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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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Learning English and Learning IN English: Insights from global research and local experiences in the Philippines
Research and theory in learning ESL and EFL have documented how the students’ mother tongue or L1 can be an important facilitating or constraining factor in learning English. Relevant propositions have been used to guide ESL/EFL programs in numerous educational systems in non-English speaking countries. More recently, some educational systems in such countries have considered, and even implemented, policies that require students to learn IN English. In this paper, I address the various “roles” of L1 in non-English learners’ efforts to learn different subjects like science and mathematics in English. The paper considers the relevant research on the cognitive development of bilinguals, and on higher cognitive processes in bilinguals. The paper also discusses research on Filipino students’ experiences learning various subject matters in English. The discussion will focus on the different ways by which the Filipino language serves as both a constraint and a resource for successful learning in English.
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Language Choice in Policy and Education: Implications for ELT in Malaysia
In Malaysia, as in other countries that have a colonial past, there has been the constant need to promote a national language for national and ethnic unity, and at the same time to emphasize English for communication in a globalized world. In the 1990s, the challenges of globalization and internationalization brought about the pressure to be competent in English, seen as the language needed for functioning in the global marketplace. However, it was only in 2002, that a change in policy for Science and Maths to be taught in English was effected. The most recent change is the switch back to Malay as medium of instruction for Science and Maths. A conflict between what is important for national interest and what is required for internationalization given the multiethnicity of the population inevitably brings about certain challenges.
In this presentation, I focus on language and education issues in Malaysia in the context of nation building, societal multilingualism and globalization. Firstly, I examine the origin and nature of language and medium-of-instruction policies in Malaysia and the rationale for them. Secondly, I discuss the conflicts and controversies pertaining to language and education analysing the domains of contestation. Next, a survey of the shifts in language policy over the decades is given. This includes a discussion of the growing importance of English amidst globalization trends and the implementation of English and subsequently Malay for Science and Maths. Language and medium-of-instruction policies and their impact on English language teaching and learning in the country are evaluated. The paper ends with a discussion of implications for ELT in Malaysia.
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Instruction and Assessment That Foster Reading Comprehension
English language education around the world teaches children to decode print and comprehend text, but in primary grade levels, comprehension instruction and assessment often receive too little attention. I will offer some reasons for this imbalance and suggest some research-based methods to promote comprehension. For example, I will show how teachers can provide instruction on inferences, comprehension monitoring, and narrative text structure to illustrate the value of metacognitive instruction. I will also describe how teachers can arrange collaborative and tutoring activities for peers and small groups in P1-P6 to stimulate understanding text. Although the PSLE influences instruction and assessment, there are many types of formative assessments that teachers can use to enrich comprehension at all primary levels. I will give examples of “assessment for learning” that focus on building comprehension skills.
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Trends in College English Teaching in China:
From Government Directives to University Initiatives
A small scale conference held in Beijing Yanshan Hotel in 2002 marked the beginning of a new round of reform in College English teaching in China. Present at this conference were not only the Minister of Education but all the leading officials from the Ministry of Education who were in charge of College English teaching. Since then a series of government directives have been issued and government funded projects have been launched aiming at setting new objectives for College English teaching as well as introducing new modes of teaching and new approaches to testing and assessment at both institutional and national levels. In the first few years, this top-down nature of the reform efforts did bring about somewhat uniform changes in the teaching of College English across China. However, with the deepening of the reform, more and more colleges and universities, while still upholding the general principles of reform stipulated by the Ministry of Education, are beginning to come up with more diversified approaches to College English teaching with unique local and institutional characteristics. These new explorations are taking place in the formation of teaching objectives, the selection of learning content and methodology, the approaches to the assessment of teaching and learning and the modes of teacher development. This paper will review the efforts made by the Chinese government in regulating the reform and at the same time discuss some of the innovative initiatives that sprang up at grass-roots level that might indicate some of the new directions College English teaching could follow in the next stage of development. |
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ANG Pow Chew 
Allan BERNADO 
Azirah HASHIM
Scott PARIS 
WANG Haixiao 
