~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator, International Department
Kang Chiao students achieve a very high level of English proficiency compared not only to other students in Taiwan, but also compared to students internationally. They primarily use a textbook that was written for native English speakers. They also read English books at the same difficulty level as students in English-speaking countries. They are able to attain this success through hard work and dedication, and because of our balanced and carefully constructed curriculum. In this article, we will discuss how Kang Chiao’s English language program facilitates our students to reach such a leve
● Multiple Approaches to Teaching
English classes at Kang Chiao are taught by a team of teachers, each specializing in different aspects of English education. Chinese English teachers have experience learning English and can guide their students through the complex technical parts of the language, especially grammar points that differ from Chinese. The foreign English teachers give students insight into the authentic use of English through their natural intuition. They also teach language arts from a Western perspective. Finally, KCFS teachers get their students to engage in hands-on activities while using English.
This curriculum ensures that students receive support under the best conditions. Their foreign teachers give them an authentic English experience and their Chinese-speaking teachers help them understand English at an academic level.
● Extended Learning through Projects
Another way students gain authentic practice in English is through our projects. At each stage of the inquiry-based learning process, students must discuss, research, collaborate, write, edit, and present an in-depth topic entirely in English.
Project topics are extended from in-class readings, which means students learn about a topic through guided reading and discussion. As they complete the steps of the project, they expand their knowledge and skills, eventually using them to produce new works. For example, fourth graders use the classic children’s book Because of Winn-Dixie as a starting point to learn about stray dogs. After extensive research, they write appeals to others, encouraging them to adopt homeless animals and help prevent animal homelessness. This is far more meaningful to students than simply writing a book report of the reading.
These projects also give students plenty of opportunities to express their creativity. An example of this is a first-grade project in which students take characters from the story Where Are My Animal Friends? and rewrite it with new events. Then they act it out on stage. Overall, projects are an excellent way for students to use English for practical and creative purposes.
● Student Choice and Responsibility
Creative elements of projects are not the only way students control their own learning. They also manage their own progress through our independent reading program, Hooked on Books. Each term, students are given an Accelerated Reader point goal. They have ten weeks to read books and take a quiz for each one until they achieve that goal. Teachers help guide them, but they are responsible for their own success.
Students can choose the books they are interested in, which means they have fun while they learn. Students are happy to earn high scores by reading books they wanted to read anyway. Meanwhile, without their knowledge, they are improving their independent reading ability and learning about many interesting topics.
We have worked hard to develop the mechanisms of our curriculum. The various parts work together to ensure a balanced, student-centered approach to learning. We are proud of the goals our students achieve as they grow and learn at Kang Chiao.
From the Editor
Holistic Language Education
國際處主任 賴國宜
Quite often, parents ask me, "How can I help my child learn English better?" I usually respond to the question by asking them, "What is the major goal for your child to learn English? Is it to travel abroad, to study in English speaking countries, or to be able to meet the future challenges of global work?" With Kang Chiao's educational vision, "To nurture competitive international leaders" in mind, we set high standards for our English programs. The core curriculum of language arts taught by foreign and Chinese English teachers ensures students have a high level of English proficiency. Project-based learning provides authentic practice of English through discussing, researching, collaborating, and planning to solve real-life problems. Finally, the independent reading program, Hooked on Books, not only enhances student's reading competency but also their responsibility for their own learning success. I would like to recommend you to read Mr. Warmke's article to understand the overall goals of our English program.
經常有朋友問我，如何讓孩子的英文更好，我通常反問：您希望孩子英文好的目的是什麼？出國能用英文問路？或是預計到國外留學？還是成為能參與國際會議、溝通協調的國際專業人才？這一期我們邀請課研組長Mr. Warmke來說明，在規劃康橋的英語課程時，我們如何秉持「培育具國際競爭力的社會菁英」的辦學願景，以培養「在日常生活運用自如的英文能力」為核心課程目標，再透過英語專題和康橋未來技能課程，培養學生運用跨領域的知識與技能，解決問題的能力，並藉著自主化的Hooked on Books閱讀課程，提升高層次的閱讀理解和文學素養，達到我們最終的英文教育目標：培育能以英文思考、決斷、全方位溝通的國際人才。
Meeting Our New Friends「遇見新住民」是上學期三年級的英文專題，當時課程剛開始沒多久就因疫情爆發停課，教師團隊配合線上教學即時調整教學模式，帶領學生做線上資料搜尋，最終，學生的成果發表也從實體海報改成Google Slide，並透過直播課呈現。學生數位能力的快速提升成了這個專題課程的意外收穫。邀請您一起來欣賞學生的作品，您將發現孩子對東南亞國家的文化認識比我們還深入喔！