International English learning to cultivate global citizenship

Chinese Y.M.C.A. Primary School With the school motto of "Aiming to Achieve Perfection" and adhering to the Christian spirit of the Hong Kong Chinese YMCA, which is the school's sponsoring organization, "it is not to serve others, but to serve others", it is committed to providing students with one-stop high-quality perfect education. Principal Ma Yung-yee said: "The Chinese YMCA is an international organization, so in terms of English teaching and learning, 'internationalization' is our primary focus." Through diversified learning experiences, the school establishes an international perspective for students, allowing them to use English as a bridge to understand other cultures and world developments, thereby cultivating their global citizenship and their ability to connect with the world.

School sponsoring groups give advantages to promote international English learning

The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong is an international social service organization. As a primary school affiliated to it, the school naturally has the advantage of international English learning. The school sponsoring group has provided great support and assistance to the school's international English education, hired two foreign English teachers, invited five exchange students from Germany and Colombia to participate in teaching activities, and assisted in the design of multicultural activities. For example, they film the weekly English program "NETalk" and publish it on the school website to share their daily life with students, such as sports, cooking, pets and music, so that students can experience English learning from an interesting perspective and learn more about cultures around the world. The YMCA General Assembly also organized a group of Hong Kong college students to prepare for "UNI-Y" and invited students to participate to share their experiences of overseas exchanges, broaden students' horizons, and let them understand the importance of English in international communication and culture.

Create opportunities to go beyond Hong Kong and use English to explore the world

English is an important way to connect with people from different cultural backgrounds. The school actively creates opportunities so that more students can go out of Hong Kong, make full use of English, and broaden their international horizons. The school implements the "Universal Classroom" and holds more than 20 overseas exchange activities every year, allowing students to travel to countries where English is the main language of communication, such as Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. It even arranges for students to stay with local families to understand the diversity of different cultures in the world and increase their cross-cultural communication skills. Through activities, students are encouraged to apply the English knowledge learned in the classroom to practical applications, break language boundaries, and explore opportunities for learning English in life outside the classroom. Each exchange group is carefully planned and closely linked to the curriculum. Before departure, students will learn relevant knowledge in advance and share their results after returning to promote mutual learning and exchange among peers.

Principal Ma pointed out: “By participating in exchange activities around the world, students are exposed to different cultural characteristics, latest developments and customs, thereby building a sense of global citizenship (Global citizenship). Citizenship). In the past, when we talked about issues such as environmental protection and global warming, students may not have a deep sense of the relationship with themselves, but when they know how to look at the world, they will understand that they are a part of the world. "The school uses English as a bridge to closely integrate global issues with English courses, so that students can understand the responsibilities they need to bear as global citizens, which not only improves their language skills, but also enhances their attention and understanding of world affairs.

Participate in international competitions to keep improving and broaden your horizons

In addition to overseas exchange groups, the school also provides students with opportunities to apply what they have learned by participating in various international competitions. For example, last year, eight students qualified in the "Hong Kong Creative Thinking Competition" to represent Hong Kong in the "Creative Thinking World Competition 2024" and traveled to Iowa, the United States. During the process, they need to use English as a communication tool to express their creativity and solve designated problems, and communicate with 800 teams from all over the world. For students, this kind of competition is not only a battle of creativity and problem-solving, but also a training of their English ability, which becomes a driving force for their continuous improvement. With the joint efforts of teachers and classmates, the team finally lived up to expectations and won the "Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award, the world's highest honor" for outstanding performance.

Create a rich English context and stimulate interest in English learning

In order to create a rich English context, the school starts from school-based courses and extracurricular activities, and is committed to providing a diverse English learning experience so that students can confidently communicate in English both on and off campus. In terms of English course design, the school adopts experiential learning and incorporates a variety of activities, such as interactive games, role-playing and experiential activities. For example, in research classes, students’ interests are stimulated through practical and experiential activities, allowing them to acquire subject-related extracurricular knowledge from different learning experiences. Recently, the school also arranged for primary two students to visit the Science Museum and invited two foreign teachers to participate in science-related English discussions with the students and learn relevant English vocabulary, making English learning more interesting.

The school will also organize diversified English activities to encourage students to communicate more in English and enhance their language confidence and communication skills. For example, activities such as English morning gatherings, English dramas, puppet shows, and English story sharing are held to allow students to immerse themselves in the English learning atmosphere both in front of the stage and behind the scenes. It also provides a stage to display their English learning achievements, helping them build self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment, and promoting continuous progress.

In addition, interesting learning activities are also a major feature of the school's English teaching, such as the "Pirate Hunt" English booth game for third graders and the seven-day SPICE (Summer Program for Immersion in Communicative English) international summer camp. Through interesting learning methods, students use listening and conversation skills in relaxed and life-like situations to consolidate their English knowledge, enjoy the fun of English activities, and stimulate their interest in English.

Enjoy reading in English and lay the foundation for reading and writing

Reading is an effective way to learn English. It not only helps students expand their vocabulary, but also trains reading skills and improves English reading and writing abilities. In order to promote the reading culture, the school sets up fixed reading time in the curriculum to create a good reading atmosphere. In the lower grade English courses, the school also adds children's literature classes to guide students to read classic children's books, cultivate their imagination and language perception, and lay the foundation for English reading and writing. In addition, in order to stimulate students' interest in reading, the school holds a "Book Character Collection Day" every year, allowing teachers and students to role-play their favorite book characters, communicate and enjoy the fun of English reading.

Build an AI smart campus and technology supports English learning

With the changes in society and the development of information technology, students need to have the correct attitude and sufficient skills to meet the changes in the world and the progress of the times. At the same time, high-tech hardware also makes teaching and learning English more efficient and interesting. To this end, the school makes good use of the quality education funds provided by the Education Bureau and invests resources in introducing artificial intelligence English conversation to help students train their English speaking skills. In addition, the school has introduced online learning platforms, such as Epic! and MySmartABC, specifically for English subjects, allowing students to use these tools to review English anytime and anywhere. This not only extends their learning time, but also promotes their independent learning and cultivates lifelong learning abilities.

Intimate transition plan to primary school to learn English from the basics

The English proficiency of primary school freshmen varies, and it takes time for them to adapt to another stage of learning. The school has arranged a series of transition measures from kindergarten to primary school. At the end of August, the school will hold a three-day adjustment day for Primary One students. The head teacher will lead the new students in games, classes and campus tours, allowing them to experience primary school life in advance. In addition, taking into account the differences in English proficiency among freshmen, the school will teach some basic knowledge before officially starting classes. For example, we teach students how to hold a pen and write starting with lines, and help them adapt through literacy books and other homework, so that they can learn English vocabulary and writing step by step.