At HDBJ, we pay attention to the all-round personalized development of children. In terms of English education, the primary learning purpose is to improve students’ English literacy proficiency, cultivate solid English thinking patterns, and build language application skills. For children from different grades with different language proficiency levels, how does HD achieve this teaching goal?

HD Primary’s English course follows a themed interdisciplinary approach, whereby five overarching themes provide broad guidance for the learning across the year. Within each of these themes, English objectives, which are based on the UK National Curriculum, are taught through genre studies. This ‘spiral-up’ process means that as key concepts are repeated throughout the curriculum, the depth and breadth of learning, and its application, will increase in complexity as the students grow within the school.

In Grades 3, 4 and 5, students are assessed at three points in the year, and are placed in an English learning group which best matches the learning targets they need to be working on.

We had a special conversation with the English coordinators: Ms Le- Zelle, G3 and 4 coordinator and Mr Sockwell, G5 coordinator. They took the “Let's Celebrate” learning theme as an example to share with us the meaning and results of streaming.

Effective lesson preparation，Efficient classroom，Flexiblility to meet learning needs of different streams.

The students in Grades 3, 4 and 5 are placed in smaller English groups, within their grade. In Grade 5, there are six English groups and in Grade 3 and 4, there are five English groups respectively. Since the learning progress in the different groups varies, the English teachers are required to customize personalized teaching methods and teaching objectives according to the learning targets of the different groups.

Mr Sockwell explained: Under the recently concluded “Let’s Celebrate” theme, the teachers led the G5 children to explore and learn about festivals and celebrations in different countries, through the genre of narratives. The outcome of the unit would be an independently written story, using knowledge and applying English skills. The theme is very interesting. It is about the ancient Chinese monster "Nian" returning to the human village again. Is it for revenge? Or for peaceful coexistence with mankind? How do people respond?

The teachers of G5 set specific goals for the different groups. For example, the children in one group can already use noun modifiers proficiently, but they need to work more on the use of conjunctions, and the students in the other group are learning noun clauses, so we must highlight and strengthen this knowledge point in their work. In short, streamed teaching requires teachers to set learning goals for different students in advance, so that they can flexibly adjust according to the students' learning progress in the classroom, and truly teach students according to their aptitude.

Similarly, under the theme of “Let’s Celebrate’, the children of G3 learned how different people around the world celebrate birthdays; the end goal being a birthday-themed non-chronological report. Ms Le-Zelle further explained to us how streamed teaching is implemented in the five different English groups.

English teachers prepare a range of reading materials, of varying levels of difficulty which provides the appropriate scaffolds for all students to engage with, in order for them to succeed. In the lesson, the teacher will adapt according to the needs of the children and the suitability of the task. For students with a relatively good foundation in English, the teacher will, at times, step back to cultivate the children's ability to think and explore independently; for children who are still laying a solid foundation, the teacher will be more deeply involved in every step of learning, so as to find small mistakes in time and make timely adjustments.

At HDBJ, every English class is unique, which is why we are proud to say that our children can achieve 100% immersion in English learning.

Regular assessments dynamically match the most suitable English teaching for children.

Students’ language skills are assessed at three points during the year. In September, students complete the baseline assessment to be placed in their first streams. They are assessed again in November/ December and for a final time in April/May.

Stream assessments are rigorous and include evaluation in Speaking and Listening, independent reading, independent writing, and grammar application.

Such a high-density assessment system ensures that each child's learning progress will be seen, so that they can always learn most efficiently in the most suitable group.

The streamed English teaching at HDBJ Primary allows every child to accept new challenges without being overwhelmed by the emotion of fear of difficulties. Under the guidance of our teachers, they can be the little masters of their own learning.