At the 3rd CELC Symposium in May 2010, a series of paper and workshop presentations related to the evolution of ELT in the primary and secondary schools in Singapore has been scheduled.  These sessions will be of particular interest to Singapore teachers and ELT practitioners who are interested in understanding the local ELT landscape at the primary and secondary levels.

Three prominent teacher leaders from the Ministry of Education have been invited to give these papers.  They are Mr Ang Pow Chew, Mr Philip McConnell and Mrs Davamoni Regina Nee Chan S T.  There are two key areas that they will address – first, the change in English language education; and second, current effective classroom strategies in the teaching of English in Singapore.

The sessions led by the MOE teacher leaders will demonstrate the connection and synergy between educational policy that is made at the MOE level and classroom practices and strategies implemented on the ground in response to the shifting social and global demands in language learning and teaching. 

The biodata of the speakers and abstracts of their respective sessions are as listed below.

ANG Pow Chew
Ministry of Education, Singapore

Ang Pow Chew is the Deputy Director of the Languages and Literature Branch in the Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education Singapore. Over the last 20 years, he has served in various roles - Teacher, Head of Department, Principal of a Secondary School and Deputy Director of Educational Technology. The Language and Literature Branch is involved in the design, review, and revision of among others the English Language, Literature and Theatre Studies & Drama Syllabuses, and the implementation of these syllabuses in schools. In addition, the branch promotes activities to stimulate interest in these subjects in schools. 

Invited Speech:

The 2010 English Language Syllabus: Evolution of EL Teaching and Learning in Singapore Schools   

In 2005, the English Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (ELCPRC) was formed to review the teaching and learning of the English Language in Singapore Schools. This review highlighted the shifting of language use amongst Singaporeans over the years. From the 2006 Primary One cohort data, the percentage of pupils who spoke English at home has increased over the years.  Two broad groups of English Language learners could be discerned: about half the Primary One students used English as the main language at home, while the other half used mainly the Mother Tongue or other languages.  Since the 1950s, The EL Syllabuses in Singapore have reflected the changing aims, approaches and emphases of EL teaching and learning.  Global and national concerns, the changing role of EL in Singapore and the world, the needs of our pupils and research in language and language pedagogies have influenced syllabus design. The 2010 EL Syllabus underscored the sustained effort to improving language education for our students. A commentary on the evolution of EL teaching and learning in Singapore will be made through tracing the genesis and implementation of the EL syllabuses across 3 decades.

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Philip McConnell
Master Teacher for Literature

Philip McConnell graduated from Sussex University in 1972 and gained his Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from Liverpool University in 1973. He came to Singapore in 1991 after teaching in the UK for 17 years, where he had served variously as Discipline Master, Head of Department, Head of Faculty and Head of Sixth Form. 

After three years as acting HOD at Chung Cheng High School (Main), he moved to Anderson Junior College as Subject Head for Literature in 1994, and then, in 1998, to Raffles Junior College, where he was in charge of the Raffles Humanities Scholarship Programme. He was appointed as Master Teacher for Literature in 2008.

Master Workshop 1: Unlocking the Cells

In the light of recent findings in the field of neuroscience about how the brain learns by making meaning (particularly the implications of research by Professor John Geake, Oxford Brookes University, on the implications of cognitive neuroscience for pedagogy),  this workshop will illustrate a set of Inquiry Based Learning strategies for the English language classroom which make use of literary and real world texts to stimulate thinking skills, close reading and oral work and to develop knowledge about language.

Regina DAVAMONI
Master Teacher for English Language

Davamoni Regina Nee Chan ST is a Master Teacher with MOE, Singapore, and supports the literacy development in 11 primary schools. She offers differentiated English Language training programmes for Heads of Departments, beginning teachers (BTs), teacher leaders and developing teachers, who are at different developmental and professional functioning in these schools.

Master Workshop 2:  The 3Cs Approach for 21st Century EL/Lit Classrooms

Drawing from research findings of 21st century skills, this workshop demonstrates how the 3 key traits of curiosity, confidence and cooperation (3Cs) can help the English Language/Literature teacher develop the necessary skills and dispositions for her students to be effective learners and contributors in the 21st century. While curiosity is a heightened state of interest resulting in the motivation and disposition to learn, confidence comes through opportunities given for critical thinking, giving feedback and offering perspectives in the EL/Lit classroom. Equally important is the student’s ability to cooperate and work well with and add value to the ideas of others. 

Participants will get to experience some hand-on activities that use Thinking Routines (Harvard Project Zero) to develop the 3Cs, and take away a basic framework for their own school’s 3Cs programme as well as scoring rubrics to assess the 3Cs.