English
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
A creative and critical thinker, who is a voice for change
Area Of Focus
KCPSS English Department uses the MOE EL Syllabus 2020 as its main teaching and learning instruction. This is to align the teaching and learning of English Language to national objectives and desired outcomes for EL proficiency in Singapore.
Key features of the EL Syllabus 2020 (insert taken from MOE English Syllabus document)
Programmes
The Department of English and Literature offers a variety of language-enriched literary programmes to pique students’ passion for English and Literature respectively. The Department recognises the diverse learning abilities of students, and therefore places strong emphasis in programmes which are **differentiated** to the needs of these groups.
Sec 1 Podcasting
The Secondary One students embark on recording a podcast as an Alternative Assessment over a few weeks. Students become confident speakers, taking ownership of their learning. Podcasting serves as a platform for each student to vocalise their thoughts.
Before students start recording, scaffolds are usually put in place to enable learning and for them to perform to the best of their abilities. Students are taught reading aloud oral communication skills. They also learn about the structure of writing a speech followed by carrying out process writing of the speech. Students will have hands-on experience with the recorder application in the iPad to record their podcast. Finally, as the finishing touch, students will edit their podcast and add the finishing touches i.e. background music to their podcast.
Sec 2 Film & Broadcasting
The Secondary 2EN cohort put their media literacy skills to the test in an innovative interdisciplinary project marrying expository writing for English and film literacy for Literature. Students are given the task of composing pictures using framing and mise-en-scene techniques learnt in their film theory module during their Literature lessons, to complement and showcase the argument of their expository paragraphs, in this level-wide ALP initiative.
Sec 3 Journalistic (Writing Espoir Newsletter)
Espoir is a biannual school publication that offers news of school events, innovative practices, features personalities that define the Kuo Chuan community and student perspectives on issues that have an impact on the individual and the larger school community. It is the product of an innovative EL curriculum which develops relevant skills to face the global landscape. Espoir is a Secondary 3 EL Level project and also serves as a platform to hone writing skills of high progress learners.
Our Stretch Programme; The Spin Doctors
The Spin Doctors enrichment programme is part of the school’s distinctive Applied Learning Programme which focuses on equipping students to be more media literate leveraging on media literacy tools to hone their speaking and writing skills, in order to meet the demands of a changing landscape where 21st century skills prevail. The students are given platforms to hone and showcase their talents through advanced elective modules, enrichment workshops, speaking and writing competitions and hosting for school events. Some skills that students will develop throughout the programme are:
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Public speaking
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Events hosting
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Basic Videography and Editing
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Newscasting etiquette
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Podcasting
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Poetry writing
Our Support Programme ; English Language First
The English Language First is a support programme for selected Lower Secondary students to provide the necessary learning support for students to bridge their learning gaps in the English Language. To ensure early intervention, diagnostic tests are administered at the start of Secondary One to ascertain the language proficiency of every student. Students who require more support would then be identified for the English Language First programme, to help them establish the fundamental understanding of the language at an early stage. Some of the areas of focus of the English Language First programmes are:
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Grammar application
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Vocabulary acquisition
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Synthesis and transformation
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Reading skills
Applied Elective Module (AEM)
As part of the school’s ALP in Media Literacy, selected Sec 3 students will have the opportunity to participate in the highly-sought after Advanced Elective Modules (AEMs) at Ngee Ann Polytechnic as well as visits to radio stations for students to have a first-hand experience of understanding how information is gathered and presented. Every year since 2015, Sec 3 students will have a chance to be radio deejays during a 4 day AEM known as The Radio Experience where the module is taught by current Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturers or current deejays/celebrities.
Since 2015, different groups of students have had the opportunity to be part of an authentic learning experience in learning about the role that media plays in society. Our students even had a chance to hone their Speaking and Representing skills as a result.
Upper Sec Pure Literature Texts
All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
(Set Text for Upper Sec, 2024/2025)
Set in World War II, this novel takes readers on an extraordinary journey through time and space in the minds of our protagonists - Marie-Laure, a blind girl with a steely determination to hope, and Werner, an orphan with a unique talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth.
Doerr interweaves the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner in great intricacy, nuance and skill, and illuminates how people try to choose good, in spite of darkness.
Join us to discover our humanity as we explore a world where the brutality of war and the power of hope meet.
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
(Set Text Drama for Upper Sec, 2024/2025)
Does Romeo and Juliet need an introduction? With its strong emotional impact, the play has remained popular since it was first staged in the mid 1590s. What could be more moving than the story of two adolescents finding in their sudden love for each other a reason to defy their families’ mutual hatred by marrying secretly? The tragic outcome of their blameless love (their “misadventured piteous overthrows”) seems equally easy to understand: it results first from Tybalt’s hotheaded refusal to obey the Prince’s command and second from accidents of timing beyond any human ability to foresee or control. Simple in its storyline, clear in its affirmation of the power of love over hate, Romeo and Juliet seems to provide both a timeless theme and universal appeal with its obvious relevance to the emotional and social concerns of young people.
Join us and explore this timeless classic which examines the themes of youth, love, and fate.
“It’s Lit” Literature Card Game
Eliciting Literary Discourse and Active Learning Through Game-based Learning
The Literature team shared with fellow Literature educators at the Teacher-led workshop hosted by the Academy of Singapore Teachers in 2021 on the department’s first ever game-based learning strategies enacted in the English Literature classroom to elicit literary discourse and encourage active learning. An innovative approach to teaching literary discourse via an innovative card game was mooted by the Literature team which aims to encourage self-directed learning as well as cooperative learning. This enabled the team to explore the use of game-play to engage learners in an exploratory and collaborative study of poetry to enhance students’ engagement, appreciation and understanding in the Literature classroom.