THE BASIC SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM: JHS

UNIT 1 ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Page | 1
THE CONCEPT AND THEORY OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT ................................................... 2

UNIT 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 14

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM .............................................14

UNIT 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 27

ASPECTS/CONTENT OF THE KG-B3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM ................................27

UNIT 4 ..................................................................................................................................... 28

ASPECTS/CONTENT OF THE PRIMARY (1-6) ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM ..................28

UNIT 5 ..................................................................................................................................... 29

ASPECTS /CONTENT OF THE JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM ................................... 29

UNIT 6 ..................................................................................................................................... 30

DESIGNING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHEME OF WORK .....................................................30

UNIT 7 ..................................................................................................................................... 34

INTERPRETING AND IMPLEMENTING THE KG- JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA ...........34

UNIT 8 ..................................................................................................................................... 37

ASSESSMENT OF KG-JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA ................................................... 37

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 UNIT 1

THE CONCEPT AND THEORY OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

DEFINITIONAL ISSUES Page | 2

In present curriculum is also known as education, a curriculum (/kəˈrɪkjʊləm/;

plural curricula /kəˈrɪkjʊlə/ or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student
experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned
sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or
school's instructional goals. In a 2003 study, Reys, Reys, Lapan, Holliday, and Wasman refer to
curriculum as a set of learning goals articulated across grades that outline the intended
mathematics content and process goals at particular points in time throughout the K–12 school
program. Curriculum may incorporate the planned interaction of pupils with instructional content,
materials, resources, and processes for evaluating the attainment of educational objectives.
Curriculum is split into several categories: the explicit, the implicit (including the hidden), the
excluded, and the extracurricular.

Curricula may be tightly standardized, or may include a high level of instructor or learner
autonomy. Many countries have national curricula in primary and secondary education, such as
the United Kingdom's National Curriculum.

BRIEF HISTORY OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

The evolution of curriculum development in schools reflects the evolution of knowledge and
civilization itself. What knowledge is of most worth? How shall it be codified, structured, and
transformed into curriculum for the acculturation and growth of successive generations so that the
future is better than the past? How can the school be designed and equipped as a productive and
democratic learning environment? These are some of the questions that intersect with the
fundamental factors of the education process, namely the learner, the curriculum, and the society.
When these fundamental factors are set in opposition or isolation, the possibility for educational
progress is impeded or set back.

Embracing the idea of progress and the science of education, the experimentalist movement over
the first half of the 20th century sought to dissolve the dualisms carried from ancient Greece (e.g.,
mind/body, intellect/emotion, abstract/concrete knowledge) in endeavoring to create new designs
and structures for curriculum synthesis to meet the democratic prospect and the universal
educational needs of the rising generation. In sum, the experimentalists reconstructed curriculum
development into a process of problem solving for educational progress, holding to the
paradigmatic principle that the structure and function of the school curriculum must be in
congruence with the nature and needs of the learner for effective living in the democratic society.
The paradigm holds the fundamental factors in the education process as necessarily
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interdependent and in harmony. The curriculum paradigm explains why so many reforms imposed
on the schools predictively are destined for failure simply because they set the fundamental
factors in conflict with each other.

The march of democracy in global affairs will require a resurgence of the progressive vision for
the curriculum of the democratic classroom and school in which students are engaged openly with Page | 3
each other and with the teacher in investigative cooperation, collaboration, and consultation.

MODELS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

A curriculum model, then, is the tool that helps those who write and develop curriculum guides.
They provide a reason for the choices made in teaching.

Curriculum Model Basics

Curriculum models have five areas they define:

1. Focus- subject or student. Where is the emphasis?

2. Approach - traditional or modern. What type of instruction will be used?

3. Content - topic based or content based. How will units or strands be written?

4. Process - formative or summative. How will assessments be used?

5. Structure - system, linear or cyclical. How often does the curriculum get reviewed?

THE TYLER MODEL

The Tyler Model, developed by Ralph Tyler in the 1940’s, is the quintessential prototype of
curriculum development in the scientific approach. One could almost dare to say that every
certified teacher in America and maybe beyond has developed curriculum either directly or
indirectly using this model or one of the many variations.

Tyler did not intend for his contribution to curriculum to be a lockstep model for development.
Originally, he wrote down his ideas in a book Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction for
his students to give them an idea about principles for to making curriculum. The brilliance of
Tyler’s model is that it was one of the first models and it was and still is a highly simple model
consisting of four steps.

1. Determine the school’s purposes (aka objectives)

2. Identify educational experiences related to purpose

3. Organize the experiences

4. Evaluate the purposes

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Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction

Step one is determining the objectives of the school or class. In other words, what do the students
need to do in order to be successful? Each subject has natural objectives that are indicators of
mastery. All objectives need to be consistent with the philosophy of the school and this is often
neglected in curriculum development. For example, a school that is developing an English Page | 4
curriculum may create an objective that students will write essays. This would be one of many
objectives within the curriculum.

Step two is developing learning experiences that help the students to achieve step one. For
example, if students need to meet the objective of writing an essay. The learning experience might
be a demonstration by the teacher of writing an essay. The students than might practice writing
essays. The experience (essay demonstration and writing) is consistent with the objective (Student
will write an essay).

Step three is organizing the experiences. Should the teacher demonstrate first or should the
students learn by writing immediately? Either way could work and preference is determined by
the philosophy of the teacher and the needs of the students. The point is that the teacher needs to
determine a logical order of experiences for the students.

Lastly, step four is evaluation of the objectives. Now the teacher assesses the students’ ability to
write an essay. There are many ways to do this. For example, the teacher could have the students
write an essay without assistance. If they can do this, it is evidence that the students have
achieved the objective of the lesson.

There are variations on this model. However, the Tyler model is still considered by many to be
the strongest model for curriculum development.

THE GRASS ROOT MODELS

This Development model is the opposite of the first model. Curriculum development initiatives
and efforts, not from above but from below , namely the teachers or the school. The first model of
curriculum development, management systems used in education / curriculum is centralized,
while grass roots model will evolve in a decentralized education system. Development or
improvement can be related to a curriculum component, one or several fields of study or the entire
field of study and all components of the curriculum. When conditions have allowed, in terms of
the ability of teachers, facilities and materials costs literature, curriculum development model of
grass root seems to be better. This w as based on the consideration that the teacher is the planner,
executor, and also falsifies the teaching in class. He is best know the needs of his class, therefore
he was the most competent curriculum for the class.

TABA -MODEL

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The Taba Model was developed by Hilda Taba (1902 – 1967), an architect, a curriculum theorist,
a curriculum reformer, and a teacher educator. She was born in the small village of Kooraste,
Estonia. Taba believed that there has to be a definite order in creating a curriculum. Hilda Taba is
the developer of the Taba Model of learning. This model is used to enhance the thinking skills of
students. Hilda Taba believed that there must be a process for evalutating student achievement of
Page | 5
content after the content standards have been established and implemented. The main concept of
this approach to curriculum development is that teachers must be involved in the development of
the curriculum.

She advocated that teachers take an inductive approach to curriculum development which meant
starting with the specifics and building toward a general design, rather than the traditional
deductive approach (starts with the general design and work towards the specifics) which was
rooted in Tyler's model. Hilda Taba followed the grass-roots approach in developing curriculum.
For her, it should be the teachers who should design the curriculum rather than the higher
authorities (Oliva, 1992). More specifically stated, the Taba approach believes in allowing the
curriculum to be developed and/or authored by the users (teachers). Under the Taba Model
teachers are expected to begin each curriculum by creating specific teaching-learning units and
building to a general design.

According to Khwaja, Akhtar, & Mirza (n.d.), "the Taba model was an attempt to ensure that
decisions about curriculum are made on the basis of valid criteria and not whim or fancy." Her
model of developing a curriculum consisted of seven main steps and over the years, these seven
steps have formed the basis for Hilda Taba's ...

STRENGTHS OF USING THE TABA MODEL IN THE CLASSROOM:

 Gifted students begin thinking of a concept, then dive deeper into that concept

 Focuses on open-ended questions rather than right/wrong questions

 The open-endedness requires more abstract thinking, a benefit to our gifted students

 The questions and answers lend themselves to rich classroom discussion

 Easy to assess student learning

LIMITATIONS OF USING THE TABA MODEL IN THE CLASSROOM:

 Can be difficult for non-gifted students to grasp

 Difficult for heterogeneous classrooms

 Works well for fiction and non-fiction, may be difficult to easily use in all subjects

DEDUCTIVE MODEL -- OLIVA

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1. THE OLIVA MODEL • The Oliva Model is a deductive model that offers a faculty a process
for the complete development of a school’s curriculum. • Oliva recognized the needs of students
in particular communities are not always the same as the general needs of students throughout our
society.

2. In the Oliva Model a faculty can fashion a plan: • for the curriculum of an area and design ways Page | 6
in which it will be carried out through instruction • to develop school-wide interdisciplinary
programs that cut across areas of specialization such as career education, guidance, and class
activities. • for a faculty to focus on the curricular components of the model to make
programmatic decisions. • to allow a faculty to concentrate on the instructional components.

According to Oliva, a model curriculum should be simple, comprehensive and systematic.

Curriculum development model is composed of 12 components, namely:

Component 1: Philosophical formulation, target, mission and vision of the institution.

Component 2: Analysis of the needs of the community w here the school is located.

Components 3 and 4: General purpose and special purpose curriculum

Component 5: Organizing the design and implement curriculum

Component 6and 7: Describe the curriculum in the form of the formulation of general objectives
and specific learning

Component 8: Define the learning strategy.

Component 9: Preliminary studies on possible strategies or assessment techniques to be used.

Component 10: Implement the learning strategy

Components 11 and 12: Evaluation of learning and curriculum evaluation

Product Model

The product model focuses on the end result and that if you can produce a ‘product’ that meets
the requirements you have learnt sufficiently to complete the course. “Using the analogy of a
journey, it is the arrival at the destination which matters most.” (Gould & Roffey-Barentsen, 2014,
p. 289) The origins of the product model can be traced back to the work of (Tyler, 1949) and
(Bloom, 1956)

There are many benefits to using the product model, such as the structure and content are clear
and concise while the marking is efficient, e.g. has the product been created successfully? If not
there is no achievement otherwise the student is deemed successful. The product based approach

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can also be very motivational for students due to its behaviourist approach; they know what the
goal is and have clear direction, along with what they will receive if they reach the goal.

The product model can become trite and unnecessary due its behavioural objectives, whereby the
task is broken down into such small sections that limited actual learning is taking place due to
insignificant achievements, this is frequently the case when working at lower levels such as level Page | 7
1 & 2. The higher levels can also be challenging due to its simplistic behavioural objectives, at
levels 4 and above students need to tackle complex tasks to verify they have understood at a
satisfactory level. The product model will also discourage creativity for the learner and the
teacher as they will not receive any additional reward for doing so.

I will frequently make use of the product model but to avoid the limitations I will not use it
exclusively within my teaching. For example, towards the end of each semester I will implement
workshop sessions in which I will give a task and by the end of the class students must have
completed the task or they will need to complete the task for homework, this approach is based
solely on the behaviourist approach and product model but is good preparation for the type of
exam they will be facing.

Process Model

The process model proposed by (Stenhouse, 1975) states that creating is more important than the
result, an analogy is that the journey itself is more important than the destination. This model is
excellent for engaging creative skills and getting people thinking as the primary goal is to
improve. The final product is of little importance, to the point a final product may not even be
required or even if the final product is of poor quality the student may still be deemed successful
due to their process. This contradicts with real life, whereby there will always be a pressure to
finish work and the final product will be what is assessed and your performance judged based on
that product. This cognitive and constructivism approach is extremely evaluation based, in which
if the student is effective at evaluating they will perform well no matter the subject, their skill or
ability. As a result, students that do not perform well in an overly analytical environment will
perform poorly. Many learners will not appreciate the value in a process model approach to
learning and will see it as wasting time where they could be being productive. I am very careful
where I use the process model for this reason and will implement a task but focus heavily on that
they cannot make mistakes and there are no wrong answers.

Thematic Model

The thematic model focuses on implementing themes within classes, this can be a very effective
method as learners will enjoy a theme they are interested in while breaking the monotony of
classes. It is very common for learners to become engrossed in topics as a result of the theme and
will frequently relate the subject and theme to their own interests. There are some negatives to the
thematic model, such as if learners aren’t interested in the theme they may feel the topic is

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irrelevant and ignore the material. As the classes will be theme based specific skills may not be
taught and the focus of the class may become biased due to the theme and the teacher’s
knowledge of that theme. I make use the thematic model in a web development class, students
must produce a website based on the History of Bath.

Spiral Model Page | 8

“In a spiral curriculum, as proposed by Bruner (1960), a topic is revisited on different occasions,
each of which builds incrementally on the previous learning, taking it to a deeper and more
complex level.” (Gould & Roffey-Barentsen, 2014, p. 306)

The spiral method is featured throughout education, as a student moves from primary school to
secondary school and then into further education the same topics are covered repeatedly, each
time in greater levels of depth, further challenging students while building upon and reinforcing
their existing knowledge.

THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

PHASE I: PLANNING

"Nobody plans to fail but failure results from a failure to plan."

The planning phase lays the foundation for all of the curriculum development steps. The steps in
this phase include:

(1) Identify Issue/Problem/Need

The need for curriculum development usually emerges from a concern about a major issue or
problem of one or more target audience. This section explores some of the questions that need to
be addressed to define the issue and to develop a statement that will guide the selection of the
members of a curriculum development team. The issue statement also serves to broadly identify,
the scope (what will be included) of the curriculum content.

(2) Form Curriculum Development Team

Once the nature and scope of the issue has been broadly defined, the members of the curriculum
development team can be selected. Topics covered in this section include: (1) the roles and
functions of team members, (2) a process for selecting members of the curriculum development
team, and (3) principles of collaboration and teamwork. The goal is to obtain expertise for the
areas included in the scope of the curriculum content among the team members and develop an
effective team.

(3) Conduct Needs Assessment and Analysis

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There are two phases in the needs assessment process. The first is procedures for conducting a
needs assessment. A number of techniques are aimed toward learning what is needed and
by whom relative to the identified issue. Techniques covered in this section include: KAP -
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Survey; focus groups; and environmental scanning.

Analysis, the second part of this needs assessment step, describes techniques on how to use the Page | 9
data and the results of the information gathered. Included are: ways to identify gaps between
knowledge and practice; trends emerging from the data; a process to prioritize needs; and
identification of the characteristics of the target audience.

"As the twig is bent, so grows the tree"

PHASE II: CONTENT AND METHODS

Phase II determines intended outcomes (what learners will be able to do after participation in
curriculum activities), the content (what will be taught), and the methods (how it will be taught).
Steps include:

(4) State Intended Outcomes

Once the issue is defined, the curriculum team is formed, the needs assessed, analyzed and
prioritized, the next step is to refine and restate the issue, if needed, and develop the intended
outcomes or educational objectives. An intended outcome states what the learner will be able to
do as a result of participating in the curriculum activities.

This section includes: (1) a definition of intended outcomes, (2) the components of intended
outcomes (condition, performance, and standards), (3) examples of intended outcomes, and (4) an
overview of learning behaviors. A more complete explanation of the types and levels of learning
behaviours is included in the Addendum as well as intended outcome examples from FAO
population education materials.

(5) Select Content

The next challenge in the curriculum development process is selecting content that will make a
real difference in the lives of the learner and ultimately society as a whole. At this point, the
primary questions are: "If the intended outcome is to be attained, what will the learner need to
know? What knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours will need to be acquired and practiced?"

The scope (breadth of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours) and the sequence (order) of
the content are also discussed. Intended outcomes of population education with content topics is
provided in the Addendum section as an example and application of how intended outcomes are
linked with content.

(6) Design Experiential Methods

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After the content is selected, the next step is to design activities (learning experiences) to help the
learner achieve appropriate intended outcomes. An experiential learning model and it's
components (i.e., experience, share, process, generalize, and apply) are discussed in this
section.

Additional topics include: Page | 10

1. learning styles and activities appropriate for each style;

2. a list of types of activities (with descriptions);

3. an activity design worksheet for facilitators; and

4. brief discussions on learning environments and delivery modes.

Ten population education sample activity sheets along with tips for facilitators working with
youth and dealing with sensitive topics are included in the Addendum.

PHASE III: IMPLEMENTATION

(7) Produce Curriculum Product

Once the content and experiential methods have been agreed upon, the actual production of
curriculum materials begins. This section includes: 1) suggestions for finding and evaluating
existing materials; 2) evaluation criteria; and 3) suggestions for producing curriculum materials.

(8) Test and Revise Curriculum

This step includes suggestions to select test sites and conduct a formative evaluation of
curriculum materials during the production phase. A sample evaluation form is provided.

(9) Recruit and Train Facilitators

It is a waste of resources to develop curriculum materials if adequate training is not provided for
facilitators to implement it. Suggestions for recruiting appropriate facilitators are provided with a
sample three-day training program.

(10) Implement Curriculum

Effective implementation of newly developed curriculum products is unlikely to occur without

planning. Strategies to promote and use the curriculum are discussed in this step.

PHASE IV: EVALUATION AND REPORTING

(11) Design Evaluation Strategies

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Evaluation is a phase in the curriculum development model as well as a specific step. Two types
of evaluation, formative and summative, are used during curriculum development. Formative
evaluations are used during the needs assessment, product development, and testing steps.
Summative evaluations are undertaken to measure and report on the outcomes of the curriculum.
This step reviews evaluation strategies and suggests simple procedures to produce valid and
Page | 11
reliable information. A series of questions are posed to guide the summative evaluation process
and a sample evaluation format is suggested.

(12) Reporting and Securing Resources

The final element in an evaluation strategy is "delivering the pay off (i.e., getting the results into
the hands of people who can use them). In this step, suggestions for what and how to report to key
shareholders, especially funding and policy decision makers, are provided and a brief discussion
on how to secure resources for additional programming.

CURRICULUM AND SYLLABUS

CURRICULUM

The curriculum is the guideline of the whole academic content covered during a specific course or
program. It's the list of exact instructions on what professors should teach, how, and why.

The curriculum is the predefined combination of the rules and techniques through which the
academic course's purpose should be realized. It's written and approved, having the student's
mental and physical development as the main goal.

As a list of instructions, the curriculum is formed by the university or government authorities. In

private universities, it is usually written and approved by the higher administration, whereas this
role is for government officials in governmental institutions.

The curriculum usually consists of the following parts:

 instructional content

 materials and resources

 physical and mental activities for the students

 assignments, tests, exams

 student success evaluation methods.

For a better picture, check the curriculum sample for an Integrated course of Medical Education at
Yale.

Syllabus
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As a logical continuation of the curriculum, Syllabus describes the whole academic content
covered in a particular subject. It might be explained as a curriculum's practical implementation
plan, designed by the subject professor.

A syllabus is provided to students at the beginning of the study process as a detailed outline of
everything they will learn and submit within the subject. That's a convenient way to introduce the Page | 12
load and schedule of activities to students.

The Syllabus usually contains the following sections:

 Instructor and subject information

 Objectives and policies

 Grading and Evaluation system

 Learning resources

 Assignment descriptions and deadlines.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CURRICULUM AND SYLLABUS

The above-given comparison chart showed that curriculum and Syllabus have several differences
despite the same general idea behind them. This section will sum up those differences in more
detail.

1. The curriculum is a general, standardized description for the main study units of the
educational institution. Beyond the study program or course, It may even relate to the whole
university. On the contrary, Syllabus is a detailed content plan for a particular subject.

2. The curriculum is mandatory. It's more like a global strategy, with almost no space for
alterations in implementation. The Syllabus is highly flexible and may even change during the
study process based on professor-student verbal agreements.

3. The university authorities created the curriculum as a result of deeper analysis and discussions
compared to Syllabus. The latter is designed based on the professor's creativity, preferences, and
approaches.

4. The curriculum mostly focuses on the result of the study program as a product. It plans the
major set of activities such as the course's outcome, the quantity, and forms of academic works
necessary to complete within the course. The Syllabus focused on day-to-day operations in class.

5. The curriculum doesn't follow the personalized approach. It's the same for all the teachers and
students. The curriculum may be changed to adopt a more personalized approach if there is an
urgent need to refresh the old policy due to technology changes, the employment market, and

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generation mentality. The Syllabus reflects the personal approach of the professor. Also, year-to-
year student review evaluations have an impact on students' individual preferences on Syllabus.

6. The level of seriousness of the curriculum assumes that it's created once for a significantly
long-term period. The Syllabus is designed for a certain period of a class studying a subject.
Page | 13
7. The curriculum is mainly designed for teachers to plan their work, and there is usually no point
in sharing it with students. On the opposite, Syllabus is given to students from the very beginning
of their studies. It is mainly purposed to understand their benefits and responsibilities for the
subject.

Common for both

 Both documents are designed to make the studying process more organized and smoother.

 Both should be strictly followed during the study program.

 University administration determines and monitors both curriculum and Syllabus.

 Both documents are a form of agreement between professors and students.

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 UNIT 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

GENERAL AIMS Page | 14

1. The syllabus has been designed to assist the pupil to
2. Develop the basic language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing
3. Attain high proficiency in English to help him/her in the study of other subjects and the
study of English at higher levels
4. Cultivate the habit of and interest in reading
5. Communicate effectively in English

GENERAL OUTCOMES

 The general education English language curriculum enables students to have a new
communication tool, formulate and develop communicative competences through
listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Upon successful completion of the general
education curriculum, students will have mastered Level 3 of the Vietnam 6-level
language proficiency framework. This will lay a foundation for students to use English in
learning and form lifelong learning habits to become global citizens in the integration
period.
 The general education English language curriculum enables students to have an overview
of the landscape, people and cultures of some English speaking countries and other
countries in the world; have good attitudes and feelings towards those countries, their
people, their cultures and their languages. In addition, the general education English
language curriculum also enables students to formulate and develop the qualities and
competences necessary for employment: sense and accountability, career orientation and
choice consistent with their capacities, interests, and adaptability in the context of the new
industrial revolution.

SPECIFIC OUTCOMES

Primary level

Upon successful completion of the primary education English curriculum, students will be able to:

 Communicate in simple English through the four language skills of listening, speaking,
reading and writing. The expectation is that listening and speaking will provide the
dominant focus.

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  Have basic and minimum knowledge about English including pronunciation, vocabulary
and grammar; and through the English language, to gain basic knowledge of the landscape,
culture and people of English-speaking countries and other countries in the world.

 Develop positive attitudes towards English language learning; have pride in and
appreciation of their own culture and language. Page | 15

 Develop effective English learning strategies, which will support their ability to transfer
eventually to learning other languages.

Junior high level

Upon successful completion of the lower secondary English curriculum, students will be able to:

 Use English as a communication tool through the four skills of listening, speaking, reading
and writing to meet basic and direct communication needs in familiar and everyday
settings.

 Have basic knowledge of English, including pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar; and
through English, have general understanding of the landscape, people and culture of
English-speaking countries and other countries in the world, and at the same time have
knowledge and pride in the values of their own culture.

 Develop positive attitudes towards the subject and English learning; basically know how
to use English to learn about other subjects in the general education curriculum.

 Formulate and apply different learning methods and strategies to develop communicative
competences in English inside and outside the classroom, manage learning time and
develop self-learning habits.

Senior high level

Upon successful completion of the upper secondary English curriculum, students will be able to:

 Use English as a communication tool through the four skills of listening, speaking, reading
and writing to meet basic and practical communication needs on familiar topics related to
school, recreational activities, career, etc.

 Continue to formulate and develop basic knowledge of English, including pronunciation,

vocabulary and grammar; and through English, have more extensive understanding of the
landscape, people and culture of English-speaking countries and other countries in the
world, understand and respect cultural diversity, and basically reflect on the values of
Vietnamese culture in English.

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  Use English to improve the quality of learning other subjects in the general education
curriculum.

 Use English for further education or immediate employment upon completion of upper
secondary education level.
Page | 16
 Use a variety of learning strategies to manage learning time, apply information technology
in learning and self-learning, consolidate self-learning and self-assessment methodology
and take responsibility for learning outcomes, and form lifelong learning habits.

SCOPE OF CONTENT

The subject aims at integrating the receptive and productive skills in the teaching and learning of
English in the five sections indicated below:

Section 1 Listening and Speaking Conversation

Oral/Speech Work
Section 2 Grammar Language Structure
Section 3 Reading Silent Reading
Reading Aloud
Reading Comprehension
Summary Writing
Section 4 Composition Narrative and Descriptive Writing
Letter Writing
Guided Summary Work
Section 5 Literature/Library Prose, Drama and Poetry
PRE-REQUISITE SKILLS

The pre-requisite skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing English are assumed to have
been adequately acquired.

Explanation of the meaning of the four skills is as follows:

 Listening

This is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. For
example, the ability to listen to, understand and follow directions, instructions, etc. given in a
language.

 Reading

This is the ability to read and understand what is conveyed in a piece of writing. The reader must
be able to read coherently, and must be able to answer questions arising from the passage read. He

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or she must also be able to summarize passages read to show that he/she has understood the
passages. Making summaries is a very important aspect of "Reading".

 Speaking

This is the ability to speak a language clearly and in a way that will be understood by listeners. Page | 17
This is an oral communication skill that learners should be encouraged to practice to perfection.

 Writing

This is the ability to express one's self clearly and comprehensively in writing. Writing may be in
the form of simple sentences, short essays, compositions, summaries, letters, etc.

ORGANISATION OF THE CURRICULUM

The English Language Curriculum is organized into strands, sub-strands, content standards,
indicators and exemplars.

Strands are the broad areas/sections of the English content to be studied.

Sub-strands are the topics within each strand under which the content is organized.

Content standard refers to the pre-determined level of knowledge, skill and/or attitude that a
learner attains by a set stage of education.

Indicators are clear outcomes or milestones that learners have to exhibit in each year to meet the
content standard expectation. The indicators represent the minimum expected standard in a year.

Exemplars serve as support and guidance, which clearly explain the expected outcomes of
indicators and suggest what teaching and learning activities could support the facilitators/teachers
in the delivery of the curriculum.

TIME ALLOCATION

A total of ten periods a week, each period consisting of thirty minutes, is allocated to the teaching
of English Language at the Primary level. It is recommended that two periods of English
Language be taught per day.

The chart below presents suggested period allocations to facilitate the teaching of English at
Junior High School.

J.H.S. 1 J.H.S. 2 J.H.S. 3

Oral/Speech Work & 2 2 2

Reading Comprehension
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Grammar 2 2 2

Composition 2 2 2
Page | 18
Literature/Library 1 1 1

Total 7 7 7
The one period allocated to Literature/Library in the chart above can be augmented with some of
the time indicated beside Library Work in the list above.

SUGGESTING FOR TEACHING THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM

These are the approaches, methods and strategies for ensuring that every learner benefits from
appropriate and relevant teaching and learning episodes which are timely assessed and feedback
provided to the learner and other stakeholders, such as parents and education authorities.

These approaches include the type and use of appropriate and relevant teaching and learning
resources to ensure that all learners make the expected level of learning outcomes. The curriculum
emphasises:

 The creation of learning-centred classrooms through the use of creative approaches to

teaching and learning as strategies to ensuring learner-empowerment and independent
learning;

 The positioning of inclusion and equity at the centre of quality teaching and learning;

 The use of differentiation and scaffolding as teaching and learning strategies for
ensuring that no learner is left behind;

 The use of information communications technology (ict) as a pedagogical tool;

 The identification of subject specific instructional expectations needed for making

learning in the subject relevant to learners; and

 The integration of assessment into the teaching and learning process and as an
accountability strategy.

Learning-Centered Pedagogy

The learner is at the centre of learning. At the heart of the national curriculum is the learning
progression and improvement of learning outcomes for Ghana’s young people, with a focus on
the 4Rs – Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and cReativity. It is expected that at each curriculum
phase, learners would be offered the essential learning experiences to progress seamlessly to the
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next phase. Where there are indications that a learner is not sufficiently ready for the next phase, a
compensatory provision through differentiation should be provided to ensure that such a learner is
ready to progress with his/her group. At the primary school level, the progression phases are B1 –
B6.

The curriculum encourages the creation of a learning-centred classroom, with the opportunity for Page | 19
learners to engage in meaningful “hands-on” activities that bring home to the learner what they
are learning in school and what they know from outside of school. The learning-centered ideas
and through the inspiration of the teacher, to also actively engage in looking for answers

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working in groups to solve problems, researching for, analysing and evaluating information. The
aim of the learning-centred classroom approach is to develop learner-autonomy so that learners
can take ownership of their learning. It provides the opportunity for deep learning to take place.

The teacher should create a learning atmosphere that ensures that:

Page | 20
 Learners feel safe and accepted;

 Learners are given frequent opportunities to interact with varied sources of information,
teaching and learning materials and ideas in a variety of ways;

 Teacher assumes the position of a facilitator or coach who;

 Helps learners to identify a problem suitable for investigation via project work;

 Connects the problem with the context of the learners’ world so that it presents authentic
opportunities for learning;

 Organizes the subject matter around the problem, not the discipline;

 Gives learners responsibility for defining their learning experience and planning to solve
the problem;

 Encourages learners to collaborate in learning; and

 Expects all learners to demonstrate the results of their learning through a product or
performance.

In a learning-centered classroom, It is more productive for learners to find answers to their own
questions rather than have teachers providing the answers and their opinions.

INCLUSION

Inclusion is ensuring access and learning for all learners, especially, those disadvantaged. All
learners are entitled to a broad and balanced curriculum in every school in Ghana. The daily
learning activities to which learners are exposed should ensure that the learners’ right to equal
access to quality education is being met. The curriculum suggests a variety of approaches that
address learners’ diversity and special needs in the learning process, which when effectively used
in lessons, will contribute to the full development of the learning potential of every learner.
Learners have individual needs and different learning styles, learning experiences and different
levels of motivation for learning. Planning, delivery and reflections on daily learning episodes
should consider these differences. The curriculum, therefore, promotes:

 Learning that is linked to the learners’ background and to their prior experiences, interests,
potential and capacities;
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  Learning that is meaningful because it aligns with learners’ ability (e.g. Learning that is
oriented towards developing general capabilities and solving the practical problems of
everyday life); and

 The active involvement of the learners in the selection and organisation of learning
experiences, making them aware of their importance and also enabling them to assess their Page | 21
own learning outcomes.

DIFFERENTIATION AND SCAFFOLDING

Differentiation is a process by which differences between learners are accommodated so that all
learners in a group have the best chances of learning. It could be by task, support and outcome.
Differentiation, as a way of ensuring each learner benefits adequately from the delivery of the
curriculum, can be achieved in the classroom through:

 Task,

 Pastoral support and

 Outcome.

Differentiation by task involves teachers setting different tasks for learners of different abilities,
e.g. in sketching the plan and shape of their classroom, some learners could be made to sketch
with free hand, while others would be made to trace the outline of the plan.

Differentiation by support involves the teacher referring weak students to the Guidance and
Counselling Unit for academic support.

Differentiation by outcome involves the teacher allowing students to respond at different levels.
Weaker students are allowed more time for complicated tasks.

Scaffolding in education refers to the use of a variety of instructional techniques aimed at moving
students progressively towards stronger understanding and ultimately, greater independence in the
learning process.

It also involves breaking up the learning episodes, experiences or concepts into smaller parts and
then providing learners with the support they need to learn each part. The process may require a
teacher assigning an excerpt of a longer text to learners to read, engage them to discuss the
excerpt to improve comprehension of its rationale, and then guide them through the key
words/vocabulary to ensure learners have developed a thorough understanding of the text before
engaging them to read the full text. Common scaffolding strategies available to the teacher are:

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  Give learners a simplified version of a lesson, assignment or reading and
then gradually increase the complexity, difficulty or sophistication over
time;

 Describe or illustrate a concept, problem or process in multiple ways to

ensure understanding; Page | 22

 Give learners an exemplar or a model of an assignment they will be asked to

complete;

 Give learners a vocabulary lesson before they read a difficult text;

 Clearly describe the purpose of a learning activity, the directions learners

need to follow and the learning goals they are expected to achieve; and

 Explicitly describe how the new lesson builds on the knowledge and skills
leaners were taught in a previous lesson.

INFORMATION COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

ICT has been integrated into this curriculum as a teaching and learning tool to enhance deep and
independent learning. Some of the expected outcomes that this curriculum aims to achieve
through ICT- use for teaching and learning are:

 improved teaching and learning processes;

 improved consistency and quality of teaching and learning;

 increased opportunities for more learner-centred pedagogical approaches;

 improved inclusive education practices by addressing inequalities in gender, language,

ability;

 improved collaboration, creativity, higher order thinking skills; and

 enhanced flexibility and differentiated approach of delivery.

The use of ICT as a teaching and learning tool is to provide learners access to large quantities of
information online. It also provides the framework for analysing data to investigate patterns and
relationships in a geographical context. Once learners have made their findings, ICT can then help
them organize, edit and present information in many different ways.

Learners need to be exposed to the various ICT tools around them, including calculators, radios,
cameras, phones, television sets and computer- related software like Microsoft Office packages –
Word, PowerPoint and Excel, as teaching and learning tools. The exposure that learners are given
at the primary school level to use ICT in exploring learning will build their confidence and will
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also increase their level of motivation to apply ICT use in later years, both within and outside of
education. Thus, the ICT use for teaching and learning is expected to enhance the quality and
learners’ level of competence in the 4Rs.

PROFILE DIMENSION
Page | 23
The concept of profile dimensions was made central to the syllabuses developed from 1998
onwards. A 'dimension' is a psychological unit for describing a particular learning behaviour.
More than one dimension constitutes a profile of dimensions. A specific objective may be stated
with an action verb as follows: The pupil will be able to describe... etc. Being able to "describe"
something after the instruction has been completed means that the pupil has acquired
"knowledge". Being able to explain, summarize, give examples, etc. means that the pupil has
understood the lesson taught.

Similarly, being able to develop, plan, solve problems, construct, etc. means that the pupil can
"apply" the knowledge acquired in some new context. Each of the specific objectives in this
syllabus contains an "action verb" that describes the behaviour the pupil will be able to
demonstrate after the instruction. "Knowledge", "Application", etc. are dimensions that should be
the prime focus of teaching and learning in schools. It has been realized unfortunately that schools
still teach the low ability thinking skills of knowledge and understanding and ignore the higher
ability thinking skills. Instruction in most cases has tended to stress knowledge acquisition to the
detriment of the higher ability behaviours such as application, analysis, etc. The persistence of
this situation in the school system means that pupils will only do well on recall items and
questions and perform poorly on questions that require higher ability thinking skills such as
application of mathematical principles and problem solving. For there to be any change in the
quality of people who go through the school system, pupils should be encouraged to apply their
knowledge, develop analytical thinking skills, develop plans, generate new and creative ideas and
solutions, and use their knowledge in a variety of ways to solve mathematical problems while still
in school. Each action verb indicates the underlying profile dimension of each particular specific
objective. Read each objective carefully to know the profile dimension toward which you have to
teach.

Profile dimensions describe the underlying behaviors for teaching, learning and assessment. In
English, two profile dimensions and four skills have been specified for teaching, learning and
testing.

The profile dimensions are:

Knowledge and Understanding 40%

Use of Knowledge 60%

The four skills are as follows:

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Listening 10%

Reading 30%

Speaking 30%
Page | 24
Writing 30%

The profile dimensions and the skills may be combined as follows:

Listening - Knowledge and Understanding Reading - Knowledge and Understanding Speaking -

Use of Knowledge

Writing - Use of Knowledge

Learning the English Language implies the acquisition of two major abilities or behaviours. These
are "Knowledge and Understanding", and the "Use of Knowledge". "Knowledge and
Understanding" refers to the ability to identify and recall for example, the principles of grammar
acquired through instruction, and further acquired through Listening and Reading. "Use of
Knowledge" implies the ability to use the language in writing and in speaking. Besides the two
dimensions are the four skills; Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing. "Listening" and
"Reading" are referred to as "Receptive Skills." They are the skills through which a pupil receives
some communication from reading a book or listening to other persons. "Speaking" and "Writing"
are referred to as "Productive Skills" since these are the skills which require the pupil to produce
knowledge or information through speaking the language and through writing letters,
compositions, etc.

The English Language has a store of body language and certain stresses and intonations which
give particular meaning to spoken words. Body language and stresses must also be taught to
enable young people to be able to interpret the meaning of words and expressions more accurately.

Each of the dimensions and the skills has been given a percentage weight that should be reflected
in teaching, learning and testing. The weights indicated on the right of the dimensions and skills
show the relative emphasis that the teacher should give in the teaching, learning and testing
processes. Combining the dimensions and the four skills in the teaching and learning process will
ensure that English Language is taught competently and studied diligently in school.

The following diagram shows the relationship between the profile dimensions and the four
language skills, with their suggested weights in the cells and in the last column and row.

Relationship between Profile Dimensions and Language Skills

PROFILE RECEPTIVE SKILLS PRODUCTIVE SKILLS TOTAL

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DIMENSIONS Listening Reading Writing Speaking

Knowledge and 10 30 - - 40
Understanding
Use of Knowledge - - 30 30 60
Page | 25
Total 10 30 30 30 100

"Knowledge and Understanding" has a weight of 40% and "Use of Knowledge" has a weight of
60% as shown in the last column of the table. The last row shows the weight or relative emphasis
that should be given each of the four skills in the teaching and learning process. The productive
skills are weighted 60% as against 40% for the receptive skills as already indicated.

The explanation and key words involved in each of the profile dimensions are as follows:

Knowledge and Understanding (KU)

Knowledge The ability to: remember, recall, identify, define, describe, list, name, match, state
principles/facts/concepts. Knowledge is simply the ability to remember or recall material already
learned and constitutes the lowest level of learning.

Understanding The ability to: explain, summaries, translate, rewrite, paraphrase, give examples,
generalize, estimate or predict consequences based upon a trend. Understanding is generally the
ability to grasp the meaning of some material that may be verbal, pictorial, or symbolic.

Use of Knowledge (UK)

This dimension is also referred to as "Application". Ability to use knowledge or apply knowledge,
as implied in this syllabus, has a number of behaviour levels. These levels include application,
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. These may be considered and taught separately, paying
attention to reflect each of them equally in your teaching. The dimension "Use of Knowledge" is a
summary dimension for all four learning levels. Details of each of the four levels are as follows:

Application The ability to: apply rules, methods, principles, theories, etc. to concrete situations
that are new and unfamiliar. It also involves the ability to produce, solve, operate, plan,
demonstrate, discover etc.

Analysis The ability to: break down material into its component parts; to differentiate, compare,
distinguish, outline, separate, identify significant points, recognise un-stated assumptions and
logical fallacies recognize inferences from facts, etc.

Synthesis The ability to: put parts together to form a new whole. It involves the ability to combine,
compile, compose, devise, plan, revise, design, organise, create, generate, etc.

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Evaluation The ability to: appraise, compare features of different things and make comments or
judgment, contrast, criticize, justify, support, discuss, conclude, make recommendations etc.
Evaluation refers to the ability to judge the worth or value of some material based on some
criteria.

You will note from the above that evaluation is the highest form of thinking and is, therefore, the Page | 26
most difficult behavior. This accounts for the poor performance of students and people generally
on tasks that call for evaluative thinking. As we have said, start to develop this important skill
early in your pupils by giving them lots of chances to do evaluative thinking while learning the
subject.

FORM OF ASSESSMENT

Assessment of, for and as Learning

Summative assessment is closely related to “assessment of learning”, while formative assessment

comprises “assessment for learning” and “assessment as learning”. The table below explains the
three complementary assessment concepts, their relationship and the different purposes they serve.

Assessment of AoL describes the level students have attained in learning and
Summative

Learning shows what they know and can do over a period of time. It gives
(AoL) an overview of the previous learning of students and is mainly
used for reporting purposes.

Assessment for AfL integrates assessment into learning and teaching. It assists
Learning students to understand what they are learning, what they have
(AfL) attained, and what is expected of them, and helps teachers collect
evidence of students’ learning so that teachers can provide
students with timely feedback and refine their teaching strategies.

Assessment as AaL engages students in reflecting on and monitoring their

Learning progress of learning through strengthening their roles and
(AaL) responsibilities in relation to their learning. Students are actively
Formative

involved in regulating the learning process, evaluating their own

performance against the learning goals, and planning for the next
step in learning.

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 UNIT 3

ASPECTS/CONTENT OF THE KG-B3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

SPEECH WORK Page | 27

GRAMMAR

WRITING

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

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 UNIT 4

ASPECTS/CONTENT OF THE PRIMARY (1-6) ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

Speech work Page | 28

Listening and speaking

Grammar

Reading

Extensive reading

Children’s literature

Library

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 UNIT 5

ASPECTS /CONTENT OF THE JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

Listening and speaking Page | 29

Grammar

Reading

Writing

Literature

Library/Extensive reading

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 UNIT 6

DESIGNING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHEME OF WORK

SCHEME OF WORK Page | 30

Scheme of work is a long term plan which is prepared by the teacher for a week, month or a term
in order to facilitate the process of teaching and learning.

 Some teachers wrongly claim that they are knowledgeable, skillful and experienced
enough to continue teaching without any scheme of work.

 Such teachers end up doing work haphazardly or in trial and error manner and they finally
fail and embarrass both learners and the school authority.

 You are strongly advised to prepare your subject scheme of work always before the school
term starts

CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHEME OF WORK

 It derived from the syllabus

 It shows a logical sequence of topics and sub-topics to be taught at a specific tim

 The scheme of work has different components divided into two parts,namely introductory
part and matrix part

COMPONENTS OF SCHEME OF WORK

The components of scheme of work are divided into two parts:

1. Introductory part

2. Matrix part

The introductory part

This part contains the following:

1. Ministry: This part shows the ministry of Ed.

2. Year: This part show the year in which the scheme of work will be implemented

3. Name of school: Show where the teacher is working

4. Name of the teacher: show the teacher who planned and who is going to use the scheme of
work.
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 5. Term: Show the term in which the scheme of work will be implemented.

6. Subject: Show the name of specific subject.

7. Class: Show the name of the specific class.

Page | 31
The matrix part

This part contains 13 components:

1. Competence

2. Specific objectives

3. Month

4. Week

5. Main topic

6. Sub topic

7. Period

8. Teaching and learning activities

9. Teaching/learning materials

10. Reference book

11. Assessment

12. Remarks

Description of matrix components.

Competence: Is a statement which specifies the ability that is expected to be exhibited by learners
after they have gone through the topic(s) for a given class.

 It derived from the syllabus.

 One competence can be built by a combination of subtopics and specific objectives.

Objectives: These are statements which specify the behavior to be showed by the learners. these
statements are derived from the topic in the syllabus.

Month: Is a column that indicates the month in which the topic will be taught.

Week: Is a column that indicates the week in which topic or subtopic will be taught.
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Main topic: This column indicates the topics which will be taught in that particular month.

Sub topic: This specifies the area/ subtopic of the topic to be covered.

Periods: A column that indicates number of periods budgeted for a particular topic or subtopic.
Page | 32
Teaching and learning activities: A column that indicates a list of operational activities which
will carry out by the teacher and students in the process of teaching a particular topic or subtopic.

Teaching/learning or materials: A column that indicates a list of teaching aids that will be used
to facilitate teaching and learning a particular topic or sub topic.

References: A column which indicates a list of textbooks, supplementary books or any other
resources that will be used in teaching and learning a particular topic/subtopic.

Assessment: A column which indicates the kind of assessment that students will be subjected to.
This will ensure that assessment of learners as well as process of teaching and even the materials
used are assessed so as to allow for improvement in future.

Remarks: A column used by the teacher to fill his/her comments about how far the topic/specific
objectives have been achieved as well as appropriateness of materials and process.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SHEME OF WORK

 Helps to plan for future teaching.

 Remind teachers on the covered topics.

 It helps teachers to teach content within a given period of time.

 It helps the teacher to regulate speed of teaching.

 It enables the teacher to teach systematically.

 It help the teacher to prepare lesson plan

 It is useful during handing over of teachers.

 It helps the teacher to be confident when planning for teaching.

LESSON PLAN

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction, or 'learning trajectory'
for a lesson.

 Lesson plan is a summary of all the important steps in the development of a lesson.

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  Through the lesson plan you may see clearly what the teacher and learner will be doing at
every stage of lesson development

Features of a good lesson plan

 Lesson plan must specify clearly the teaching and learning activities. Page | 33
 Lesson plan must show how each of the planned specific objectives will be realized.

 Lesson plan must give room for maximum learner involvement through activities.

Importance of lesson plan

 Lesson plan helps to manage time

 It helps teacher to be confident during teaching and learning process.

 Lesson plan enables the teacher to manage the class.

 It helps to teach systematically.

 The lesson plan provides the basis for future plan.

 Helps the teacher to plan lesson which cater for different students.

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 UNIT 7

INTERPRETING AND IMPLEMENTING THE KG- JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA

ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES Page | 34

According to Palma in 1992, in organizing the learning contents, the curriculum organizer must
take into consideration the principles on balance, articulation, sequence, integration, continuity.

 CONTINUITY

This refers to the constant repetition, review and reinforcement of learning. Meaning, a lesson
should not stop after an evaluation. It has to be repeated through review and reinforcement. Thus,
this is the principle in the elementary curriculum. We even targeted that the learning in school
should be applicable and applied to the daily life.

 This process enables the learners to strengthen the permanency of learning and
development of skills.

 Gerome Bruner calls this “spiral curriculum” where the content is organized according to
the interrelationship between the structure/ pattern of a basic idea of major disciplines.

Example: 1. Concepts of living things in science which continuously occurs in the elementary
curriculum but with different complexity from level to level.

 SEQUENCE

This is the logical arrangement of the subject matters. Based on observation and experience, the
subject matters are logically arranged from easy to difficult, basic to complex. Topics in other
learning areas, like HEKASI, Science and Math, are actually arranged from where the students
can find a closer connection to their selves and experience so that they can easily relate to it.

 To provide continuous and cumulative learning, a vertical relationship among the

elements of the curriculum provides the sequence.
 Contents and experiences are arranged in hierarchical manner.

Some schools formulate their curricular objectives, content, and experiences by grade levels
and consider the stages of thinking.4 Principles of Sequence (by:Smith,Stanley & Shore).

1. Simple to complex –Content & experiences are organized from simple to complex, from
concrete to abstract, from easy to difficult.

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 2. Prerequisite learning –It means that there are fundamental things to be learned ahead.
Like addition before multiplication in Mathematics of letters before words, words before
phrases and phrases before sentences.

3. Whole to part learning –This has a relations to gestalt. The forest before the trees. The
overview before the specific content of topics. The meaning can be very well understood Page | 35
if everything will be taken as a whole.

4. Chronological learning - This principle is closely allied to history, political science, and
world events. The sequence can be arranged from the most recent

 INTEGRATION

This is the horizontal connections in subject areas. Well, this is actually encouraged. The fact is
that there are subject matters that can be integrated in other subject area. Like the integration of
values in all subject areas, the integration of Science and Math concepts in teaching English; and
HEKASI and MSEP concepts in teaching Filipino.

 Emerging themes. This is the essence of integration in the curriculum design. Merging or
integrate the subject like math to science.

 ARTICULATION

This means the smooth connection of the subject matters. The subject matters in the elementary
curriculum are really connected. The former is connected with the latter. That is why in the
learning process, review is encouraged to really establish and deepen the connection of the subject
matters to make it more meaningful to the children.

 This can be done either vertically or horizontally. In vertical articulation, contents are
arranged from level to level or grade to grade so that the content in a lower level is
connected to the next level.

 Horizontal articulation happens when the association is among or between elements that
happen at the same time like social studies in grade six is related to science in grade six.

 Balance

This means that the curriculum is fairly distributed in deep and breath of the particular learning
area or discipline. The elementary curriculum is really fairly distributed. Though the number of
competencies is not equal in every quarter but this doesn’t mean that they are not fairly
distributed because the competencies are actually budgeted base on the number of days of
teaching per topic which would fit in to the number of days per grading period.

Equitable assignment of content, time, experiences and other elements to establish balance

is needed in curriculum design.
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  Too much or too little of these elements maybe disastrous to the curriculum.

 Keeping the curriculum “in balance” requires continuous fine tuning and review for its
effectiveness and relevance.

IMPLEMENTATION Page | 36

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 UNIT 8

ASSESSMENT OF KG-JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA

ASSESSMENT TOOLS IN THE VARIOUS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA Page | 37

1. Rubrics and Performance Criteria

Using rubrics and performance criteria is a great way to assess a variety of student work. It’s
usually based on language proficiency and academic progression through work such as
presentations, written assignments and reading activities. You can not only use these to grade
your students, but to chart their growth over a set period of time.

Both tools feature a list of criteria or standards that students know you’re assessing. Rubrics
show what is considered below level, at level and above level. Performance criteria can simply
be a checklist of what to assess for each student. With either of these assessment tools, it’s
important to develop your own, as assessments are based on the teacher’s judgment.

A tool like RubiStar is helpful, as it can show you sample rubrics other teachers have developed,
and anyone can modify them for their own use. Some possible categories for rubrics include text
features, fluency in reading, types of sentences written and neatness in writing.

When creating rubrics or performance criteria, make sure that what you’re assessing is clear and
fair from the beginning. As well, don’t assess too much at once, as it’ll not only overwhelm you
but your students as well. If it helps, ask other teachers how they created their rubrics, or simply
have someone look over yours to see if it looks okay.

You can even take it a step further by bringing FluentU into the classroom.

If you're looking for creative ways to teach English, then you'll love using FluentU in your
classroom! FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and
inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

It's got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world
actually watch regularly. There are tons of great choices there when you're looking for songs for
in-class activities.

You'll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids' singalongs,
commercial jingles and much, much more.

On FluentU, all the videos are sorted by skill level and are carefully annotated for students.

Words come with example sentences and definitions. Students will be able to add them to their
own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos.
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For example, if a student taps on the word "searching," they'll see this:

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Plus, these great videos are all accompanied by interactive features and active learning
tools for students, like multimedia flashcards and fun games like "fill in the blank."

It’s perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. Not to
mention, it's guaranteed to get your students excited about learning English!

2. Oral Presentations or Performances

Many students who have test anxiety might get nervous because their reading or writing skills
aren’t very good. That doesn’t mean, however, that they aren’t proficient in oral skills.

Assessing oral presentations or performances typically include role-plays, interviews, oral

reports and summarizing/paraphrasing pieces of text. When used on an ongoing basis, it’s a great
way to monitor a student’s comprehension through a longer period of time.

Here are some ideas to incorporate oral presentations or performances as part of your
assessments:

 Role-plays: Role-plays can be used to assess students individually or as a group. Some

ideas include having students write a play and performing it or even having the students
teach the teacher as part of a review class.

 Interviews: This type of assessment is very helpful if you have students that are early
English learners. To help test students on content knowledge, try to use a lot of visual cues.
For example, have students pick from a pile of pictures, and ask questions to elicit
responses from them. You can assess the student based on vocabulary used or comparing
concepts.

 Describing/explaining/retelling/paraphrasing/summarizing texts: Instead of a written

book report or summary of a piece of text, you can have your students retell the plot in
front of the class or just to you. Other ideas can include asking the students to pick a
character in the book and tell a story from their point of view, or even to describe their
favorite part of the text.

When assessing oral work, it’s helpful to use a checklist of things to look for, such as
pronunciation, volume, pace and content. Use the same checklist for the same types of oral
presentations to see the progression over time.

3. Non-verbal Assessments
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For students who are shy or aren’t as proficient in English, using non-verbal assessments is a
great way to see a student’s academic progress. What you’re looking for in this type of
assessment is their understanding of vocabulary.

Examples include:
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 Charades: Give a student vocabulary words you’ve taught, and have them act it out to see
if they understand what the word or concept is. You could even have them summarize a
text by miming it.

 Pictures: You can ask students to draw or collect pictures to show their knowledge on a
topic. For example, if you’re assessing a student on their knowledge of nouns, ask students
to pick out pictures of nouns in a magazine. Pictures can also be used to assess reading
comprehension. Students can read a paragraph and then draw a picture to show their
understanding of the text. If the picture is mostly accurate except for a few details, it could
be a vocabulary issue.

4. Written Assessments

Written assessments are a nice way to see how students can apply their knowledge of English
over a wide variety of concepts. For example, you can use assignments to see just how well they
understand a text, or even different forms of writing.

Some different ways to incorporate written assessments in your class include:

 Creative and structured writing assignments: Ask students to write a creative story, or
even give them a writing prompt—where students read the beginning of a story and are
asked to write the ending.

 Editing writing: Give students a piece of text with grammatical mistakes and ask them to
correct it, to test their knowledge of grammar.

 Reading response logs: Give students a list of questions, such as how do they know a
character is evil, or how would they change the ending of a story. When students are
finished reading a book or article, have them write down the answers to these questions.
Make sure to only assess for content, and not spelling or grammar, unless you specify to
your students that you’re doing so.

 Content logs: Have students write down facts they learned about a text. You can also
have them write what parts they didn’t understand. This is helpful for you to see if there
are concepts you may need to reteach or review, particularly if a lot of students are
confused about similar parts of the same text.

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With writing, don’t assess too much at once. For a writing piece, you could assess just spelling,
complete sentences or unity in paragraphs. Build it up to assess more than a few criteria once
you see that your students have mastered what you have taught them.

5. Portfolios
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Portfolios are powerful assessments and are used to gather various samples of student work to
track their development over a period of time. In order to maximize the potential of using a
portfolio as an assessment tool, you should regularly curate student work to include in them, and
have scheduled conferences with students about their work.

You should also have a checklist of qualities that are important to showcase student achievement.
Not only do you critique and assess the work, but so should the students. That way, they’re
responsible for their learning and take more ownership of making sure they improve.

Material you can include in a portfolio can include the following:

 performance criteria or rubrics

 recording of oral presentations

 tests

 writing samples, drafts and final copies

 book reports

 interview checklists

In order to best assess a student, you should include more than one kind of student work in the
portfolio. The work does not have to be the best work they’ve done, rather a wide variety is best.
Based on your judgment, you can even ask students for their opinion as to what types of work
they should include.

In a portfolio, you are looking for any type of improvement in their work. For example, if you
keep a couple of a student’s writing pieces, look to see if their sentence or paragraph structure
gets better. When looking at tests, see if their spelling tests, for example, have gotten higher
scores over time. If you notice that they continually lack in certain skills, this would be the time
to address it. You can either give the student extra support in class or find ways for them to
practice with extra work at home.

Tests aren’t bad, but they’re not the only way to assess student achievement. If you use a wide
variety of assessments, you’ll be able to portray an accurate picture of your student’s English
abilities. In turn, you, your students and their parents will be able to see their progress, which
can greatly motivate students!
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EFFECTIVE USE OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS.

IMPORTANCE OF THE ASSESSMENT TOOL.

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Provides diagnostic feedback

 What is the student's knowledge base?

 What is the student's performance base?

 What are the student's needs?

 What has to be taught?

Helps educators set standards

 What performance demonstrates understanding?

 What performance demonstrates knowledge?

 What performance demonstrates mastery?

Evaluates progress

 How is the student doing?

 What teaching methods or approaches are most effective?

 What changes or modifications to a lesson are needed to help the student?

Relates to a student's progress

 What has the student learned?

 Can the student talk about the new knowledge?

 Can the student demonstrate and use the new skills in other projects?

Motivates performance

For student self-evaluation:

 Now that I'm in charge of my learning, how am I doing?

 Now that I know how I'm doing, how can I do better?

 What else would I like to learn?

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For teacher self-evaluation:

 What is working for the students?

 What can I do to help the students more?

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 In what direction should we go next.

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