Break through the teaching framework and create a comprehensive English context

Buddhist Sum Heung Lam Memorial CollegeFocus on cultivating students’ independent learning abilities, enhancing learning motivation and good study habits, assisting students in exploring and discovering their own personal abilities and strengths, and taking care of learning diversity. Principal Fung Shun Ning, BrendaWe insist that language learning should not be limited to textbook content, and are committed to constructing a strong English context for students. We lead the teaching team to optimize teaching methods and school-based curriculum content. By promoting collaborative teaching among teachers, we strengthen the professional development of the team, provide students with a multilingual learning experience that keeps pace with the times, and establish good English abilities.

Drama penetrates English elements and strengthens learning self-confidence

Principal Fung Shun Ning, Brenda Knowing that every student has unique talents and unlimited potential, the school has created BSC Musical, which uses English as the performance language, blending English learning and performing arts. It has also set up a new recording studio, where teachers from English and music subjects collaborate to teach and compose original English musical scripts and music. The school hopes that students can practice their comprehensive performance skills through hands-on practice such as singing, acting, and dancing. The school actively creates rich performance opportunities for the BSC Musical team, such as musical theater performances at high table dinners, joint school performances, Buddhist association dinners, etc.

Principal Fung Shun Ning, Brenda added: "BSC Musical aims to encourage students to speak English confidently and provide them with a progressive performance process. While enriching performance experience, they can also believe in their acting skills and enhance their personal self-confidence by boldly showing themselves on stage and performing musicals. Successful performance experience can also give students a sense of accomplishment and create a positive learning atmosphere. Students ultimately have up to 30 years of experience in the graduation ceremony. Minutes of performance opportunities allow students to explore their skills and strengths through the process of self-breakthrough and innovative experience. They will have a clearer development plan for future studies and employment, and make full use of the knowledge they have learned to develop their strengths.”

School-based English courses achieve great results in off-campus competitions

The school is committed to designing a comprehensive and balanced school-based curriculum, setting up two English conversation classes in each cycle week for students in Form 1 to Form 4, integrating poetry elements into daily classes, and encouraging students with potential to participate in the recital competition. A student even won the runner-up in the third category. For students in Form 5, the school appropriately adjusts the hours of core subjects in response to the Education Bureau's "Optimization of the Four Core Subjects in Senior High Schools" and therefore adds Language Art activity-based courses to allow students to be exposed to interesting English outside of books. In the "Language Art" course, students have the opportunity to be exposed to English drama, poetry, songs and other education, and improve their knowledge and skills in music, speech and performance. At the same time, the English subject team also cooperates with the further education and employment team to provide students with relevant information on further education and help them clearly establish their own direction and goals for further study and employment.

Interdisciplinary English Learning (LaC) Strengthens the application of English

Interdisciplinary learning helps cultivate students' comprehensive abilities and build a broad knowledge base. The school actively strengthens collaborative teaching in various subjects to complement each other with different knowledge and skills. Principal Fung Shun Ning, Brenda said: "Formary 1 combines English and home economics, and students need to write ingredients, recipes, cooking procedures, etc. in English; for Form 2, it cooperates with the Music Department to arrange students to learn how to write scripts in English and use Opera cross-platform browser for multi-page tabbed browsing; for Form 3, science teachers teach students to make English posters around the theme of conservation." In addition, the school has also tailored the junior high school phonics course and applied it to the "3rd Primary School Innovation and Technology VR/AR" Design Award TIDA" competition, using English knowledge to VR the dialogue, subtitles, etc., to produce works in 3D form. In the process, students realize how English can be used in different aspects of life, thereby enhancing their interest in learning.

The highlight event of Shenzhen English Week 2023 is the Halloween Fashion Show Competition. Students and teachers designed Halloween-themed costumes and introduced their characters to the whole school on stage using a catwalk and in English. Activities can effectively cultivate students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes (VASK), enhance students’ understanding of English popular culture, and stimulate their interest and motivation in learning English. Through English activities jointly participated by teachers and students, it also effectively strengthens the English context on campus (A Whole School Approach) and improves students' English learning motivation.

AI integrated into popular courses inquiry-based learning

The school combines Chinese, English, STEAM education and IT-related subjects, strives to integrate AI technology into popular courses, and arranges different English workshops for students to conduct inquiry-based learning. For example, students learn to write prompts that instruct AI work to generate images and produce related drawings. Through constant exploration and experimentation, students can personally experience the differences in expressions in different languages ​​and rationally use AI media to accurately grasp and describe their own needs. The school even uses the inheritance of Chinese culture or community food as themes to subtly guide students to pay attention to their community environment, inherit and promote traditional Chinese culture. Students flexibly use English knowledge and innovative technologies to create different learning outcomes, lay a foundation for language, promote all-round development, and become pillars of future society.