The British Council responded quickly and positively when the Government of Hong Kong requested assistance with a reform of its education system, which had implications for the teaching and learning of English.

Client, stakeholders, partners
The Curriculum Development Institute of the Hong Kong Education Bureau, Government of Hong Kong.

Focus
Teacher development and support initiatives in support of the New Senior Secondary Curriculum for English.

The project
The British Council responded quickly and positively when the Government of Hong Kong requested assistance with a reform of its education system, which had implications for the teaching and learning of English.

The reform involved a major structural change in secondary education in Hong Kong from 5+2 (5 years compulsory with an optional 2 years) to 3+3+4 (3 years of junior secondary, 3 years of senior secondary and 4 years tertiary). To support the changes the Education Bureau commissioned organisations to develop and deliver workshops and new materials for teachers.

Changes in the English curriculum include new Elective Language and non-language Arts modules. Since 2006 the British Council Hong Kong has trained 2000 teachers in new areas: Teaching English through Drama, Short Stories, Popular Culture and Poems and Songs. During the 08/09 school year 3,500 more teachers will have the chance to benefit from British Council workshops or new online courses. In our workshops teachers take part in, and then reflect on, practical demonstrations of lessons which exemplify the latest approaches and techniques from the UK, and are all based on the Education Bureau's schemes of work.

As a result, thousands of students are being motivated by these new approaches, materials and topics.

Through delivering these contracts to a very high standard the Council has gained recognition as an authority for schools and teachers on the new curriculum, and a highly valued partner of the Education Bureau.

What the stakeholders say

• "I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to you and your colleagues for all the effort and excellent work in enhancing English language education in Hong Kong. You and your team's professionalism and dedication greatly impress me." Senior Education Bureau Officer
• "A very well designed course that helped me connect my background knowledge to the Hong Kong curriculum in a very practical way. Thank you, it was great." A secondary school teacher

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