Improve your English proficiency in all aspects, "Learning while having fun" and win together at the starting point

TWGHs Tang Shiu Kin Primary SchoolSince its founding in the 1980s, it has been committed to building "a caring, happy school that will help students achieve their future" as its mission. Principal Chung Ka-ming attaches great importance to English teaching. With the concerted efforts of the school sponsoring group and all teachers in the school, the school's English education policy has become more and more complete. The curriculum can take into account children's interests and daily applications. The overall students' English proficiency has also improved significantly. They have repeatedly achieved good results in different international English proficiency assessments. The proportion of students who have been allocated first-choice places in secondary schools is higher than the overall average in Hong Kong. The proportion of students who successfully enter English secondary schools has also continued to grow steadily.

Read frequently and learn Pinyin to lay an excellent foundation in English

The school grasps the golden period of children's learning and consolidates students' language skills. In the early years, it invested a lot of resources in the primary one transition, so that students can lay a good foundation in English through "pinyin" and "reading". "The teaching team has been updating the English school-based curriculum. Many years ago, they participated in the English Pinyin course organized by the School of Education of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They use Pinyin teaching materials written by relevant experts, and cooperate with the interesting teaching of foreign English teachers inside and outside the school, so that junior primary school students can learn to spell English easily and quickly, and help them build a personal English vocabulary and correct vocabulary pronunciation." said the subject director.

Extensive reading not only benefits children's language skills, but also helps them broaden their knowledge. Vice Principal Li Lihua said: "As long as students are interested in reading and provided with resource support, they will absorb knowledge and improve their English proficiency faster than imagined. In view of this, the school has specially set up game lessons for junior primary students led by foreign teachers. In addition to incorporating pinyin knowledge, it will also make flexible use of different electronic learning resources, reading platforms and group games to comprehensively improve students' spelling, spelling, reading and English conversation abilities."

In addition, in order to respond to the different levels of English proficiency of new students, the school also provides English reading proficiency tests for first-year students. Foreign teachers conduct one-on-one assessments with each primary school student to understand their English proficiency, and then divide them into different groups according to their abilities, so that students can choose appropriate English reading materials according to their groups and interests, so as to learn appropriately. The school has also canceled examinations and tests in the first grade of school, allowing students to establish their interest in learning in a low-pressure and happy environment, and helping them adapt to the primary school learning model faster.

"Learning through Fun" Courses Adding Equipment to Add Fun

"English is a key to the door to the world, so the school sponsoring group attaches great importance to the school's English teaching level. In addition to advocating the optimization of school-based curriculum and promoting teaching exchanges among teachers, the school sponsoring group has spared no expense in recent years to renovate the "English Activity Room" in the school and vigorously promote the English learning atmosphere in the school." Principal Zhong said.

In addition to daily teaching, English classes will also incorporate the equipment of the "English Activity Room" to allow students to learn daily English in different situations. For example, in the "Learning through Fun" course, students will study in separate areas under the leadership of foreign teachers in the "English Activity Room" in the "Electronic Learning Resource Area", "Reading Corner" and "Chat Interaction Area" to improve their English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills through various interactions. In addition, during weekday classes, students will also play games in groups. In order to promote the culture of peer learning, the "English Activity Room" is specially equipped with an "ActivTable" (electronic learning interactive table), allowing students to play English learning games with their peers through the interactive table, increasing learning motivation.

"2+12" policy integrates foreign teachers into campus life

In order to develop an English context, the school implements the "2+12" foreign English teacher policy: in addition to two permanent full-time foreign teachers, the school also specially hires 12 foreign teachers to lead students in different extracurricular activities and interest groups, so that students can develop their interests and grow diversified in the English context. Principal Chung Jiaming said: "'2+12' is in line with the school's unique timetable: the main classes for students in the morning are core courses, including Chinese, English, Mathematics, Changing, Music, Physical Education, Art and other subjects; in the afternoon they have 'Multiple Learning Classes', and every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, students will have 'Multiple Interactive Classes' and 'Gifted Classes'. There are also top-notch English courses, such as 'Intelligent Value-Added Classes', 'Cambridge English', 'International Joint School Subject Assessment' and 'TOEFL'" Junior" and so on. Second-year students will also be mobilized to conduct "English drama classes" led by foreign teachers."

At the upper primary level, students can also sign up to participate in the "English Little Shakespeare" activity based on their interests. Professional foreign instructors will provide drama training. After a round of practice, they will finally be arranged to perform in public theaters. Last year, two students from the school successfully passed the Hong Kong audition with their outstanding performance and were invited to join the official theater troupe. The students are gradually increasing their interest in drama and English, from learning the pronunciation of lines and speaking speed to actually applying knowledge on the stage and shining brightly. The teachers are extremely happy.

Comprehensive English context, interdisciplinary learning is pervasive

In addition to designing distinctive school-based courses and building special rooms, the teaching team also thoughtfully creates an English context around the campus. Vice Principal Lee pointed out: "In order to let students understand early that English is not a subject, but a language of communication, which is as important as Chinese, teachers have posted different English quotes in different corners of the campus, such as floor stairwells, beams and corridors. The STEAM Lab has posted English wise sayings from scientists, so that students can not only learn English, but also keep these scientific spirits in mind." Walking on the school campus, students can see different English elements as soon as they look up.

"In order to create a comprehensive English learning environment, other subjects in the school actively cooperate with the English subject group. For example, physical education, visual arts and music subjects will incorporate English into the teaching. Mathematics and general knowledge subjects also have word banks for the subject, allowing students to be exposed to proper nouns and terms in different fields early, which will help them connect to the middle school curriculum. In the past, teachers and students used environmental protection as the theme. After collecting relevant English materials, they completed experiments under the guidance of teachers, and finally Report experimental steps and principles to peers in English to build in-depth learning experiences and experience the importance of English as a learning and communication tool. " Principal Zhong said that the school has established the three major Western holidays of Halloween, Christmas and Easter as three "English Days", and organized themed cultural exhibitions, games and activities to create a "living context" so that students can be exposed to daily English in a happy and relaxed holiday atmosphere and become more willing to learn.

Prioritize the application of English in parallel with STEAM education

In order to allow students to be exposed to technology and science from an early age and develop a sense of the times, the school specifically integrates English education to mutually develop STEAM learning. The electronic teaching in the school is also becoming more and more mature. Many education expos and language centers have also sent personnel to visit the school to exchange experiences. Ten years ago, the school took the lead in launching a school-based e-learning program using the English subject as a pilot project, and added e-learning activities to English classes so that students can learn the construction principles of English words through the e-learning platform, and at the same time use the writing learning platform to strengthen their reading and writing skills. Today, e-learning has been successfully extended from English to other subjects. Teachers and students can make full use of teaching tools such as "Canvas", "Nearpod lessons" and "Quizlet" both in and out of class to promote the efficiency of learning and teaching.

Influenced by STEAM courses and e-learning, the school has successfully cultivated students' interest in technology and science. It has won more than 100 STEAM competition awards so far, and established a "Cool think" programming school team. As the only school in Hong Kong to win the silver medal of the "2023 Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology Awards Student Innovation Award", the school was also shortlisted as the Hong Kong representative team for the Asia-Pacific Information and Communications Technology Awards, known as the "Oscars" of the information technology industry in the Asia-Pacific region. 2023 (APICTA 2023).

Learn from the world and build confidence by participating in competitions

The school actively encourages and trains students to participate in different competitions, such as the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Joint School English Speech Competition, allowing them to see the world outside the school. By entering the professional field, learn to set longer-term learning goals and build confidence in growth. Moreover, in different competitions, students can also use what they have learned to communicate with others in English, share their experience in the competition, and improve their confidence in English conversation.

In addition, the school will also organize different international exchange groups to travel with students to various countries around the world for exchange and study to broaden their international horizons. In the past, teachers and students have visited countries such as Singapore, Canada and Australia. During the epidemic, due to the inconvenience of overseas visits, the school cooperated with the "Tokyo International Exchange Affairs Bureau" to conduct English and cultural exchanges with different schools in Japan through video and exchange letters to connect with each other. It plans to visit the local area in person in February this year.