BE THE BEST OF US　Pleasant environment and confident application of English

Asbury Methodist Primary School is committed to providing students with a balanced education, implementing the educational goal of "becoming the best of us", and guiding students to develop a positive learning attitude, live a rich life, and contribute to society. Principal Huang Weiheng develops appropriate teaching strategies to cater for students' learning diversity, while providing diversified learning activities. In recent years, he has added e-learning elements to allow children to learn English in a relaxed and enjoyable environment, and build confidence and motivation to learn English at the junior primary stage.

Promote collaborative teaching among teachers to learn and use English confidently

The school makes full use of educational resources and arranges collaborative teaching between foreign English teachers and local teachers. Foreign teachers mainly teach Phonics English Pinyin in lower grades to help students master the pronunciation of pronunciation and syllables; while local teachers are responsible for teaching students how to recognize and read words, understand word meanings, and build basic English abilities. In the classroom, teachers will use a variety of visual cues and electronic elements to make teaching more diversified, provide different learning stimuli and experiences, and make their learning process more three-dimensional and vivid.

Daily communication and interaction between students and foreign teachers can help enhance their confidence in using English. Principal Huang said: "The foreign teacher Mr. Leo and I greet the children at the school gate every day. He kindly encourages the children to say hello to him. The students have gone from being afraid to avoid it to now being able to say hello to Leo confidently. The change is very obvious."

Pay attention to the connection between kindergarten and primary school and adapt to campus life

Principal Huang attaches great importance to the connection between kindergarten and primary school, not only in English, but also hopes to help children adapt to campus life as quickly as possible through various activities. This year, the school has reorganized the Friday Multiple Intelligences class and divided the first- and second-year classes into recurring groups to expose students to the five major skills and explore their interests and talents. One of the courses is taught by a foreign teacher, Mr. Leo, who allows children to apply their knowledge and skills through activities such as singing and dancing.

In the lower grades, the school also has special activities to coordinate students' learning. For example, the first and second grade students will hold an English Café to help children learn English through a relaxed meal; the third grade class will take students to McDonald's to encourage them to order food in English.

In addition, the school also holds an annual English Funday, allowing children to apply what they have learned while studying. The English Funday has multiple tasks and booths that allow students to use the English knowledge they have learned previously, and even invites foreigners to come to school to chat with students to implement interactive learning. This kind of experience not only allows children to feel the fun of learning, but also helps them build confidence in communicating with foreigners. Especially in the pinyin stage, it is of great help in connecting words and reading aloud.

Promote Reading Workshop to learn and integrate subject knowledge

The school provides different learning experiences for students in grades four to six. For example, the fourth grade has a Hong Kong Tour, which is combined with the Reading Workshop school-based curriculum to help children develop their English talents. This Reading Workshop course has been implemented since 2018. Principal Huang pointed out: "We found that students borrowed fewer English books in middle and upper grades, so we purchased some specific English books to match the different units of the English subject to enrich the English curriculum for the entire upper primary school and teach students to integrate the knowledge they have learned."

"Word Hunt" English activity: small achievements turn into big successes

The school actively promotes the innovative development of English teaching. Foreign teacher Mr. Leo designed the "Word Hunt" activity. Students will be assigned learning tasks that require them to find specific types of words. After completion, students need to share the English words they have learned with the teacher, so that each student can learn new vocabulary and gradually build a vocabulary bank.

Principal Huang said, "Even if some children don't find many words, we will encourage them and recognize every small achievement. Throughout the learning process, students are practicing positive education, and by continuously accumulating small achievements, they will eventually become big successes. This is not only a process for students to continue learning English, but also an opportunity for them to share with other students in English, practice their speaking skills, and learn happily."

Apply e-learning tools to review past knowledge and learn new things

The school makes extensive use of e-learning tools such as Kahoot! and Wordwall. At the end of each class, the teacher will conduct a test with several questions through Kahoot! to instantly understand the students' mastery of knowledge. At the same time, the school also uses e-learning tools such as Wordwall to provide some additional exercises, including the learning of common English words, to easily help students accumulate vocabulary through games and expand their vocabulary library.