English Language

Overview

The English Department has a vision to develop our Yuhualites to be Communicative and Confident Learners through the four skills of Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.

Our programmes aim to build a strong foundation in the English Language among Yuhualites while providing them with a rich language learning experience to develop a love for learning the language.

Curriculum

The key approach to the teaching and learning of the English Language is through the STELLAR (Strategies for English Language Learning and Reading) Approach.

STELLAR aims to build in children a love for reading and a strong foundation in the English Language. At the heart of the STELLAR programme is the belief that enjoyment is a fundamental aspect of shared reading and writing experience. Through STELLAR, we hope that our Yuhualites will experience the joy of learning as they become communicative and confident learners.

LOWER PRIMARY STELLAR

The Lower Primary STELLAR Pedagogical Model comprises the following strategies:

Shared Book Approach (SBA)
Modified Language Experience Approach (MLEA)
Learning Centre Activities (LC)

Shared Book Approach (SBA) provides a shared reading experience for teachers to model the reading process and for students to participate actively in the reading. During the first reading, the teacher reads a big book together with students, discussing concepts of print as well as questions about the book being read. In subsequent readings, the teacher teaches target vocabulary and language structures explicitly, as well as other target skills such as concepts of print and phonics. Based on the book being read, teachers may also carry out a range of follow-up activities like speech and drama, music and art.

Modified Language Experience Approach (MLEA) provides pupils with a shared experience that is linked to the big book read during SBA lessons. The shared experience provides the context and content for students to think and talk about, using the specific language structures and vocabulary they have acquired during the SBA lessons. The teacher facilitates discussions for a piece of group writing before the students progress to pair writing and then individual writing.

Our Primary 1 and 2 Yuhualites go on Learning Journeys to the Singapore Zoo and Singapore Science Centre as an extension to their learning of the themes covered in the Stellar curriculum. These learning journeys encourage experiential learning as the outdoors become their classroom for the day.

Learning Centres help to reinforce the language skills that students learn during SBA and MLEA lessons. Differentiated activities are planned for the students in the different learning centres where they have the opportunity to relearn, revisit or extend what they have learnt at their own pace.

UPPER PRIMARY STELLAR

The Upper Primary STELLAR Pedagogical Model consists of the following strategies:

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)
Supported Reading (SR)
Know-Want to Know-Learnt (KWL)
Retelling (RT)
Writing Process Cycle (WPC)
Differentiated Instruction (DI)

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is regularly practiced. Everyone in the classroom reads a book of his/her choice quietly and uninterrupted for ten minutes a day. This provides students with authentic opportunities to enjoy reading while practising their silent reading skills.

Supported Reading (SR) provides a bridge between teacher-supported reading aloud and independent silent reading. It provides opportunities for pupils to make predictions, read sections of the text silently, discuss the text and unfamiliar words used in context as a whole class.

Know-Want to know-Learnt (KWL) is used mainly for non-fiction texts. This strategy helps students to extract information and relate it to what they already know about the topic. Teachers guide pupils to organise, access and remember information from texts read.

Retelling (RT) is a reading comprehension strategy that engages students at different levels of language – from interpreting meaning at the whole text level, to individual words and phrases, and back to the whole text again. It provides opportunities for all of the major language skills to be applied as students actively make meaning of texts and share their understanding with their peers.

Writing Process Cycle (WPC) builds on the principles of the MLEA and continues to provide pupils with guidance in the processes of idea generation, idea selection, idea development, idea organisation, review and editing before they apply the skills in writing independently.

Differentiated Instruction (DI) provides students with differentiated support at various points of instruction to optimise their learning. Appropriate activities are designed to support, reinforce and extend students’ learning in reading, writing, oracy, word study, grammar and language use.

Learning Support Programme (LSP)

Believing that every child can learn well at his or her own pace, the Learning Support Programme (LSP) provides enhanced support to selected pupils in basic literacy skills to enable them to access learning in the regular classroom. The LSP is a specialised early intervention programme aimed at providing learning support to pupils who enter Primary 1 with weak English Language and literacy skills. Students are identified for LSP through a systematic screening process which is carried out at the beginning of Primary 1.

School-based Dyslexia Remediation Programme (SDR)

School-based Dyslexia Remediation Programme is a two-year intervention programme for Primary 3 and 4 pupils. These pupils are identified for support through a systematic screening process for dyslexia conducted at the end of Primary 2. The programme is conducted in small groups by our trained school personnel using a remediation curriculum designed by MOE Reading Specialists.

Reading Remediation Programme (RRP)

The Reading Remediation Programme is aimed at supporting Primary 3 and Primary 4 students who face consistent difficulty in reading in the English Language. The programme exposes the students to a range of coping strategies for reading comprehension, word recognition and oral reading fluency which will enable them to better manage their daily learning.

READ@Yuhua

We adopt a whole school approach to reading in order to inculcate the love of reading in our Yuhualites.

Storytime

Storytime is a pre-assembly programme that exposes our Yuhualites to a myriad of stories covering a variety of genres and themes. Different teachers read these stories to them weekly. Confident Yuhualites are invited to join in the weekly sharing sessions.

READ period

We have weekly READ periods where Yuhualites get to delve deeper into a variety of reading genres like mystery, fiction, adventure and more.

Not only do they learn about the unique characteristics of different story genres, but they also get to form an appreciation for stories from those genres. During the READ Period, Yuhualites get to engage in and respond to different genre-based stories that have been selected for these lessons. To add to the rich reading culture, Yuhualites also get to complete interesting reader-response activities. They can complete simpler tasks like book cover designs or more creative ones like crafting an email to the author to recommend a new element to the story.

Monthly Current Affairs

In order to nurture students who possess broad worldviews, Yuhualites are exposed to a variety of topics to widen their global knowledge. Each month covers a new topic and Yuhualites are given opportunities to engage in class discussions and share their opinions on various topics.

Supplementary Materials : ACE & WHIZ Magazines

The ACE and WHIZ magazines are supplementary materials used to further enrich Yuhualites’ knowledge on global and local issues around us. These magazines are used as part of English Language lessons to encourage Yuhualites to read and think critically.

SPEAK@Yuhua

A range of programmes are organised to develop the speaking skills of our Yuhualites.

Young Journalists

Our budding Yuhualites are given the opportunity to cover school events as young journalists. They learn interview skills, presentation skills and put together a yearly segment of YuhuaTV, a compilation of our Yuhualites’ experiences.

SPEAK Up! Competition

Our budding Yuhualites are given opportunities to propose solutions to social problems and present their ideas in creative ways as they prepare for this national competition.

Wits & Words: Inter-school Debate Championship

Held annually, this is a platform for our budding Yuhualite debaters to hone their critical thinking skills and experience debating with the like-minded peers from other schools.

Games@Recess

These monthly recess games aim to provide a multitude of opportunities for Yuhualites to use the English Language to communicate and at the same time, have fun.

Language Level Competitions

Friendly level competitions are held every year to get Yuhualites to put their language skills to the test.

Parents’ Workshop

Every year, workshop materials are specially designed to empower parents to guide their children in the learning of the English Language. These workshops provide parents with ideas to hold enriching discussion and conversations with their children.