Strong English learning atmosphere, immersed in English context, inspiring language potential

H.K.T.A. Shun Yeung Primary School attaches great importance to cultivating students' English ability. This year, there are four foreign English teachers. English courses are taught by foreign teachers and local English teachers, so that students can be immersed in the English learning environment and learn English easily and happily. Principal Cai Huamei leads the teaching team to focus on teaching policies, extracurricular activities, English atmosphere and other aspects to improve students' English ability and overall learning experience. The school encourages students to use English in daily life, designs diverse contextual activities, promotes real communication, and cultivates their learning confidence.

Arrange foreign teachers for collaborative teaching and immersive learning to improve effectiveness

In order to improve students' English proficiency and create a strong English learning atmosphere, starting from the 23/24 school year, all English classes in Primary 1 will be taught by foreign English teachers, and this will be extended to Primary 6 year by year. Principal Cai said: "The school has four foreign English teachers this year, and has arranged for all English classes to be taught by foreign teachers and a local teacher, creating a good learning environment for students through a collaborative teaching model." When kindergarten students first enter elementary school, they have already begun to establish emotional connections with foreign teachers, so that they no longer feel afraid when learning English and are willing to take the initiative to express themselves in English. This policy has been implemented for two years and has achieved very significant results. The school has observed that students actively communicate with teachers in class, reflecting their confidence in using English.

Provide English context outside the classroom to promote language learning combined with daily life

The school is committed to building an English campus so that students can be immersed in an English learning environment and be able to access English anytime and anywhere. In order to increase the contextual atmosphere, the school has an English Context Day every Wednesday. Foreign teachers and English teachers will conduct Context Day booth activities for students. The contents of the booths involve different themes, such as festivals: Lunar New Year, Christmas, careers, Chunyang Supermarket, Chunyang Restaurant, etc. Principal Cai pointed out: "Every month we change the theme, aiming to make students feel the close connection between the knowledge they learn and their lives, and enhance their sense of belonging and involvement."

During recess, students can go to the school's specially set up English situation activity room (SY Café) to chat with foreign English teachers and enjoy food. Students can also participate in role-playing and participate in daily activities as waiters and cashiers at SY Café, such as taking orders from customers and learning table manners and etiquette. SY Café will provide food, desserts, juices, etc. on the open day, allowing students to have a real experience of ordering food in a café. In addition, the English room also has various board games. These activities are not only fun but also promote language learning. Principal Cai added: "We hope that through games, students can easily learn English and use English in actual situations, so that they can understand that English is not only a subject for examinations, but also an effective communication tool in daily life, so that it can be closely integrated with life."

Promote experiential learning and apply knowledge learned

Experiential learning is one of the features of the school in promoting the development of English subjects. The foreign teachers will coordinate with the Reader teaching content and arrange experiential learning extension activities after completing the reading of each story, so that students can "learn by doing". The school will design experiential learning activities based on different teaching themes. For senior students, the tasks will be relatively difficult. For example, there is a lesson book in sixth grade about charity work, and the teacher will arrange for students to carry out related activities after class, sharing their experience of participating in voluntary work through photos or short videos; while younger students will carry out simple activities, such as making weather bags.

In addition, the school newly established a VR Center last year, which allows students to use VR technology to watch 3D scenes and gain an immersive learning experience, which can stimulate richer imagination and is of great help to students' English writing. For example, during the recently held World Culture Day, the teacher arranged for students to wear VR glasses and led them on a "field trip" to the Great Wall and Sichuan Pandas, creating a brand new Chinese cultural experience. By combining English with innovative technology, students can more actively participate in classroom activities and use English in practice to enhance their learning interest and effectiveness, thus enhancing their language application abilities and self-confidence.

Diversified English activities enrich learning experience

In order to enrich students' English learning experience, the school actively organizes diversified English activities to enhance students' language skills and cultural understanding. For example, in Treasure Hunt, the school arranges for students in grades one to three and their parents to participate in Easter parent-child activities, including going to the baseball field to find different Easter eggs, painting Easter eggs, guessing Easter riddles, etc. The teacher will also share the story of the origin of Easter to deepen the students' knowledge.

World Culture Day is a major feature of the school. The activities are mainly in English. The teacher will arrange the campus into different countries for activities. In the morning, students of all levels went to the auditorium to learn table manners, where foreign teachers taught how to use and place knives and forks. In the afternoon, students of all levels enjoyed a fashion show competition, with performers wearing national costumes from different countries and greetings in various languages. In addition, students will also receive a "passport" to travel to different countries in classrooms on each floor, participate in activities such as French croquet and Japanese swordball, and learn about the cultures of different countries.

In addition, the school also organizes different types of overseas exchange groups every year to give students more opportunities to talk to foreigners, further improve their English proficiency and gain a deeper understanding of local culture. Last year, the school arranged for students to go to Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore and other countries for exchanges, and this year they will also go to New Zealand for exchanges and inspections. President Cai pointed out: "In the Singapore STEAM learning exchange group, students went to the ArtScience Museum, Singapore Science Museum and the National Museum of Singapore to participate in learning activities, including artificial intelligence (AI) workshops, DNA experiments, etc., and benefited a lot."

Hold English drama classes and perform to share learning results

The school has an English drama class. Students with good English proficiency and interest in performance are invited to form a Drama Team, and foreign teachers are arranged to write scripts. Principal Cai said: "The drama script is created collectively by the students. The teacher will collect and organize the students' ideas and integrate them into a complete script. The ideas provided by the children may be wild and unconstrained, and the teacher will revise them based on these ideas to ensure that the final work is suitable for students to learn and perform. Finally, the drama class's The students will perform a play in the learning achievement sharing meeting at the end of the year, so that parents can understand the achievements of their students in school and gain a sense of accomplishment. "In addition to English dramas, the school also participated in other competitions this year, such as performing in the form of a puppet show, covering different English and art areas, so that students can be trained and improved in many aspects.

New Student Connection Program Starts a Wonderful Learning Journey

In order to enhance students' interest in learning English, the school organizes summer camp courses for primary one and kindergarten students, providing a variety of classroom activities, including phonics teaching and reading story books. Foreign teachers also play English group games with students, and the students are very engaged. At the same time, in the first two weeks of the school term, the school has specially launched the "Primary 1 Wonderful Journey" bridging course. Through different experiential learning activities, such as campus tours, rainbow umbrellas, baseball classes, etc., students can quickly integrate into campus life and increase their sense of belonging to the school. Parents and students also attended the parent-child meditation baby making workshop and the Primary 1 Wonderful Journey Award Ceremony, spending a warm and beautiful day together.

Cultivate reading habits and improve English skills

In terms of English reading, the school implements a leveling reading plan. Foreign teachers will group students according to their reading levels, select appropriate books for them, and conduct group activities. The school conducts progress analysis in the middle and end of each year to understand students' reading progress, so that students with similar levels can study in groups to narrow learning differences. Teachers provide additional challenges for students who are already meeting the standards, while students who need more support receive additional help. This method can truly reflect students' progress. In the process from Primary 1 to Primary 6, students' English ability and self-confidence will be significantly improved.