Promote a culture of "love English" Five elements to build high-quality English education

TWGHs Ma Kam Chan Memorial Primary School Since the founding of the school, we have adhered to a firm teaching philosophy: We believe that every child is unique and valuable, and likes to learn and participate; every child has his or her own potential and can achieve success. The school strives to enable students to become independent learners who "love English, love reading, high participation, high expression, and high thinking" through systematic curriculum planning. Principal Luo Qianer hopes that the school can create opportunities for students to immerse themselves in a boundless context, develop their broader international vision, and become future talents with a global perspective.

"Love English" Create a boundless English context

When it comes to English education, the school invests a lot of teaching resources to lay a good foundation for students in English, and specially hires up to 6 foreign English teachers to provide students with different learning experiences inside and outside the classroom. In order to strengthen the connection between primary school and primary school and enable junior primary school students to lay a solid foundation in English more quickly, foreign English teachers will teach at least 3 English classes to first-year students every week. During the class, the foreign teachers will teach in the form of activities. Compared with the traditional teaching model of speaking directly from the book, it can increase classroom interaction and learning interest, and can best break the fear of children who are new to English. Students in other grades also have two classes with foreign teachers every week. Foreign English teachers will teach students more advanced grammatical skills in pure English, conduct group discussions on different topics, and encourage students to express themselves actively and ask questions.

"In addition to daily classes, foreign English teachers will also design different English games for students in the school playground and English room on weekdays. They will also hold English activities at special festivals and host morning meetings on weekdays. They will also invite students to talk together during recess and lunch breaks. They will also produce the campus publication "NET Post" and shoot English short films to share their lives and moods with children, increase students' opportunities to use English, and make the campus English atmosphere stronger." Vice Principal Guan smiled.

"Love Reading" Breaking through the boundless sea of physical books

Rich and sufficient reading can not only improve children's language skills and vocabulary, but also open their learning horizons and explore knowledge in different fields. Therefore, the school has set up a resource-rich e-reading platform "Raz-Kids" for students in the early years, encouraging students to select books according to their personal interests and abilities, and establish the habit of independent learning through the voice function. At the same time, in recent years, the school has introduced a "reading pen" that can be used with the English magazine "Bingo" and e-learning platforms. Principal Luo added: "This reading pen can be used as a self-study tool for students, allowing them to read and review anytime and anywhere. In order to increase the effectiveness of reading, the foreign English teacher has also recorded different recording materials. Students can review English vocabulary related to mathematics, common sense and science subjects by lightly scanning with the reading pen, understand the meaning and pronunciation of different words, and learn and improve themselves."

In order to further promote the reading and writing atmosphere in the school, the school implements the "PLPR-W" teaching method in primary schools, using pictures to teach students English Pinyin, and then guide them to apply Pinyin knowledge to reading, increase the number of words they can read, and then increase writing training step by step. For upper primary school training, the school teaching team has specially set up a "5 in 1 Reading Program" in recent years, using primary school students as the entry point, dividing students into different groups in two English classes per week, and then the English subject teacher and four foreign English teachers, a total of five teachers, will lead the different groups in English reading. The relevant classes are specially conducted in the form of different levels of groups and activities, aiming to cater for students of different levels and learning needs, both at the top and at the bottom, and to promote learning effectiveness. Through classroom interactions and fun activities, children can fall in love with English reading in a pleasant atmosphere.

"High Participation" Participate in extracurricular activities and learn English at the same time

Learning is never limited to books. For Ma Jincan’s students, there are a variety of English learning opportunities, whether it is school-based curriculum teaching or time outside the classroom. The school has always designated Friday as "English Day" in the past, and all students in the school will engage in English context through games and interactive learning. In addition, foreign English teachers also hold extracurricular enrichment classes from time to time, allowing students to extend their learning and delve into the English world in their spare time.

Vice President Kwan added: "We hope that students understand that English is not a single subject, but a skill that enables people to communicate with the outside world, connect with society, and enter the world. Therefore, we introduce extracurricular activities with English elements, such as 'English Football', 'English Scientists', and 'English Rugby', so that students can apply what they have learned and develop their interests in English."

In order to enrich students' activity space during recess and lunch break, the school has just completed the optimization project of InnoSpace and AI Farm, encouraging students to travel freely and anywhere, and specially adding elements such as English, science and five senses learning at many places along the way. InnoSpace is equipped with a variety of interesting scientific experiments, such as the Trishuttle Mirror, Newton's Pendulum Ball, Variety Needle Painting and other devices. Students can meet up with friends to explore scientific mysteries together.

In addition to scientific experiments, InnoSpace also has a sensory experience area. Teachers carefully set up vision boxes, olfactory aroma bottles, resonant tuning forks, microscopes, etc. according to the students' cognitive level. These experiments are changed regularly to keep students curious about scientific inquiry.

"InnoSpace is adjacent to the sky garden. When the fruits are ripe, under the guidance of teachers, students can smell, taste and see the inner structure of these fruits produced on campus. These profound sensory experiences can promote students' motivation to ask questions and explore," said Principal Luo.

InnoSpace is equipped with a fully environmentally controlled smart hydroponic machine. The school has added smart planting courses to the general knowledge subjects from P.1 to P.6. Students will go through the process of "selecting seeds, cultivating seedlings, transplanting seedlings, and protecting seedlings." Each student has his or her own small planting pot. In addition to allowing students to understand technology to facilitate planting, the course also hopes to cultivate their respect for life and care for the weak from an early age.

AI Farm is both an outdoor farm and a playground that students love to visit during their short breaks. The AI ​​Farm is equipped with 10 hydroponic columns, with a maximum capacity of planting 450 vegetables simultaneously. Students and parents can experience the fun of AI planting here. The system will assist "novice farmers" in predicting the harvest period and health status of vegetables so that "novice farmers" can make appropriate follow-up actions.

AI Farm has green grass, where students can sit on the floor mats, chat, have picnics, and play team-building games with friends. There are 4 rotatable gyro chairs next to it. Students can sit on the gyro chairs and enjoy a broader view of the beautiful campus, blue sky, and green trees. This is really a relaxing thing for students who have just finished class. Students who are brave enough will even spin a few circles on the gyro chair to find the excitement that belongs to children's childhood. "Being able to relax for a while is a good thing for students to prepare for the classes later on," Principal Luo added.

"High Expression" Interdisciplinary activities for learning English

The school grasps the development trends of the times, actively promotes interdisciplinary activities, integrates and organically combines knowledge from multiple subjects, and creates more meaningful learning experiences for students. "The teaching team will add a large number of English elements to the interdisciplinary courses, encouraging students to analyze data, produce reports, and give public speeches on different topics, so as to learn English vocabulary on different topics and lay a solid foundation for transition to middle school. In addition, the on-campus science subjects are taught entirely in English, with school-based English textbooks. Teachers and students will conduct experiments in English in class - this dual-line learning model can not only expand English vocabulary, deepen learning and memory, but also help students quickly adapt to the English learning mode after entering middle school." Principal Luo added.

In interdisciplinary activities, the school's STEAM education and English education are closely linked. For example, the Al Farm control platform uses English as the learning medium. While students master Al recognition technology, they can also learn a wide range of different English vocabulary, which will help them adapt to other English-based learning platforms in the future.

When students engage in social work in the future, they need to communicate and collaborate effectively with others. The school attaches great importance to students' emotional expression and integrates relevant skills training into various subjects, so that students can become scholars who speak with substance, orderly and reason.

Principal Luo pointed out: "The school's STEAM education covers the needs of all students including gifted students. In recent years, it has opened up different overseas study opportunities to allow students to have a macro perspective and connect with international innovation and technology. In October, teachers and students participated in the Maker Carnival in Tokyo. The students were able to introduce this year's inventions to foreigners in fluent English, which received a lot of praise; in the same month, two teams of students represented Hong Kong in the 4D Frame in South Korea. In the competition, they were required to produce works on-site, which tested the team's adaptability and creativity. Finally, they had to explain their creative ideas and scientific principles to the jury in English. The two teams of students performed extremely well and successfully won the two gold medals in the creative category and the electronic machinery category."

In addition to attaching importance to STEAM education, the school believes that music and English are both international languages, so it is committed to promoting music campuses and specially hires professional music tutors so that primary school students can build a musical foundation by learning rhythm music. When they reach second or third grade, they can choose wind or string music to further deepen their musical attainments. Vice President Guan pointed out that under the influence of music education, many students have outstanding performance in the field of music and have traveled to Japan, Singapore and Taiwan to participate in competitions and performances. At the same time, students are encouraged to communicate with the world in English.

"High Thinking" Cultivate the spirit of inquiry and knowledge seeking

Principal Luo believes that every student has inherent learning potential. If teaching activities can use ingenuity, students can start the engine of independent learning and make them become practitioners who are willing to think and dare to explore. Last year, the teacher team was selected as the Jockey Club Teacher Innovation Force and went to Finland and the United Kingdom for exchanges to learn how local innovative education creates space for students and unleashes students' learning momentum. Principal Luo said: "When our teachers visited Finnish primary schools, they noticed that students were often fascinated by exploring the forest environment, and would reflect on how humans can coexist harmoniously with nature." After this overseas visit, the teacher team established an educational innovation team and piloted the "Five Senses Curriculum" in the third grade. This curriculum emphasizes "learning in the environment" and encourages students to use their senses to explore and have strong learning autonomy. Principal Luo added: "The outdoors is a venue rich in learning resources, where students can use their five senses to explore the mysteries of different species in the natural ecology. These profound experiences can enhance their curiosity for active learning."

After the course was launched, students had more opportunities to get out of the classroom and have a closer relationship with nature. They will pick up fallen leaves on campus and create different small animals, giving the leaves a big transformation; they will also visit the migratory birds in Heshang Township and create a "bird paradise" for them; they will also visit a community farm to experience the daily work of farmers. "Children gradually let go of the habits of city dwellers. They are no longer afraid of insects and soil, and reconnect with nature. This can cultivate students' sense of responsibility in protecting the environment," said Principal Luo.

In addition to knowing how to think about how to coexist with nature, the teaching team understands that computational thinking is one of the essential abilities for future learning. The school has participated in the "Computational Thinking Education Program" organized by the Jockey Club three years ago. The relevant courses are jointly compiled by the Education University of Hong Kong and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. They are dedicated to cultivating students' digital creativity and problem-solving skills, and have achieved remarkable results so far. After years of accumulation of experience, the teaching team has continued to improve and has successfully received funding from the "Quality Education Fund" to develop interdisciplinary school-based courses on its own, such as using Scratch to design a maze game that promotes healthy eating, and using App Inventor 2 to design an AI application that identifies plant growth conditions, etc.
"These interesting learning experiences make children fall in love with thinking, and then they are willing to try. Even if they face difficulties in the future, they will move forward," said Principal Luo.