English & Literature
Belief
Every Xinmin Student a Confident Speaker, Critical Reader and Sensitive Writer.
Approaches
English - A Strong Foundation and Rich Language for ALL
This approach premises on building a strong foundation and providing rich language with deliberate emphasis on the following aspects:
- differentiated instruction
- assessment for learning, explicit instruction (I do, We do, You do)
- exploratory talk
- text analysis
- extensive reading
- listening and viewing
The instructional materials we provide complement the teaching approach by connecting themes and texts purposefully with tasks, talk and technology in curriculum enactment as illustrated in the framework below:
Literature – Facilitating students’ active engagement with the text
- This approach necessitates our teachers to take up the mantle of facilitator of learning. Learning outcomes are categorised by lenses and processes.
- The emphasis on lenses highlights the ways we teach our students to read texts using different lenses, i.e., experiencing story, appreciating style, and interpreting theme, and to shift seamlessly among these lenses with cognitive flexibility.
- The emphasis on processes highlights how responding through dialogue and writing feature strongly in the meaning-making process.
- These lenses and processes are captured in the Literary Response Framework to explicate how Literature develops in students the ability to read the world and all its texts:
Extracted from Literature Syllabus 2019
Enabling Language & Literature Learning through e-Pedagogy
Technology is one of the five components of Responsive Teaching and Assessment in the Secondary EL Classroom harnessed to develop students’ metacognition, multiliteracies and inquiry skills through dialogue. In view of related desired outcomes, the blended learning approach is applied to teaching and learning of Literature as well. Through our teachers’ facilitation, students explore a range of digital tools and apps to expose them to authentic text sources e.g. websites and social media apps.
- The Student Learning Space (SLS) is an important repository of language and literature resources used to promote self-directed learning by students outside of the classroom.
- The Padagogy Wheel V5.0 acts as a guide to the selection of digital tools and apps by our teachers to increase learner motivation and bring about learning transformation among students.
 Using Nearpod to create a self-directed lesson to develop reading skills of skimming and scanning which students can access through their mobile phones. |  Students fully immersed in collaborative process writing of a discursive essay on Google Doc while referring to notes from printed lesson package. |  Teaching close reading of text using Google Jamboard where students explore text meaning and unpack vocabulary. |
Talent Development
- While dedicated to developing every Xinmin Student into a confident speaker, critical reader and sensitive writer, we also recognise that each and every one of them possess unique abilities and potential.
- The talent development opportunities available for English Language and Literature are catered to meet diverse needs and interests:
 For students to acquire the joy of language learning through reading. |  For students to develop their writing skills and gain international exposure. |  For Literature students to participate in a ground-up event which develops their passion and love for literature. |
For students who already demonstrate the passion and flair for writing
The Creative Arts Programme (CAP) is jointly organised by the Gifted Education Branch, Ministry of Education Singapore and Yale-NUS College. The CAP comprises a Creative Arts Seminar and a Mentorship Attachment.
"Language is the blood of the soul into which
thoughts run and out of which they grow."
Oliver Wendell Holmes