Create opportunities, diversified learning, and continue to improve English skills

S.R.B.C.E.P.S.A. Lu Kwong Fai Memorial School is committed to promoting the development of students’ English proficiency. Principal Wu Siying believes that English teaching should start from stimulating interest, inspire students' enthusiasm for learning English from an early age, and gradually build their learning confidence. She pointed out: "Students have different talents, some are good at oral expression, and some are good at written writing, but only by deeply participating in the learning process can we truly improve our English ability." To this end, the school actively builds a diversified learning platform, creates rich practical situations, encourages students to actively participate and have the courage to try, thereby helping them lay the foundation for English learning and maintain long-term motivation for learning.

Original English Musical Immersive Learning English

In order to create a relaxed and enjoyable English learning environment, the school organically integrates drama education into the first- and second-grade curriculum and creates an original English musical with the participation of all students. Through various forms such as interpreting script dialogues, singing English songs, and matching body movements, students can naturally absorb English knowledge in catchy language and melodies, and students can become more proficient in interpreting more difficult lyrics. This form can effectively alleviate the fear of learning English among lower-grade students and help them develop their interest and self-confidence in learning English from an early age.

The scripts and songs of the musical are all created by the school's English teachers. While strengthening English application skills, it also organically incorporates elements of values ​​education. For example: last year's play "The Power of Unity" and this year's play "The Brave Quest" use simple and vivid stories to convey core values ​​such as unity, courage, responsibility, commitment, integrity and law-abiding. They not only allow performers and audiences to deeply understand the value connotation through English, but also provide students on stage with opportunities to express themselves in English. At the same time, they encourage students off the stage to listen more, speak more, and participate in interactions.

The school also regularly holds open days for achievement display, setting up a "glorious stage" for students to show their English learning achievements to classmates, parents and the public, improve students' confidence in English expression, and give them a sense of achievement and satisfaction in performances, thereby stimulating stronger learning motivation. During rehearsals, students are also cultivated to have good character and attitudes of perseverance, respect, diligence and pragmatism, and also help parents discover their children's potential and highlights in English reading, singing interpretation, dialogue expression, etc.

Interactive guidance from foreign teachers to practice English in real situations

The school is committed to creating an immersive English learning environment and effectively improving students' language application abilities through interactive activities with foreign teachers. Every morning, foreign teachers greet students in English at the school gate; in class, interactive English games are carefully designed so that students can practice oral expression in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere from the moment they step onto campus. During recess, the school opens the English room, where students can play board games, read English books or have daily English conversations with foreign teachers, so that they can take advantage of a good Chinese learning environment to learn English.

In terms of curriculum design, the "Space Town" course is offered in the first grade, which is based on English reading and combines classroom grammar knowledge and interesting English games to make learning fun; the DTS course is offered in the second to fifth grade, and the KIP course is offered in the sixth grade. It uses rich and high-quality reading materials as the core to help students accumulate vocabulary, improve their reading comprehension skills, and systematically cultivate English writing skills through reading and writing. Through the all-round guidance of foreign teachers inside and outside the classroom, students can continue to use English and master their English expression skills.

Empowerment by artificial intelligence technology injects vitality into English teaching

The school follows the development trend of educational technology and introduces artificial intelligence to inject new vitality into English teaching and improve students' comprehensive English ability. The library is equipped with an artificial intelligence robot "Zenbo" that can interact with students in English and serve as an English reading partner. Lower grade students can also watch English video-style stories through "Zenbo" to make English reading lively and interesting.

In addition, the school has introduced professional AI English learning software. After students finish reading new words and sentences, the AI ​​program will immediately analyze and evaluate the pronunciation accuracy, expression fluency, etc., and provide feedback and scores. Students can listen to standard pronunciation demonstrations based on the shortcomings pointed out by AI, and conduct targeted exercises to improve their self-learning ability.

At present, the school has also piloted an AI composition correction tool. After students upload their English compositions, they can use AI to detect spelling errors and grammatical problems and make independent revisions, thereby cultivating independent learning abilities, error correction abilities and critical thinking skills. At the same time, teachers will conduct final review and guidance on students' compositions, and comprehensively improve students' comprehensive abilities in English listening, speaking, reading and writing through the combination of technological assistance and teacher guidance.

Guided reading improves reading ability; peer learning promotes reading culture

Reading plays an important role in English learning. The school implements guided reading courses to gradually improve students' reading ability. At the beginning of each school year, teachers will assess students’ English proficiency and assign appropriate English books to students based on individual differences. In classroom teaching, foreign teachers collaborate with local English teachers to conduct reading activities in groups according to students' English proficiency, guiding students to develop good English reading habits and accumulate English vocabulary and common sentence patterns from books; the distance between teachers and students is also shortened through group interaction, creating language practice opportunities for students to listen more, speak more, and read more.

Outside of the classroom, the school implements the "Big Brothers and Big Sisters Reading Program", which organizes senior students to lead junior students in English reading interactions in the form of service learning. On the one hand, it uses the affinity and influence among peers to stimulate the reading interest of lower-grade students; on the other hand, it allows senior students to review the past and learn new things during the reading process, simultaneously cultivate leadership skills, sense of responsibility and communication skills, and promote all-round personal development. In addition, the school has introduced an electronic reading platform to integrate rich and diverse English reading resources to ensure that students of different grades and English proficiency can obtain appropriate reading materials anytime and anywhere, and develop good habits of independent learning.

English learning breaks down subject barriers, deepens cultural connotation and consolidates English ability

English learning is not limited to English classes. The school is committed to organically integrating English and Chinese culture so that the two complement each other in teaching and consolidate cross-field knowledge. Since last year, the school has implemented interdisciplinary English teaching and deeply integrated elements of Chinese culture. For example, in the fourth grade, with the theme of intangible cultural heritage, students are guided to read English readings about rice, explore the different ways of processing rice in various places, and further explore the significance of rice in Chinese culture, allowing students to use English reading skills and critical thinking in cultural exploration.

In fifth grade, in conjunction with the humanities curriculum, with the Ming Dynasty as the background and Cantonese opera as the theme, students first select the English versions of "Mulan" and "Journey to the West" books and movies, and use Chinese-English comparison to guide students to access English content, and then further study the original Chinese works. Help students understand the plot through the simpler English version, and then gradually lead to the more profound original texts of "The Song of Mulan" and "Journey to the West". Finally, students can perform adapted plays by combining Cantonese opera elements such as numbers, handcrafts, and musical instruments. This not only deepens students' understanding of Chinese culture, but also exercises their English expression skills.

In the future, the school plans to cooperate with the Chinese University of Hong Kong to implement projects to enhance students’ general abilities. Using Chinese cultural background and characters as the theme, students will use AI to conduct English conversations with virtual characters. Relevant stories are also available in Chinese and English bilingual versions, allowing students to learn about cultural characteristics and history while training their problem-solving abilities, logical thinking and expression skills, and further mastering their ability to use English, achieving an organic integration of cultural learning and language application.

English Education

The school actively promotes cross-curricular reading, integrates "reading" elements on the basis of STEAM education, and forms a "STREAM" teaching model to closely integrate English and STEAM courses, allowing students to "learn by doing" (Learning by Doing) to improve their comprehensive abilities. For example, when fifth-grade students carry out a water rocket production project, they need to understand the scientific principles by reading English materials, and at the same time combine the knowledge and skills of mathematics, visual arts, science and other disciplines to design hands-on. This model makes English a carrier for transferring knowledge. In the process of exploring STEAM knowledge, students are naturally exposed to more English materials, which not only enriches the interdisciplinary knowledge reserve, but also further stimulates interest in English learning through practice and breaks down subject barriers. Through interesting experiments and hands-on operations, students simultaneously consolidate their English application abilities and cross-field learning literacy, laying a solid foundation for adapting to the English teaching environment after entering middle school.

Use English for overseas communication and expand your horizons by looking at the world

The school actively promotes overseas exchange activities and creates opportunities for students to use English in real language environments. In the past, the school has organized students to go to Dubai and Abu Dhabi to carry out English experience activities. By visiting solar energy centers, tasting local specialties, etc., students took the initiative to communicate in English with tour guides and local people, and put their knowledge to use. The school has also taken students to Canada to participate in intensive English courses. In the future, it plans to organize exchange activities in Canada again and further expand new exchange routes such as Spain and New Zealand to provide students with more diverse international exchange options and broaden their global perspective.

Overseas exchange activities are not simply sightseeing experiences, but deeply integrate classroom learning and cultural experiences. Take the Canadian Culture and English Summer Camp held in the past as an example. In addition to arranging outdoor experience activities such as rowing, the school also organizes students to enter the campus of Thompson Rivers University to participate in university-level English classroom experience. At the same time, it arranges for students to stay with local host families and live with local residents. In a natural English environment, students use English as a bridge to gain an in-depth understanding of local customs and cultural characteristics, achieving dual improvements in language application and cultural experience.

Support the transition from kindergarten to primary school and lay the foundation for English learning

Principal Wu is deeply concerned about the challenges students may face in adapting to the primary school English curriculum when they transition from kindergarten to primary school. In order to help students make a smooth transition, the school specially offers English reading and Phonics courses, taught by foreign teachers. Principal Wu pointed out: "English is a pinyin language. Mastering the Phonics pinyin rules in early childhood will not only help improve listening and reading skills, but also complement writing and listening, comprehensively laying the four basic English abilities of listening, speaking, reading and writing." This bridging course effectively helps students from kindergarten to primary school adapt to the learning rhythm and content of primary school English, and is highly recognized and welcomed by parents.

Establish a healthy lifestyle and promote the overall development of students

The school attaches great importance to the cultivation of healthy living habits and actively guides students to establish the habit of regular exercise. Since last year, the school has implemented regular physical exercise arrangements: every morning, teachers will lead students to do rope skipping exercises; after lunch, students are organized to participate in gymnastics; at 2:30 pm, students are guided to perform eye-protection exercises, paying full attention to students' physical and mental health and helping them develop the habit of regular exercise. In addition, the school also offers a variety of extracurricular activities, such as fancy rope skipping, roller skating, pottery, Cantonese opera, Chinese drums, STEAM creative practice, etc., to provide students with a diversified development platform and support them to realize their personal potential and achieve all-round development.