Knowledge is closely linked to life and ignites English confidence

HKSYC & IA Chan Nam Chong Memorial College We firmly believe that every student is unique and can shine his or her own light. Principal Luk Wing Yan Winnie Taking improving learning confidence as the core concept of English teaching, we hope to allow them to find their own interests in learning. Through diversified teaching methods, starting from the school-based curriculum, English atmosphere, campus activities, etc., we will comprehensively train students’ reading, writing, listening and speaking abilities, cultivate their self-confidence, ignite their interest in learning, and find their own direction and dreams.

Interest connects English learning to ignite interest and shine

Principal Luk Wing Yan Winnie Believe that learning is connected with interests and can help students build confidence in English and enthusiasm for learning. Therefore, the school actively creates platforms to provide opportunities for students to learn from their interests. For example, students are arranged to participate in the Harvard Book Award competition to train their English writing, communication and adaptability through writing, interviews, etc. The participating students were selected out of more than 200 entries and won a Harvard Book Award scholarship and a seven-week exchange opportunity at Harvard University. Principal Luk Wing Yan Winnie shared that the student had little interest in English at first, but the teacher noticed that he loved games and often had contact with foreigners, so he guided him based on his interests to help him build confidence and gain opportunities for success.

In addition, the school also actively promotes group activities. The English musical launched last year integrated drama into English classes, hiring tutors to guide performance and dialogue creation, and allowing students to publicly display their learning results on the "Diamond Stage". In the process, students gradually develop the confidence to step on the stage through group exercises and peer support, and feel the joy of learning English. Participating students Angel and Jack said that this activity expanded their vocabulary and made them happy. They understood that as long as they have the courage to try, English is not as difficult as they imagined.

Establish a campus TV station to create an English learning atmosphere

In order to promote the deep integration of English learning into daily life on campus, the school fully integrates campus resources, with the campus TV station and the English Department as the core, to create an immersive English learning environment and create more opportunities for students to practice English listening and speaking. The school launched the "CNC Morning" morning meeting live broadcast session, inviting students to serve as anchors and announcing campus affairs in English throughout, providing valuable English practice opportunities and allowing all teachers and students in the school to naturally receive English information during the morning meeting. The school also filmed "Phonics Monday" English teaching short videos, which are jointly taught by foreign teachers and English teachers. Basic phonetic symbols are explained in a one-minute condensed form to help students master scientific word spelling and memory methods.

In addition, the campus TV station also actively organizes students to participate in various related competitions, such as the Hong Kong-themed short film competition hosted by Lingnan University. During the competition, students need to complete a series of tasks such as script creation to achieve comprehensive training in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Kelvin, the classmate in charge of directing, shared that he consolidated his knowledge of English grammar, pronunciation and other aspects of the film during the bilingual subtitle production and script writing. Armaan, a non-Chinese speaking classmate who served as the anchor, also said that the entire filming process was in English and played with subtitles, which not only improved his own language skills, but also provided students with an intuitive learning example. Students gradually build up their English confidence through practice in front of and behind the scenes.

English knowledge connects life, activity teaching cultivates interest

Principal Luk Wing Yan Winnie Adhere to the concept of "life-oriented English teaching", promote the close connection between curriculum and life, and use activity-based teaching as a carrier to allow students to truly understand the practicality of English. In this regard, two foreign teachers also mentioned that many teenagers have the problem of "not knowing the meaning of learning and lacking self-confidence to speak out." To this end, the school is committed to connecting the theoretical knowledge in textbooks with real-life scenarios. For example, when teaching the topic of "restaurant ordering", relevant commonly used vocabulary, expressions and practical processes will be systematically explained, thereby stimulating students' willingness to actively learn.

In addition, foreign teachers also make good use of games and interactive activities to make English learning more relevant to life and full of fun: Kahoot online quizzes, real-life interactive games and other games are introduced in the classroom; the English room is opened during lunch time to carry out small activities such as reading sharing, treasure hunt challenges, and word competitions to encourage students to use English communication and interaction; special theme activities are launched during the festival, such as teachers playing the role of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" on Halloween and building an English interactive haunted house; English learning activities every Friday further allow students to find the meaning of learning through participation, effectively improving their English learning interest and practical application ability.

English blended with value education to suit interests and improve yourself

The school actively provides opportunities to learn and use English in order to improve students' language expression ability. There is a "Cat House" in the school. The English team uses this unique resource to adjust English writing tasks for junior high schools, allowing students who serve as cat caregivers to share their caregiving experiences in English, which not only suits the students' interests but also enhances their self-confidence. The "Cat House" even attracted media interviews, such as the South China Morning Post. Students introduced cats in English in real situations, using English as a communication tool to further enhance their self-confidence. In addition, the school and the University of Hong Kong jointly launched a workshop on carbon emissions. Through board game experience, students learned about environmental issues while learning relevant English expressions, achieving an organic combination of language learning, value guidance and practice.

Keep pace with the times and make good use of AI to improve English learning efficiency

The school attaches great importance to the use of various AI technologies and electronic platforms to assist English teaching. For example, we collaborated with the University of Hong Kong to introduce a learning platform that focuses on training students’ English writing skills to improve learning outcomes. At the same time, the school also recommends a variety of English learning applications and platforms to facilitate students to study independently at home. Teachers use AI technology to design personalized courses and tutoring plans based on students' differences in abilities, which are more in line with students' learning needs. In addition, Principal Luk Wing Yan Winnie made a special trip to Singapore to participate in educational technology exchanges, gain an in-depth understanding of the development trends of global educational technology, and make selections suitable for school conditions and
AI tools needed by students to improve teaching efficiency.

Interdisciplinary learning connects different knowledge

English learning is not limited to English classes and activities. Through cross-field learning with other subjects, students can break down subject barriers and make English a practical tool to connect different fields. For example, students who won the inter-school hovercraft competition earlier were invited to participate in the Guangzhou Maker Faire with their works, and introduced their works in English to participants from all over the world, thereby improving their cross-cultural communication skills.

In addition, the English Department cooperates with the Science Department to organize students to visit Ocean Park to observe pandas, learn about their survival characteristics and endangered animal protection knowledge, and teach relevant English vocabulary. Interdisciplinary learning provides students with more opportunities to be exposed to different areas of English knowledge, deepens their vocabulary, and covers global issues such as environmental protection and animal protection, which has the significance of values ​​education and career planning.

Construct an all-round connection system to meet different learning needs

The school has constructed a comprehensive connection support system, implemented layered teaching and adjusted course content according to the different learning needs of students. For example, provide tiered worksheets of different difficulties to take into account the development needs of students with different abilities. For newly arrived students who have a relatively weak English foundation in primary school, the school arranges additional after-school tutoring to provide step-by-step teaching from English letters, basic vocabulary to sentence expressions to help students build confidence in the classroom so that every student can experience success. In addition, an all-English cooking class is offered in Form One. Students master the English expressions of ingredients and nutrients in practice, and learn menu writing and step descriptions. This not only masters practical language skills, but also promotes the development of logical thinking.