The first "Dream Launching Class" equips students with English skills and inspires students to dare to dream and pursue their dreams

St. Stephen's Church College’s English scores have steadily improved in recent years, and its high value-added English teaching performance is encouraging. Principal Mak Wai Lun I believe that when students have goals and motivations, they will naturally be able to learn English well and improve their classroom performance and grades. In order to help students learn English well, the school optimizes the curriculum based on the original English teaching and seeks better learning opportunities. Through a series of activities and teacher resources, students’ interest in and motivation for learning English are enhanced, and they are pushed forward on the road to English learning.

Flexible language policy improves learning efficiency

In terms of language policy, the school adopts flexible and flexible arrangements to meet the needs of students and improve learning effectiveness. For students who are good at English, the school has a special "English class" to learn mathematics and science subjects in English. In addition, the school also implements "English Extended Teaching Activities" in various subjects, gradually adding English elements based on students' learning abilities and progress to help them master inter-disciplinary English vocabulary and prepare for the transition to the English learning environment in high school. With effective curriculum planning, students have a certain foundation in both Chinese and English. Therefore, in high school, whether students choose to use Chinese or English as the learning language for elective subjects, they can effectively meet the curriculum needs of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination.

Create opportunities to learn English lively and exchange groups to build an international perspective

The school actively seeks various opportunities and resources for students, and arranges different overseas exchange activities to allow them to use English abroad and expand their horizons. For example, the school takes students to New Zealand to learn English and to perform volunteer services in Thailand, allowing students to get out of the classroom, communicate with local people, and understand their culture and customs. In the future, Principal Mak Wai Lun plans to arrange for students to go to Japan and Australia and allocate additional resources to promote the exchange program. He mentioned: "We have a sister school in New Zealand. We hope to encourage students to go there as exchange students and study for one or two semesters. They will definitely be transformed when they come back." The school hopes that through different exchange group plans, students can have more experiments and observations, and develop feasible plans to help them learn English well. In this process, students can not only use English, but also broaden their international horizons, expand their knowledge, and even find goals that match their abilities and interests, taking the first step to success.

Conduct "Dream Launch Course" to set goals and go all out

The school launched the "Dream Sailing Course" last year and invested a lot of resources in aviation technology. After investing in the Boeing 737 flight simulator earlier this year, the school continued its efforts and successfully introduced Hong Kong's first "domestic large passenger aircraft C919 flight simulator" on "September 19" this year, becoming the first school in Hong Kong to install a C919 flight simulator, allowing students to experience a near-realistic driving experience. This course not only allows students to absorb aviation knowledge, but more importantly, stimulates their English learning motivation. When using the flight simulator, the system will issue instructions in English, and students need to have a certain level of English proficiency to operate it smoothly. This made them realize the importance of English in the aviation industry. For example, pilots must use English when controlling the aircraft and communicating with the tower, and ground staff and flight attendants often need to communicate in English in their work. For students aspiring to pursue a career in aviation, this course helps them understand the importance of English and motivates them to set goals. Go all out for your ideals and improve your English skills as early as possible to achieve good learning results.

Curriculum Optimization, Striving for Excellence and Taking Care of Learning Diversity

Principal Mak Wai Lun understands that education must keep pace with the times, so the school actively optimizes English teaching strategies. The school has set up a "Language Arts Curriculum" for students in Form One to Form Three, which integrates English poetry, songs, dramas, short stories, film appreciation and other elements into the curriculum to stimulate students' interest in English and deepen their knowledge and cultural accomplishment. This year, the school has added an "English drama class" to the secondary one curriculum, and specially hired teachers with rich experience in this field to teach it, hoping to let students experience the fun of learning English starting from junior high school. In addition, the school has specially hired a retired principal with rich English teaching experience as an English subject consultant to help optimize the curriculum.

In addition, the school has also participated in the Chinese Language Teaching Support Program of the Education Bureau. For the English learning of junior high school students, it promotes teacher exchanges and optimizes school-based curriculum to improve the quality of teaching, enhance students' English ability, build confidence in English, and lay a solid language foundation for students. This year is the second year of the plan. The entire junior high school curriculum will be fully optimized to allow students to learn more English vocabulary from reading and apply it to writing to achieve "From Reading to Writing." The course takes into account the diversity of students' learning and uses tiered coursework and effective teaching strategies so that every student can gain something from learning English and gain a sense of success.

Foreign English teachers give full play to their strengths and a virtuous cycle leads to soaring academic performance

The school specially employs two foreign English teachers. They have taught in the school for many years and have a deep understanding of the school and students' needs. They are deeply welcomed and trusted by students. Therefore, students are happy to learn English with them. Principal Mak Wai Lun said: "A good relationship between teachers and students can attract students to learn and encourage them to listen more and speak more." The two foreign teachers have their own strengths: one is good at improvisational drama and debate, and the other is responsible for coordinating English activities and leading students to participate in English competitions organized by the Education Bureau. The school is confident in their teaching methods and students can enhance their interest in learning English by participating in their classes and English activities.

Principal Mak Wai Lun pointed out: "When students are interested in English and like to learn, they will naturally dare to try. As long as they are willing to try and express, they have taken the first step to success." The trust of the school allows the expertise of foreign teachers to be fully utilized, and students are also willing to learn and listen, forming a virtuous cycle that effectively promotes their development in English. Thanks to the teachers' persuasive guidance and the students' hard work, the students' English scores have continued to improve. Among them, the English debate team has won awards in competitions for five consecutive years.

Introducing international examination courses to improve competitiveness for further studies

In order to enhance the competitiveness of students, the school introduces elements and assessments from internationally renowned English courses, sets up different levels of courses based on the English academic proficiency of students at all levels, and provides appropriate teaching content. For Form One freshmen, the school offers TOEFL Junior preparatory courses to help students understand their personal English proficiency and learning needs as early as possible. Secondary 2 students will receive funding from the school to take the TOEFL Junior exam and gradually obtain different professional certificates.

In high school, faced with the challenges of further education or employment, the school specially offers TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) courses to provide Form 5 students with English courses related to life and workplace use, covering workplace English. This makes students understand that learning English is not just for exams, but to master the communication skills necessary in life. The workplace English taught in the course helps them initially establish their understanding of employment and career, and promotes their direction and planning for further studies and employment.

In addition, Principal Mak Wai Lun is well versed in the international recognition of the IELTS test, which is the English proficiency test used by local and international universities to assess admission to bachelor's degree programs. For Form 6 students, the school arranges for them to take IELTS courses and allocates resources to support them in successfully completing the exam, improving their competitiveness, and accumulating public examination experience for the upcoming Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE).

Help students equip themselves to meet their ideal future

The school's high-quality school-based curriculum and excellent teaching policies have successfully created an efficient English learning environment. Some students have obtained 5* scores in the English subject of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, and the rate of admission to university bachelor's degree programs has reached a new high, much higher than the average level of Chinese secondary schools. Many students have been admitted to prestigious universities such as the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This year, the English subject even reached level 9 with positive value-added, which shows that the school’s practical teaching policies are very effective in improving students’ academic performance and have made great progress and growth.