English enhancement:
A business for the whole school
Anson Yang
SKH Li Fook Hing Secondary School
25 March 2006
Insufficient English input
• Input: 8-10 periods per cycle (CMI: about 1
hour a day; 23 hours without English!)
• Movies?
• Book reports?
• Speech Festival?
English is a business for everyone
in school AND at home!
#2 (handout)
• Education has failed to realize that what
the society is interested in among our
young people is what they could do in the
future, rather than what they know at the
moment (Cheng 2004).
#7 (handout)
•
Teaching junior students to order a
Happy Meal in English in their [EFL]
home country is irrelevant, unless
teachers can provide [an authentic]
context where English must be used
(Yang 2003).
Cheng (2004)
Expectations of individuals are now
different. Most surveys on workplace
requirements converge to the same list of
personal attributes, such as:
• ability to communicate
• adaptability to change
• ability to work in teams
Cheng (2004)
•
•
•
•
•
flexible human relations
preparedness to solve problems
ability to analyze and conceptualize
ability to assume personal responsibility
ability to reflect on oneself
Cheng (2004)
• ability to manage oneself
• ability to create, innovate, and criticize
• ability to engage in learning new things
anywhere and anytime
• ability to cross specialist borders
• ability to move across cultures
1.
2.
3.
4.
More English on campus ($)
Staff development ($$)
Decision-making process (priceless)
Examples ($$$)
Recommended Strategies
(EC 2005)
1. EMI extended learning activities
2. Chinese and English learning resources
3. Provision of additional resources
4. English-rich environment
5. Teaching effectiveness of English
language
許地去痕新un寒入數.
School level
1. The principal / vice principals conduct
English assemblies every month.
2. English is an official language on school
notices.
3. Permanent signs (e.g. staff room, pantry)
are in English.
4. English hymns are sung in Christian
assemblies.
5. Non-Chinese-speaking coaches are hired
for school teams.
6. Students make English announcements
every day.
7. Students are encouraged to read in
English during reading sessions.
8. Certain cultural lessons (table manners,
music) are conducted in English.
9. Language proficiencies are also criteria
for choosing prefects / monitors.
10. Non-English teachers are invited to
conduct assemblies in English.
11. English proverbs / sayings are posted on
campus regularly.
12. All teachers follow the same phonetics /
phonics system.
13. Teachers introduce English websites to
students for content subjects.
14. The school enjoys the English services
provided in the community (visits / guided
tours).
15. English is an essential component in
school functions (e.g. Sports Day).
16. The library has a wide variety of English
magazines.
17. The library advertises newly-purchased
books every month.
18. A list of commonly-used campus English
sentences is given every term.
19. Teachers receive / greet students in
English at the school gate every day.
20. The school plays English songs for
students’ pleasure during lunch hour.
English Department
1. English teachers converse with students
in English at all times.
2. The school makes good use of EMB
products (e.g. ETV for S1-3).
3. A pen-pal system has been established
with an overseas institution.
4. Students’ essays are published for the
whole school (Oasis, Writing Club).
5. English drama competition is organized
every year.
6. English teachers conduct assemblies on a
regular basis.
7. English corner / café is well used by
students.
8. Western festivals and cultures are duly
introduced.
Students
1. Students make use of all complimentary
tickets for English shows.
2. Students write class journal entries in
English.
3. A reputable list of English online games /
movies has been given to students /
parents.
4. All students keep an English notebook
for class.
5. All students are encouraged to participate
in English inter-school activities.
6. Students are encouraged to take part in
international tests.
Parents
1. Parents lead English conversation /
reading groups on a regular basis.
2. Parents talk to student body in English
periodically.
3. Parents are invited to play English online
games with students at home.
4. Parents have been requested to spend
time reading with students at home.
Staff development
• Services or equipment bought will not stay
for long. Only teachers are “sustainable”.
What will happen to the new students at
the end of 6 years and when the 3 million
is gone?
• A well-planned strategy is needed.
1: Teachers’ Workshops
English Heads in neighboring schools
decide upon a topic and invite a speaker
for the talk for English teachers in the
proximity.
2: Teacher exchange programs
• Teachers teach at another school for 1-2
weeks. The teachers will then learn the
practice and culture from other schools,
and bring whatever suitable back to their
original positions. The exchange
programs allow teachers to learn from
peers and appreciate the difficulties (and
comforts) each school experiences.
3: Lesson studies
• Teachers teaching at the same level (in
different schools) observe ONE common
class. They then discuss the strengths
and weaknesses of the class and suggest
possible/alternative teaching tasks for
future reference.
• Teachers identify a common problem
(e.g. marking issues)
Decision-making
1. Does the school really need the English funds
to run enhancement programs?
2. How ready are the teaching staff in helping out
the programs you have decided to run?
3. Does the schedule permit additional English
input? How much? Is it worth the work?
4. How does the school know what to run for
students?
What to run?
•
•
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Ask students through survey, focus group
Analyze the strengths of all teachers
Each department proposes a year-long
activity, for example:
a) Visual Art + Drama + English
b) Liberal Studies + Camp + English
c) Computer + Smartboard + English
Criteria
(a) Creating space
(b) Whole-school approach
(c) Capacity building
(d) Sustainability
(e) Outcome-oriented
Creating space
1. How practical are the objectives?
2. How is the program related to classroom
learning?
3. What kind of outside help will be
employed?
4. How often will the outside helpers meet
with students?
Whole-school approach
1. What is the support mechanism of the school
in this program?
2. How many non-English teachers are regularly
involved in this program?
3. What are the impacts on students with outside
helpers on campus?
4. What is the involvement of other students (not
at the level intended) in the program?
5. How feasible is it to share the workload and
fruit of the program with a neighboring school?
Capacity building
1. How many English teachers are regularly
involved in this program?
2. How many out of classroom hours are needed
for each teacher to prepare and conduct
program-related activities?
3. What is the percentage of regular classroom
teaching “sacrificed” that has to make way for
the program? (online activity in MMLC)
4. How many hours of additional English input will
each student receive weekly?
Sustainability
1. How is the program related to everyday
English learning?
2. What kind of strategies will be employed?
3. What kind of new training will teachers
need for the program?
4. How feasible is it to recycle materials /
methodologies used in the program?
5. How does the program help improve
teaching / learning quality in the long run?
Outcome-oriented
1. What are the student outputs: short term
and long term?
2. What is the involvement of each student
in the output?
3. How are the weekly tasks monitored?
4. How are the outputs measured?
5. Besides language skills, what else will
students learn in the program?
1: Hall of Fame
•
Thirty famous historical people (e.g.
Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Oscar
winners) may be chosen for the whole
form. Students are grouped together and
research on the character chosen:
childhood, education aspiration, family
life, contribution to society, pictures,
books written on the character, etc. An
exhibition will be held at the end of the
school term.
Hall of Fame
• Departments: History? Liberal Studies?
Project Learning? Economics? English?
• 30 famous characters, 5 classes (6-7
students work on one famous character, 6
characters per class, 6 teachers to
supervise)
• Sept / Oct: to assign character, to conduct
preliminary research
• Nov / Dec: to share information on the
character’s childhood, education, family
life, contribution to society, post-modem
influence, pictures / movies / books on the
character
• Jan / Feb: to revise materials written /
collected
• Mar / Apr: to prepare for uploading / hall
exhibition
• Related activities: (1) to vote for the best
booth; (2) to prepare booth games; (3) to
invite neighboring schools to view the
exhibits
2: Model United Nations
•
Students represent different countries
and discuss current issues in the interest
of the nations. Students learn about
cultures, economies, politics, geography,
moneys, etc. of countries around the
world.
3: Attendance
• For a mathematics unit with the
understanding goals “Students will
understand how percentage can be used
to describe real-world happenings” and
“Students will understand how to represent
numerical information in clear graphs”. In
small groups students collect and compile
data about school attendance over the
course of two weeks.
• They calculate the percentage of students
who fit various categories (percentage of
students absent, percentage present,
percentage tardy, and so on). They then
create groups to represent their data
visually, collect feedback from the class,
and revise their graphs accordingly. (EMB
2006)
• School Office + Mathematics + English
• A class is divided into 5 groups (8 students
in a group every two weeks)
• To collect data from Office, to interview
(tape) late students / teachers, to check
newspaper on traffic / weather conditions
• To provide a 5-minute video report at the
end of the two weeks
Alternatives
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Circulation of tuck shop snacks
Popularity of school lunch boxes
Restaurant visits / reviews
Circulation of library books
Video reports / recommendations at the
end of the investigation
Online resources
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http://www.pacificnet.net/~johnr/aesop/
http://www.carolhurst.com/index.html
http://www.stonesoup.com/
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html
http://www.ncte.org/
http://www.bibliomania.com/bibliomania-static/index.html
http://www.theteachersguide.com/bookactivities.html
http://www.webenglishteacher.com
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LA.htm
www.englishcompanion.com/assignments/reading/103readinga
ctivities.htm
Concluding remarks
• Set a small objective, but do it thoroughly.
• Involve as many dedicated teachers as
possible.
• Consider the fun element in the activity; it
is as important as the content area.
• Don’t worry if you can’t spend $0.5 million
a year. The less you spend, the more
sustainable it may be.
Many thanks
Pooi To Middle School
Pui Ching Middle School
SKH Li Fook Hing Secondary School
St Mark’s School
#14 (handout)
• One hundred years from now it will not
matter how much money you made, what
kind of car you drove, what sort of house
you lived in. But one hundred years from
now, the world will be a better place
because you made a difference in the life
of a child. (Invitational Education, circa
1998).
Thank you
References
• Cheng, K. M. (2004). Questioning education: Learning and society in
a post-industrial era. CCEAM Conference Commonwealth Council
for educational Administration and Management. 20 October 2004.
• Education Commission (2005). Report on review of medium of
instruction for secondary schools and secondary school places
allocation. HKSAR.
• EMB (2006). The future is now: Vision to realization—School
leaders workshop for planning 334. HKSAR.
• Matthews, A. (1999; 2003). Happiness in a nutshell. Seashell
publishers.
• Yang, A. (2003). An egg-cooking approach to communicative
language teaching. TESL Reporter 36 (2), 1-7.
• Yang, A. and Cheung, C. (2003). Adapting textbook activities for
communicative teaching and cooperative learning. Forum 41 (3), 1624.