Build an efficient learning stage, open up interdisciplinary learning, and cultivate a solid foundation in English

Fung Kai Liu Yun Sum Memorial School Founded in 1990, the school has been cultivating many peaches and plums. The school sponsoring group has been investing resources to promote high-quality whole-person education and provide students with a good learning environment so that they can learn and grow happily. Principal Xie Shengye strives for perfection. In recent years, he has cooperated with the teaching team to design a comprehensive and balanced school-based curriculum in line with the development trend of education. He has also added professional education theories to lay a good foundation for students in the language and help the school become an outstanding institution that provides appropriate, solid and comprehensive basic education.

Design multiple intelligence courses to cater for different learning needs

In order to improve teaching support, the school actively recruits more teachers and implements small class teaching to optimize the teacher-student ratio so that students can be taught according to their aptitude and learn accurately. In the main subjects such as Chinese, English and Mathematics, the teaching team applies the "same-level grouping" system. In addition to "elite classes" and "consolidation classes", it also sets up "advanced classes" for middle-class students to fully respond to students' different learning needs and create a positive learning atmosphere. “The school has reduced the teacher-student ratio in the ‘consolidation class’ to 1:8 and designed tiered worksheets so that students with relatively weak learning abilities can increase their learning confidence and build learning motivation with appropriate support from teachers.” Principal Xie continued that in addition to carefully implementing divided class teaching, the school also added interesting language learning activities to the “multiple intelligence courses”, such as “Fun Land”, “English Collection”, etc., to connect English learning with daily life experience, thereby creating a meaningful learning situation.

The school's curriculum is flexible and open, covering various learning areas. It also combines learning interests to promote horizontal and vertical development. Students have a strong interest in learning and are not only serious about studying, but also have excellent collaboration skills and a positive learning attitude. They are highly praised by residents in the area. Principal Xie said with a smile, "The relevant courses have been implemented for nearly seven years. Many graduates have completed their secondary school studies and successfully entered universities. In order to express their gratitude to their alma mater for their cultivation, they often return to school as alumni to visit their teachers and share their learning experiences with their juniors. They praise the on-campus courses for being of great help in building their interest in learning."

English experiential courses for kindergarten students to lay a solid foundation in Chinese language for junior primary schools

In order to make up for the teaching process hampered by the epidemic, the school has launched an adaptation course for parents of new primary school students as early as the end of June, demonstrating how to use the school's electronic platform, teaching them skills to guide their children's learning, and promoting home-school cooperation. The school also carries out different connection experience courses for new students, such as "Fencing Experience Course for Kindergarten School Connection", "English Experience Course for Kindergarten School Connection", etc. In the form of activities, primary school freshmen can build a sense of belonging on campus, understand primary school subjects and classroom models, and accelerate their adaptation to campus life. In the "Kindergarten Bridging English Experience Class", primary school freshmen and their parents can take the lead in experiencing the "PLPR English Course" (Primary Literacy Program-Reading), where foreign teachers and English teachers improve students' knowledge of English pinyin and simple vocabulary through storytelling, role-playing, singing, pinyin games and reading and writing activities. "After the start of the school year, teachers also re-corrected students' writing postures according to their learning needs, consolidated their foundation of English words, and comprehensively adjusted the teaching pace of the curriculum to help integrate the kindergarten teaching with the primary school curriculum. The school also canceled the first primary exam and changed it to a 'special learning activity', using a 'learning report' to highlight the key learning points and learning performance of subjects such as Chinese, English, mathematics, and regular education to parents and classmates, thereby establishing learning goals." Principal Xie said.

Knowledge, Emotion, Action, Interdisciplinary Theme Learning, Understand What You Have Learned

In order to strengthen the teaching belief of "language as a learning tool", the school's English subject team has strengthened communication and collaboration with other subjects to organize different interdisciplinary learning plans. For example, in the past, thematic learning was incorporated into campus activities such as "All-round Learning Week" and "Chinese Culture Day" to consolidate the concepts of "knowledge, emotion and action" in English learning.

Examples of cross-subject learning on Chinese culture:

Grade: third grade
Theme: China Miles Journey
Chinese Language: "Beauty in Ancient Poems"
English: "Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb activates"
Mathematics: "Cities in China (distance)"
General Studies: "A Long Journey to China"
Mandarin: "Spring Travel"
Moral Education Course: "The Great Land of China"

Grade: Sixth grade
Theme: Cultural inheritance
Chinese Language: "Lotus Leaf He Tiantian"
English: "Customs and Traditions of China Dragon Boat Festival"
Mathematics: "Understanding High-Speed Rail (Speed)"
General Studies: "China's Development in Recent Years"
Mandarin: "Please come and participate (etiquette)"
Visual Arts: "If there were landscapes"

Principal Xie pointed out: "In order to make students understand that English is not an independent subject, but an important tool for 'learning to learn', the English subject team has turned English knowledge into interesting elements and integrated it into inter-disciplinary activities. It is hoped that different knowledge can be extended from the basis of the curriculum so that students can learn "Extensive, thorough learning, and application of what you learn." He took the sixth-grade Chinese culture study week activity "Cultural Inheritance" as an example. In line with the theme of "Cultural Inheritance," the Chinese teacher taught "The Love of the Lotus" by Zhou Dunyi of the Northern Song Dynasty, allowing students to feel the nobility of the lotus through the text. Understand the author's thoughts; the English subject uses an English game to introduce the customs and habits of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival and related English vocabulary based on the allusion of Qu Yuan's throwing himself into the river; the Mathematics subject also uses "Ozobot" to learn to use programming skills to plan map routes and find the most beautiful things in China. The location of the beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou, and students will learn to calculate the speed and experience the speed and convenience of taking the high-speed train to Hangzhou; the visual arts department will also explore with students the characteristics of "white space" in Chinese landscape paintings, and learn to use ink painting techniques to paint China's beautiful mountains and rivers full of artistic conception.

As a pioneer school in the development of STEAM teaching, the school has supported more than 20 schools in the past to implement technology education with its excellent technology teaching. When students learn new knowledge about innovation and technology, they will also integrate English learning. For example, when learning "electricity", teachers will teach students relevant English vocabulary and walk into power plants with students to observe the operation of turbines and experience the atmosphere of coal fields. Comprehensive language teaching is integrated into different subjects to lay a good foundation in English for students. It has also won many awards in different competitions. For example, last year, many students in the school won the English Writing Excellence Award in the "17th Primary School Students Chinese and English Live Writing Competition". In the "73rd Hong Kong School Speech Festival", the school even won the Asian, Quarter and Excellent Awards for Solo Recital of English Poetry. Moreover, high school students participated in the "TOEFL Junior" program and obtained Gold and Sliver scores in the "TOEFL Junior Speaking Test" and "TOEFL Junior Standard Test" respectively, which shows that the English teaching in the school is comprehensive and excellent.