The Basic School English Language Curriculum: JHS

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 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 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:

Focus- subject or student. Where is the emphasis?

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

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

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

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

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 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

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 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

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 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 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 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 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

“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

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 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

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:

learning styles and activities appropriate for each style;

a list of types of activities (with descriptions);

an activity design worksheet for facilitators; and

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

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 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

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 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 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.

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.

UNIT 2

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

GENERAL AIMS

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.

· 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.

· 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.

· 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.

· 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 Oral/Speech Work	Conversation
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 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. 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 & Reading Comprehension

Grammar

Composition

Literature/Library

Total

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 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 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

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:

· 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;

· 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 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:

· 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;

· 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 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

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:

Listening	10%
Reading	30%
Speaking	30%
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 DIMENSIONS	RECEPTIVE SKILLS		PRODUCTIVE SKILLS		TOTAL
PROFILE DIMENSIONS	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	TOTAL
Knowledge and Understanding	10	30	-	-	40
Use of Knowledge	-	-	30	30	60
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.

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 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.

Summative

Assessment of Learning (AoL)

AoL describes the level students have attained in learning and shows what they know and can do over a period of time. It gives an overview of the previous learning of students and is mainly used for reporting purposes.

Formative

Assessment for

Learning (AfL)

AfL integrates assessment into learning and teaching. It assists students to understand what they are learning, what they have 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 Learning (AaL)

AaL engages students in reflecting on and monitoring their progress of learning through strengthening their roles and responsibilities in relation to their learning. Students are actively involved in regulating the learning process, evaluating their own performance against the learning goals, and planning for the next step in learning.

UNIT 3

ASPECTS/CONTENT OF THE KG-B3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

SPEECH WORK

GRAMMAR

WRITING

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

UNIT 4

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

Speech work

Listening and speaking

Grammar

Reading

Extensive reading

Children’s literature

Library

UNIT 5

ASPECTS /CONTENT OF THE JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

Listening and speaking

Grammar

Reading

Writing

Literature

Library/Extensive reading

UNIT 6

DESIGNING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHEME OF WORK

SCHEME OF WORK

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

· 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.

· 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.

UNIT 7

INTERPRETING AND IMPLEMENTING THE KG- JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA

ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES

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.

v 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.

v 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.

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 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

v 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.

v 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.

v 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.

· 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

UNIT 8

ASSESSMENT OF KG-JHS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA

ASSESSMENT TOOLS IN THE VARIOUS ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULA

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.

For example, if a student taps on the word "searching," they'll see this:

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

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:

· 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.

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

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!

Top of Form

EFFECTIVE USE OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS.

IMPORTANCE OF THE ASSESSMENT TOOL.

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?

For teacher self-evaluation:

· What is working for the students?

· What can I do to help the students more?

· In what direction should we go next.