English Language & Literature
Mother Tongue Languages
The department has been active in promoting the ‘Speak Good English Movement’ or SGEM in order to realise its vision. In early Term 1, the department outlined its whole-school approach to speaking good English (WSAE) which involves both students and staff to actively use standard English to communicate with one another. Some of the activities that were planned and implemented are: •
Extensive Reading Programme (ERP) in the morning for the staff and students. Uninterrupted silent reading of fiction books on Monday and Tuesday and English newspaper on Thursday, was implemented during the morning assembly period. Friday was devoted to journal writing for Thought of the Month (TOTM).
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EL teachers involved all students in book/newspaper review during EL lessons once a fortnight. The review was formally done on a book/ newspaper review form and checked by the EL teachers.
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Student representatives from every class shared an interesting read during morning assemby every Thursday. In Term 3, the sharing took a slightly different approach based on the life story of Singapore’s former President, Mr S R Nathan.
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Vision Every JYian an effective communicator using Standard English
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Mission To achieve value-added results by equipping JYians with lifelong learning skills and values
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An SGEM broadcast of upcoming school activities and events using recorded voices of staff and students was played during the morning assembly at the beginning of every term to publicise upcoming major school and national events such as Total Defence Day and International Friendship Day. Library visits were conducted during EL periods for all classes to encourage students to select and borrow books with the aim of encouraging them to read and increase their level of language competencies. Certificates were awarded to classes with the highest rate of book loan from the Library.
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In addition, the EL department also collaborated actively with various other departments to engage the teachers and students in teaching and learning. One notable project is the collboration with the Science department on a WebQuest project in July this year.
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Last November, the EL department, together with various other departments, set up booths in the school to share English Language games and fun activities with Primary 6 students from the West 3 cluster primary schools such as Juying Primary and Xingnan Primary School, among others.
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The TOTM reflection through journal writing by all JYians was a collaborative effort between the EL and CCE departments.
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The students have benefited from the enrichment activities by applying what they have learnt from the real world to classroom learning which is in line with the school’s approach to REAL or Reflective, Experiential and Active Learning. They are given a lot of opportunities to share on their learning experiences with classmates during class activities and at school assemblies.
Objectives: •
To equip students with mother tongue proficiency in four main aspects; listening, speaking, reading and writing
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To develop students’ spoken and written competence in mother tongue languages
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To further develop students’ appreciation toward their mother tongue languages and culture
The Mother Tongue Language (MTL) teachers are passionate in encouraging our students to love our MTL and promote them as living languages. We are constantly driven to nurture interest amongst our students and help them grow in their linguistic capability. MTL teachers consistently explore ways of engaging students in their learning through various ITC-based lessons. With the rolling out of iMTL Portal by MOE, we hope to enhance the students’ MTL proficiency through this online interactive platform.
Vision A community of achievers and upholders of values and cultures
Mission To propagate the mother tongue languages and cultures and to instil traditional values in our students
The MT Intensive Programme for the graduating classes has been implemented for the past eight years. The objectives of this programme are to guide our students to perform well and to monitor their overall performance as well as to facilitate in their preparation for the national examinations. Through the MT Fortnight Programme, our students are given vast opportunities to experience their rich cultures and vibrancy of their MTLs through various cultural and language workshops. These include the Heritage Trail, Calligraphy Workshop, Tea Session in Chinatown and Drama Workshop. Written by: Mdm Maslinni Bte Abdul Malik, HOD MT 39