Introduction: Principles of EL Teaching and Learning

Summary

This video series explains how English language department heads and teachers can apply the six principles of English language teaching and learning (CLIPS) in curriculum planning, lesson development, and instructional strategies. Mrs. Firdaus Alena Abdullah, Head of the English Department, shares how her team considers student needs and abilities while ensuring a progressive, integrated, and purposeful curriculum. The six principles—contextualization, learning-focused interaction, integration, process orientation, and spiral progression—guide their approach to foster effective language learning, preparing students to meet the 2010 syllabus outcomes.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video series focuses on how English language heads and teachers can apply six principles of English language teaching and learning to curriculum planning, lesson development, and instructional decisions.
• 👩‍🏫 Mrs. Firdaus Alena Abdullah, head of the English language department, emphasizes leading teachers to make purposeful decisions for teaching English based on students' needs, abilities, and interests.
• 🔄 The school encourages collaboration, allowing teachers to design a customized curriculum that integrates grammar and vocabulary into meaningful learning experiences.
• 🎯 Teachers work together to ensure spiral progression, helping students develop skills systematically from entry to graduation.
• 📖 The six principles of English language teaching and learning are known by the acronym CLIPS: Contextualization, Learning-Focused Interaction, Integration, Process Orientation, and Spiral Progression.
• 🌍 Contextualization involves designing learning experiences around real-life, meaningful contexts to enhance language use and skills development.
• 🗣️ Learning-focused interaction emphasizes collaboration and group work, helping students achieve English language learning outcomes, including grammar, vocabulary, and language skills.
• 🔗 Integration ensures that grammar, vocabulary, and language skills are taught in interconnected ways, avoiding isolated instruction to create purposeful learning experiences.
• 🛠️ Process orientation recognizes that language learning is an ongoing process, requiring scaffolding such as modeling, questioning, and gradually reducing support to foster independence.
• 📈 Spiral progression involves systematically introducing new skills and revisiting topics at increasing levels of complexity to build mastery over time.

Q & A

What is the focus of the video series mentioned in the script?

The video series focuses on how English language heads of departments and teachers can apply the six principles of English language teaching and learning, as well as the six teaching processes, to plan and develop English-language curriculum and instructional programs.

Who is the speaker featured in this video, and what is her role?

The speaker is Mrs. Firdaus Alena Abdullah, head of the English Language and Literature Departments at a secondary school. Her role is to guide her teachers in making decisions about what and how to teach English.

How do Mrs. Firdaus and her team make decisions about curriculum planning?

Mrs. Firdaus and her team base their decisions on the needs, abilities, and interests of their students at each year level, ensuring that the English-language curriculum is tailored to the best interests of the students.

What opportunities are provided to teachers in Mrs. Firdaus's school to support curriculum development?

The school provides opportunities for teachers to meet in teams to design the English-language curriculum, ensuring that students learn grammar and vocabulary in purposeful ways that support their development of essential language skills.

What is the purpose of ensuring spiral progression in the curriculum?

The purpose of spiral progression is to introduce new skills and reinforce previous knowledge at a higher degree of sophistication each year, allowing students to master the language over time without repeating the same content.

What are the six principles of English language teaching and learning referred to in the video?

The six principles are known by the acronym CLIPS: Contextualization, Learning-focused interaction, Integration of skills, Process orientation, and Spiral progression.

How does contextualization play a role in language learning according to Mrs. Firdaus?

Contextualization involves designing learning experiences around authentic and meaningful contexts, ensuring that students learn and use language skills, grammar, and vocabulary in practical, real-world situations.

How is grammar and vocabulary integrated into the English curriculum?

Grammar and vocabulary are not taught in isolation; instead, they are integrated with other language skills such as listening, reading, writing, and viewing. This interconnected approach makes learning more purposeful for students.

What does process orientation refer to in the context of language learning?

Process orientation recognizes that learning happens over time. Teachers scaffold students' language development through modeling, questioning, and prompting before gradually withdrawing support to help students take responsibility for their learning.

What additional support is provided to ensure effective English language teaching in the school?

Besides curriculum planning based on sound principles, teachers are also mindful of various teaching processes that take place in the classroom. These processes help scaffold students' learning and ensure they become effective users of English.