Dear BRS CP Parents
As we approach the last months of School, we want to celebrate your children’s success and also respond to the inquiries about the school plan for English teaching 2019-2020.
In response to your concerns and inquiries, the school administration wants you to rest assured that any developments, changes and/or modifications the school’s educational team makes are always in the best interest of our students. If any modifications are made, they are for the better and are deeply rooted in research. They also aim at filling gaps in our students’ learning.
The school administration is glad to calm down any anxieties caused due to lack of enough information till we hold the orientation the school had meant to hold after the end of exams and school performances.
This orientation session for all Year-five-parents was and is still meant to be held on 15th of June 2019. Detailed information will be gladly presented on the 15th of June and all questions will be answered.
Thus, in this letter, only brief information about the modification which is an addition to the English curriculum that is proven to enhance the English language studies at BRS follows.
BRS English Curriculum Augmentation and Modification
Rationale:
English First Language (EFL) is different from English Second language (ESL). ESL requires you to have a speaking and listening exam along with the writing one. However, EFL only has a writing exam. English as a first language is best suited for learners who are exposed to English language outside classroom walls or where they dwell in an English speaking medium. Listening is not a core skill in the teaching of EFL curriculum. Cambridge ESL aims at developing listening, speaking, reading and writing skills learners will need to be successful in using English language.
Because BRS students do not dwell in a native speaking environment of English and because many are not exposed to English language outside the school context, it is important for the school to fill in this gap in a structured and systematic way. The integration of listening and speaking components from the Cambridge ESL curriculum into the FSL curriculum was found necessary. This modification is meant to assure effective English communication that fosters student success and prepares them for University.
Based on the above rationale, the following modifications have been made:
Curriculum modifications in Years 1-5:
No changes in EFL curriculum apart from adding a listening component from the ESL curriculum.
Curriculum modifications in Year 6
Students will study EFL from the beginning of the academic year until end of May. They will sit a school exam similar to the check point one administered and marked by the school. For this curriculum, students will be using the school booklets.
In Parallel, the students will be studying ESL listening and speaking through the ESL course book and will be examined in ESL for their checkpoint in April.
As mentioned earlier, this will be presented and explained in detail in the orientation session scheduled on the 15th of June, 2019 once the exams and end of year performances are over.
Thank you very much! The School Administration is looking forward to meeting you all on the 15th of June to share and celebrate with you the new modifications that foster your children’s learning and promote their success.
Iman Aziz Mary Emile
School Director Head of English & CP Principal