrying words
 A wide range of complex
sentence structures and
language
ABSTRACTNESS
Example:
2013 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B1
Easy Section
Example:
2012 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B2
Difficult Section
Reading text 2
Para 7 and 8
Reading text 4
Para 10
Group courses for beginners comprise
eight weekly classes of 45 minutes
and cost HK$1,680. Each focuses on
the basic skills of string plucking,
correct body posture while playing
and proper use of both hands.
Many young Chinese lament there is no Bill
Gates of China. And the most cutting-edge
scientific institutions are research centers
run by Western-educated administrators
wooing Chinese-born scientists back from
the West, where they had relocated in order
to enjoy the more rewarding research
environment abroad. If they had the money
and the clout and the personal connections
to do so, Chinese moms would want to send
their kids to Harvard (as several top-level
Chinese leaders have done). In other words,
the key to success is seen as a hybrid of East
and West, at least when viewed from the
lair of the Tiger Moms.
One-to-one classes are available for
beginner, intermediate and advanced
students and cost HK$420, HK$480
and HK$550 respectively. Skype
lessons are available for people who
would find travelling to the school
difficult.
ORGANISATION
Example: Practice Paper Part B1 (Reading texts 3 & 4) Easy
Section
ORGANISATION
Example: 2013 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B1 (Reading text 3) Easy
Section
[5] The study revealed that people with
low self-esteem were more negative
than people with high self-esteem and
liked less by strangers who rated their
participants’ status update.
[6] The study also found that people
with low self-esteem got more
responses from their Facebook friends
when they posted highly positive
updates, compared to less positive
ones. People with high self-esteem, on
the other hand, used Facebook less
and got more ‘like’ replies after posting
something negative, perhaps because
these responses are rarer for them.
[10] In theory, social networking
websites like Facebook could be
great for people with low self-esteem.
Sharing is important for improving
friendships. But in practice, people
with low self-esteem seem to behave
counterproductively,
bombarding
their friends with negative tidbits
about their lives and making
themselves likeable.
ORGANISATION
DENSITY OF INFORMATION
Example:
2013 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B1
Easy Section
Example:
2012 HKDSE Exam Paper Part B2
Difficult Section
Reading text 3
Paras 2 & 3
Reading text 3
Para 1
New research suggests that so-called power
users, who contribute much more content
than the average Facebook user, are
unwittingly revealing undesirable personal
traits to their peers. The recent study also
suggests that Facebook is not good for those
suffering from low self-esteem.
The Wall Street Journal’s provocative
January 8 headline alone – ‘Why Chinese
Mothers Are Superior’ – would have been
enough to spark intense discussion. But
coupled with an excerpt from Amy Chua’s
parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the
Tiger Mother (Penguin Press, Jan.), that
sharply contrasts so-called ‘Eastern’ and
‘Western’ styles of parenting, what
resulted was nothing less than a firestorm.
‘We had this idea that Facebook could be a
fantastic place for people to strengthen their
relationships,’ says Amanda Forest of the
University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
Implications for learning and teaching
• To review the texts in the examination
papers/textbooks/skills books/practice
papers in relation to students’ language
abilities and learning needs
• To select different texts for different
pedagogical purposes (e.g.
teaching/practising/assessing reading skills)
• To plan reading programmes which include a
range of texts to cater for learner diversity
Depth of Processing
Cognitive processes involved in reading
Understanding
Inferring
Interpreting
- 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 feelings
- Deducing information
and ideas
- Comparing information
and ideas
- Working out main ideas
and themes
- Analysing information and
ideas
- Synthesising
- Evaluating
- Justifying
Underlying principles
-
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
Abstractness
Text complexity
Organisation
Density of
information
Range and application
of reading strategies
PROGRESSION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING
SKILLS
Content
Expectations on learners at different stages of writing skills development
•
•
Writing a small range of
texts such as simple stories,
letters to describe personal
experiences, people, places,
events and objects
Conveying relevant ideas
• Writing a range of formal and
informal texts to describe, recount,
record, explain, propose and
summarise
• Elaborate ideas from various
perspectives
• Writing simple literary/imaginative
texts with a setting and some
development of plots and characters
• Writing a wide range of texts to
reviews, compare and contrast
• Elaborating ideas with substantial
and logical illustration
• Writing literary/imaginative texts
with a clear setting, a welldeveloped plot and good
characterisation
Underlying principles
•
•
•
Providing opportunities for brainstorming or seeking and selecting information and ideas from
different sources
Developing learners’ skills in self-editing as well as reflecting on own writing based on feedback
from teachers or peers
Reducing the amount of teacher support provided as learners progress to promote learner
independence
Range of vocabulary and
sentence patterns
Language &
Style
Appropriate tone and
register
Stylistic features for the
text-type
An organisational
framework
Organisation
Clear focus within and
across paragraphs using
cohesive devices
ENHANCING INTERFACE:
A FEW POINTS TO PONDER
• What are my students capable of achieving?
• Are the reading texts appropriate to students?
• What types of learning tasks should I assign to my students?
• Are my students making the expected progress?
• What do my students need in order to progress further?
Implementing the New Senior
Secondary English Language
Curriculum
THE SENIOR SECONDARY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM
S6
S5
S4
Compulsory
Elective
Part
Part
(75%)
(25%)
THE COMPULSORY PART
Meaningful use of:
Reading / Writing
Listening / Speaking
Vocabulary
Grammar Forms &
Communicative
Functions
Text Types
through the task-based approach and the organising structure of Modules,
Units and Tasks by adopting a range of approaches and strategies
While Modules, Units and Tasks are to be
adopted for organising learning and teaching in
the Compulsory Part, the modules in the Elective
Part may not necessarily follow the M-U-T
structure. However, the general approach to
teaching the modules in the Elective Part remains
task-based – that is, teachers are encouraged to
continue with the principles and practices
associated with task-based learning, namely
using learner-centred instruction, providing
opportunities for meaningful and purposeful
communication and promoting integrative and
creative uses of language.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT GUIDE
(SECONDARY 4-6), P.54
COMPULSORY PART
 Task-based Learning
 Grammar in Context
 Language Arts
 Integrated Skills
 Assessment for Learning
 Self-access Language Learning
THE ELECTIVE PART
•
Adds variety to the English Language curriculum
•
Caters for students’ diverse needs and interests
•
Broadens students’ learning experiences
THE ELECTIVE PART
Language Arts
Non-Language Arts
Learning English through
Drama
Learning English through
Workplace Communication
Learning English through
Short Stories
Learning English through
Sports Communication
Learning English through
Poems and Songs
Learning English through
Popular Culture
8 Elective
Modules
Learning English through
Debating
Learning English through
Social Issues
Relationship between the Compulsory and Elective Parts
(an illustration with the drama module)
Compulsory Part
Reading/ Writing
Listening/ Speaking
Vocabulary
Text Types
Grammar Forms &
Communicative
Functions
Elective Part (Drama module)
Speaking Skills
• pronunciation
• stress
• rhythm &
intonation
Text Types
• dialogues
• stories
• stress &
intonation
• expression of
emotions and
feelings
• short scene
writing
• production of
an original
script
Extension, application
and consolidation of
what has been learned
Dramatised Reading
Role play / Drama performance
Relationship between the Compulsory and Elective Parts
(an illustration with the debating module)
Compulsory Part
Reading/ Writing
Listening/ Speaking
Vocabulary
Elective Part (Debating module)
Speaking Skills
Pronunciation
• stress
• rhythm &
intonation
--Stress & intonation -- Writing/presenting
--Expression of
arguments
emotions
-- Production of a
and feeling
a debate speech
Extension, application
and consolidation of
what has been learned
Text Types
Grammar Forms &
Communicative
Functions
Text Types
• Argumentative
essays
• Speeches
Debating activities
in a less formal contexts
(e.g. role play, panel discussion)
Formal debates
PLANNING THE ELECTIVE PART IN CONTEXT
(KEY CONSIDERATIONS)
• Choice of elective modules
• Approaches to implementing the elective module
(as a standalone module or integrated with other curriculum
and assessment components)
• Timetabling
• 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
Relationship between
Social Issue Module and Debating Module
Social issues Module
• Definitions
•Causes, effects &
solutions (2 periods)
•Multiple perspectives
•Researching a social issue
•Evaluating information
•Citing sources (3-4 periods)
Debating Module
Basic understanding
of knowledge and skills
Further input &
more in-depth
exploration
•Basic set up of debating
•The idea of argument (2 periods)
•Defining motions
•Analysing assumptions
•Forming arguments
•Preparing speeches
•Using delivery techniques
(3-4 periods)
•Presenting the work in
different formats (2 periods)
Application and
demonstration of
achievements
•Debating activity
•Self/peer assessment
(2 periods)
INTEGRATING VARIOUS
CURRICULUM COMPONENTS
Compulsory Part and Elective Part
Elective Part and SBA
Elective Modules
43
COMPULSORY PART AND ELECTIVE PART
ELECTIVE PART AND SBA
1.
2.
3.
Reading a webpage article
Surfing websites on sports
Writing a presentation plan
Task 1 (7 lessons)
Hot Sports
(Introducing a sport in
the morning assembly)
1.
2.
3.
Reading some fan material (e.g. magazines, letters, profiles)
Watching a video clip
Surfing websites and reading magazines on a sports player
Task 2 (5 lessons)
Fan Talk
(Writing a piece of fan material on a sports player)
Task 3 (6 lessons)
Open Forum
(Discussing a film on sports)
1.
2.
3.
Viewing part of a film on sports outside class
Writing a journal entry on a film on sports
Surfing websites on message boards of the film
ELECTIVE MODULES
Target Knowledge, Skills and
Attitudes
Popular Culture
 the content, strategies, language and
stylistic features of
advertisements/commercials
 linguistics and stylistic features of a leaflet
 organising structure of a leaflet
Social Issues
 understanding how various perspectives
and lines of reasoning are presented
within a reading text
 demonstrating critical awareness of the
complex nature of the issue by examining
it from different perspectives
 language functions that signal causes and
effects in a discussion
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.
47
THANK YOU
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