Samoa School Syllabus - English (Year 8)

This syllabus outlines the curriculum for English as a second language for Year 8 students in Samoa. It emphasizes bilingual literacy development, building upon students' Samoan language skills. The curriculum aims to develop students' English language proficiency for academic and social purposes, including communication, critical thinking, and cultural understanding.

Curriculum Structure

The curriculum is structured around three interconnected strands:

1. Listening and Speaking: Focuses on developing comprehension and spoken communication skills in various contexts. 2. Reading and Viewing: Emphasizes understanding written and visual texts, including decoding, comprehension strategies, and critical analysis. 3. Writing and Presenting: Develops skills in written communication, including planning, drafting, revising, and presenting information effectively.

These strands are further divided into substrands:

• Processes and Strategies: Covers the steps involved in language production and comprehension, such as planning, drafting, and using comprehension strategies.
• Language: Focuses on grammar, punctuation, phonology (sounds), and vocabulary development.
• Texts: Explores different text types, their purposes, audiences, and features.
• Interpersonal Communication: Develops skills in interacting effectively with others in various social and learning contexts.

Year 8 Learning Outcomes

The Year 8 curriculum builds upon the skills developed in previous years, focusing on more complex texts and communication scenarios. Students are expected to:

• Listening and Speaking: Use a range of strategies to understand complex texts and participate effectively in classroom discussions. Provide elaborate feedback to others and monitor their own learning progress.
• Reading and Viewing: Use processing and comprehension strategies to understand and critically analyze a variety of texts. Integrate multiple sources of information and identify different points of view.
• Writing and Presenting: Plan, draft, revise, and publish coherent and accurate texts for different purposes and audiences. Use a variety of grammatical constructions and demonstrate control of rhetorical patterns.

Key Principles

The curriculum is guided by several key principles:

• Bilingualism: Leverages students' Samoan language skills to support English language development.
• Active Learning: Encourages student engagement and participation in meaningful communication activities.
• Critical Thinking: Promotes analysis, evaluation, and personal responses to texts.
• Cultural Understanding: Exposes students to diverse perspectives and cultures through English language materials.
• Essential Skills: Integrates the development of essential skills such as communication, problem-solving, and using technology.
• Values: Promotes positive values such as fairness, respect, and responsibility through learning tasks.

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of the curriculum and is used to monitor student progress, inform teaching practices, and provide feedback to learners and parents. It includes assessment for learning (diagnostic), assessment as learning (ongoing), and assessment of learning (summative).

Time Allocation

Year 8 classes have 5 hours of English instruction per week, integrating all language skills and curriculum strands.