Syllabus for F.

2 English - 2009-2010 Page 1 of 6

file: Eng-2

SING YIN SECONDARY SCHOOL

SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH SEPTEMBER 2009 - JULY 2010
FORM TWO

Longman Elect JS2A & 2B (Vocabulary Book included) Jo Ann Nelson, John Potter Longman
Sarah Rigby, Kitty Wong

Longman Elect Workbook JS2A & 2B Alison Wilson Longman

(Grammar CD-ROM included)

Longman Elect Listening & Speaking Book JS2A & 2B Tom Martin, Jane Short Longman
(Data File included) Freya Simpson Giles

Developing Skills Freeway Grammar & Usage Book 2 C. Harris Aristo

Cambridge Learner's Dictionary (2nd Edition) (With CD-ROM) Cambridge

(ISBN: 978-0-521-68202-2)

AIMS
The aims of this syllabus are as follows:
1. to develop students' competence in the four skill areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing so that they
are thoroughly prepared for the next stage of English learning as well as studying other subjects through the
medium of English;
2. to develop a firm foundation to facilitate the successful use of English as a means of communication ,
expression and enjoyment;
3. to help students identify and accept their own strengths and weaknesses in language learning, and take action
to address their weaknesses;
4. to develop students’ open-minded attitude, showing understanding and respect for different cultures, ways of
life, beliefs and points of views through exposure to a wide variety of texts;
5. to help students reflect positively on their learning experiences with the aim of increasing their language
proficiency (keeping a journal to express the feelings about the texts); and
6. to promote creativity & critical thinking skills through language arts.

TASK-BASED LEARNING

The task-based approach to language learning places emphasis on learning to communicate through purposeful
interaction in the target language. It aims at providing opportunities for learners to experiment with and
explore both spoken and written language through learning activities which are designed to engage learners in
the authentic, practical and functional use of language for meaningful purposes (e.g. project learning,
communicative tasks).

COMPONENTS OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

In line with the senior secondary curriculum, English learning teaching and learning comprises a set of
Syllabus for F.2 English - 2009-2010 Page 2 of 6

interlocking components, including:

- development of subject knowledge and skills, which are expressed in the form of learning targets in the
Interpersonal, Knowledge and Experience Strands, as well as learning objectives;
- supporting the development of generic skills
- collaboration skills;
- communication skills;
- creativity;
- critical thinking skills;
- information technology skills;
- numeracy skills;
- problem-solving skills;
- self-management skills; and
- study skills.
- supporting the development of positive values and attitudes.
- positive personal values such as honesty, self-esteem and perseverance.
- positive social values such as equality, interdependence and tolerance.
- positive learning attitudes such as responsibility, open-mindedness and co-cooperativeness
for healthy development

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS

A cross-curricular approach to language learning is encouraged. Tasks or activities can be designed so that
students are encouraged to undertake to reinforce the English acquired or required in other subjects.

The learning of English language can also achieve other learning aims set out by the school. In particular, the
major concerns of the school each year may be addressed by language tasks or activities. Students should
also be able to gain Other Learning Experience, e.g. aesthetic development through language arts, language in
performing arts, etc.

CATERING FOR LEARNER DIVERSITY

To cater for the varied needs, interests, abilities and learning styles of different students, teachers are
encouraged to select and develop suitable topics and tasks, employ a variety of teaching methods and strategies
and fine-tune them to suit different learning styles and situations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

A. LEARNING STRATEGIES AND STUDY SKILLS

1. Classroom language and everyday expressions

To achieve the communicative purposes of English language learning and facilitate the successful use of
English as the medium of instructions, teachers should use English for all aspects of classroom learning and
management. Students should be taught to understand the teachers’ instructions and they should also be able
to talk to them in simple English in aspects such as asking for permission, asking for clarification or repetition,
apologizing, responding to teachers’ questions, etc. Students should also learn how to express themselves in
Syllabus for F.2 English - 2009-2010 Page 3 of 6

everyday situations using English.

2. Dictionary skills

Students should be able to use the dictionary to learn about words. They should become more familiar with
the symbols and abbreviations and should be able to make good use of their dictionary.

3. Phonics skills

Students should be taught to identify and pronounce all English vowel and consonant sounds. They should
learn how to divide words into syllables, find out where the stresses are and pronounce most English words,
familiar or unfamiliar, with the help of phonetic symbols.

4. Vocabulary skills

Students should be taught the different skills for learning, organising and retaining new vocabulary.

5. Library skills

Library skills should be taught so that students can be resourceful and independent learners. The students
should be taught how to find information and make use of the resources in the library for project work and
self-learning.

6. Newspaper reading

F.2 students are expected to subscribe to an English language newspaper at least once a cycle. Students
should be encouraged to form a habit of reading an English language newspaper regularly to get more exposure
to authentic English. They should be able to complete various learning tasks set by their teachers.

B. WRITING

Students should be able to write an extended text (180-200 words) which is coherent, accurate and appropriate
in style and format. The types of text at this stage should include personal writing (e.g. personal profiles),
social writing (e.g. guidebooks, presentations), public writing (e.g. formal letters), study writing (e.g. reports,
essays) and creative writing (e.g. jokes, stories, plays).

Teachers should develop students’ skills at the various stages of the writing process. They include
pre-writing, drafting, revising and editing. Students should be taught to generate ideas, plan ideas, identify
purposes and audience, write effective beginnings and endings for different text-types, develop and structure
content, review and revise the drafts at the text level and use an editing code to address language errors.

C. READING

1. Intensive Reading

The students should learn to understand, interpret and analyse different written texts. They should be able to:
Syllabus for F.2 English - 2009-2010 Page 4 of 6

• make use of the knowledge of the world to make sense of the written text;
• acquire, extract and organize information relevant to specific tasks;
• understand different feelings, views and attitudes;
• differentiate fact from opinion;
• identify implied meaning through inferencing;
• understand how sentences and parts of a sentence relate to each other;
• understand the use of discourse markers; and
• know what a word or phrase refers to in the previous or subsequent context.

2. Extensive Reading

The Hong Kong Extensive Reading Scheme is a well-organised reading programme aiming at providing
students with essential extra exposure to comprehensible English both inside and outside English classes so
as to raise the levels of proficiency in English.
It can provide each student individually with:
- an accurate assessment of their initial reading level;
- a steady supply of books which are
of good quality,
at the appropriate level,
of varied interest, and
of gradually increasing difficulty;
- constant and consistent encouragement to read;
- evidence of progress;
- feedback on their comprehension; and
- opportunity to work at their own pace.

Oral conferences should be held during ERS lessons to monitor students’ progress, provide feedback on their
effort and ensure that the scheme runs effectively for individual students.

It is hoped that through reading interesting books at the right level comfortably and extensively, the students
will develop a good reading habit and will experience a rapid increase in reading comprehension and over a
longer period, an improvement in writing ability. Students are expected to read at least 18 books in Form
Two.

D. LISTENING

Students should learn to interpret what is being said, construct meaning and respond accordingly. They
should be able to:
1. discriminate between similar speech sounds, homonyms, stress and intonation patterns;
2. identify key ideas in a passage, discussion or conversation;
3. extract information and ideas in spoken texts;
4. identify the sequence of events, causes and effects;
5. discriminate between intonation for various feelings and attitudes;
6. make connections between ideas and information with the help of discourse markers; and
7. take notes on spoken texts and conversation to complete guided writing tasks and information gaps.
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E. SPEAKING

Oral work by the pupils should form a part of every lesson. Vocabulary drills, reading in chorus, discussions,
role plays, oral presentations, etc. should be done frequently.
Constant use should be made of the language CDs and audio-visual clips for practice in pronunciation, stress,
rhythm, intonation, sentence patterns and communicative tasks. Chants, songs and poems can be used to add
variety to the oral lesson, further familiarizing the students with stress and intonation patterns.

Students should be able to:

1. present information, ideas and feelings clearly and coherently in front of an audience;
2. convey ideas and information in conversations;
3. describe the sequence of events, causes and effects;
4. use words and expressions appropriate to the context;
5. use correct pronunciation, intonation and register for different purposes;
6. read aloud texts, familiar or unfamiliar, fluently; and
7. report findings.

F. DICTATION

Students should be able to record accurately a spoken text of about 180 words. Dictation should be given
after a certain part of the coursebook has been taught. Dictation passages may be rewritten with the language
items that have been taught to reinforce learning. Students should know how to spell all the key words in the
passages covered in Form Two.

G. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Students should be shown how computer software, educational CD-ROMs and the Internet can enhance
language learning and should be taught how to make good use of the technology and resources available.

An on-line reading programme is provided for all students in F.2 aiming to cultivate a reading habit on a
frequent, regular basis, promote independent learning, extend students’ horizons and enhance reading skills.

H. LANGUAGE ARTS

Students should develop their capacity to appreciate language arts through classroom activities such as role
plays, poem appreciation, song appreciation, story-telling, creative writing, etc, through which students’
creativity and cooperative learning skills are also enhanced. Language arts devices can also be introduced to
students with reference to the Language Arts handbook and the resources available in the coursebook.

I. LANGUAGE ITEMS AND LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

Equal emphasis has to be placed on English as a medium of communication and as a formal linguistic system.
Syllabus for F.2 English - 2009-2010 Page 6 of 6

Unit Language Items Language Functions

1 1. Present continuous and simple present tenses 1. Talking about the future
2. Comparative and superlative adjectives 2. Comparing two, three and more (groups of) people,
things or places
2 1. Reported Speech 1. Reporting statements
2. Prepositions of movement 2. Describing how people or things move
3 1. Conditionals 1 (facts) 1. Talking about facts
2. Question phrases 2. Asking questions with “How + an adjective” &
“How + an adverb”
4 1. Nouns without articles 1. Talking about things in general
2. Reflexive pronouns 2. Emphasizing that someone does something alone
or without any help
5 1. Past continuous tense 1. Talking about an action that continued for a period
of time in the past
2. Connectives of time, reason and result 2. Referring to periods of time an action takes place
(because, since, as & so ) and talking about reasons and results of actions
6 1. Relative clauses 1. Describing which people or things we are talking
about and giving more information about the
people or things we are talking about
2. Passive voice (present tense & past tense) 2. Stating facts when the ‘doer’ is/was unknown,
unimportant or obvious / creating an objective,
formal tone by describing events or actions without
identifying the ‘agent’ / subject
7 1. Conditionals 2 (possibilities) 1. Talking about what will possibly happen
2. Somebody, something, anybody, anything, 2. Referring to people and things without saying
nobody & nothing exactly who or what they are
8 1. Present perfect tense 1. Talking about past events which have a link with
the present or have just happened
2. Question tags 2. Checking if some information is true
1. Modal verbs (should, ought to, have to, must, 1. Talking about advice, necessity and possibility
need to, may, might, could & had better)*
2. Verb forms (infinitives, gerund)* 2. Using verb forms correctly in sentences to talk
about actions
3. Articles in phrases* 3. Using or omitting articles in idiomatic expressions
4. Adjectives and adverbs* 4. Using adjectives and adverbs to enrich descriptions
5. Reported speech* 5. Reporting questions, order and requests
6. Phrasal verbs* 6. Using phrasal verbs to talk about actions / events /
ideas correctly
7. Conditionals (unlikely or impossible events)* 7. Talking about imaginary situations
* Additional items
-End-

Signature of Teacher-in-charge:__________________________

Checked by:__________________________