To give students the skills and confidence to use English outside the classroom

To give students the skills and confidence to use English outside the classroom

• Teacher’s Book • xi

Introduction

IInttrroducttiion

xii • Teacher’s Book •

1. The Course

The Coursebooks for Grades 11 and 12 of the

EngageWith English course were originally

designed to reflect the more mature status of

students of this age, and to maintain motivation

and interest. In 2011, the original materials in

Grade 11 were further revised and updated in

response to feedback and suggestions offered by

teachers and students in schools throughout

Oman.

The new course materials include a wide range of

topics, thus increasing the chances of students

finding subjects of interest to engage with.

Furthermore, many of the themes and topics are

related to international issues or other countries.

It is recognized that in today’s fast-changing world,

it is important to raise young Omanis’ awareness

and understanding of other cultures, while still

maintaining their own values.

1.1 Course Structure

At the request of teachers, the number of themes

in the Grade 11 materials has been reduced from

five to four.This allows the course to be

completed at a more comfortable pace, and

particularly for teachers to be able to devote

more time to writing activities in class. Each theme

consists of five two-page units, each of which

focuses on a specific language and skills area.This

format gives coherence to the overall theme, but

also allows for a greater variety of topics and

vocabulary to be introduced.

1.2 Course Aims

The general aims of the course are to raise

students’ language level to a good general standard

so that they are prepared to enter the career area

they have chosen and develop their specific

language skills further.

The curriculum design is meant to serve the

needs of all Omani students during their last years

of secondary education, not just those going on to

further education.

The overall aims of the English

Language Curriculum for Grades 11 are

as follows:

1.To provide students with a functional command

of English as preparation for work or further

studies

2.To develop and consolidate functional skills in

English.

3.To give students the skills and confidence to use

English outside the classroom.

4.To develop students’ awareness of learning

strategies they can apply to further their

learning of English both inside and outside

school.

5.To enable students to acquire active mastery of

the core grammar of English.

6.To establish a basis for both fluency and

accuracy within specified domains.

7.To use English as a medium for learning about

other cultures and contrasting it with their own.

In addition to the linguistic aims, there

are also a range of non-linguistic

objectives embedded in the course.

Learning Strategies

Lifelong, independent learning strategies are an

important objective of the curriculum.The course

materials provide opportunities for students to

become familiar with self-help strategies, the

appropriate use of a range of resources for

independent learning and reflection and

monitoring strategies.

Study Skills

Study skills are a key feature of the curriculum to

help students to become more self-directed. Basic

study skills such as dictionary skills, library and

research skills, paraphrasing, referencing and

accurate citation of sources are built into the class

materials in Grades 11 and 12.

Culture

English is presented as an international language

that provides a means of communicating with

other users of English both inside and outside

Oman.

Introduction

• Teacher’s Book • xiii

International Perspectives

The themes and topics of the course provide an

international outlook and cover a range of issues

which have a global impact. Students will be

encouraged to reflect on these issues and relate

the subject matter and its implications to their

own, specifically Omani experience.

Vocational

A number of themes link either directly or

indirectly to the various vocational fields that

many of the students will be entering. Examples of

these are the travel and tourism industry, and the

retail industry. Many of the language functions that

are reviewed or newly introduced are transferable

across several vocational fields.

Cross-Curricular Links

Many of the themes are linked to other subject

areas of the curriculum, such as Science and

Technology and the Social Sciences. Language and

concepts introduced in one subject are recycled,

reviewed and extended in other subject areas. For

example, science concepts taught in science

classes are revisited in English, adding English

terminology to the Arabic vocabulary already

introduced.A summary of the cross-curricular

links is given on pages vi – ix of this Teacher’s

Book.

Learner Training

During the course, teachers should encourage

students to use strategies which will help them

become more independent and self-directed.

Students will learn general planning and

organisational skills, and self-monitoring skills. For

example, they will continue to be encouraged to

plan, draft, check and re-draft pieces of writing

until they are satisfied with a final draft.

Methodology

The curriculum is based on a communicative and

skills-based methodology which encourages active

student participation and collaboration, rather

than a teacher-fronted and dominated

classroom methodology.

The teaching methodology contains the

following characteristics:

1.There is a consistent focus on learning English in

order to develop practical and functional skills,

rather than as an end in itself.

2.Students are involved in practical activities which

relate to real-world uses of English.

3. Realistic and communicative uses of language

are given priority.

4.Maximum opportunities for students-student

interaction are provided.

5.Maximum use is made of pair and group

activities where students undertake tasks

collaboratively.

6.There is a balance between accuracy-based and

fluency-based activities.

7.The course materials contain less

teacher-centred teaching and more

learner-directed activities.Teachers are expected

to act as facilitators of learning rather than as

presenters of information.

1.3 Overview of course materials

1.3.1 The Coursebook

The Coursebook is divided into four themes,

which are each divided into five units. Each unit

focuses on one particular language skill – Reading

(Unit 1), Grammar (Unit 2),Vocabulary (Unit 3),

Listening and Speaking (Unit 4), andWriting (Unit

5). However, this main skill is not practised in

isolation, as the activities are designed to relate it

to other skills.

At the end of each theme, there are two two-page

spreads entitled Across Cultures and Reading for

Pleasure. These are designed as ‘stand-alone’ units

which can either be used in class, or if the teacher

prefers, allocated for self-study at home.

There is a Review and Reference page at the end of

each theme which summarises the skills which

have been covered, and lists a glossary of 12 – 14

key words introduced in the theme.This glossary

replaces the vocabulary lists in the previous

versions of Grade 11. Communication activity and

role play materials are also provided at the back of

the Coursebook.

Introduction

xiv • Teacher’s Book •

Introduction

It is very important for teachers to tell students

not to write in the Coursebook.All written work

is to be done in theWorkbook, or in students’

exercise books. From time to time, for example

after the Time to Talk activities, students are given

the task of writing paragraphs based on the ideas

generated by their group discussions.The first

drafts of these paragraphs should be done in class,

so that the teacher can monitor students and

offer guidance. Students should edit their work,

and produce a second or final draft at home.They

should attach their final drafts to previous drafts,

and put everything into their portfolios.This

ensures that a record is kept of the stages which

led to the final version produced by students.

1.3.2 The Workbook

The format of theWorkbook mirrors that of the

Coursebook.TheWorkbook provides practice and

consolidation activities for each of the five

skills-based units within the theme.At the end of

each theme, there is a page of Across Cultures

activities which can be done in class or as

self-study activities.An answer key is provided

both in theWorkbook and the Teacher’s Book.

There is also one page of Reading for Pleasure,

which is related to the Reading for Pleasure

material in the Coursebook.

There are two Review and Reference pages at the

end of each theme which provide revision

activities for the grammar introduced in that

theme, as well as a vocabulary activity based on

the words and phrases in the Glossary at the end

of each theme in the Coursebook.

The end material of theWorkbook consists of:

• Communication Activities

• Grammar Practice Activities

• aWriting Guide Section for each theme

• a Grammar Reference Section for each theme

• aWord List for each theme

• a Functional Language Review for each theme

• Answers to the Across Cultures and Review and

Reference activities.

The Grammar Practice activities are a new feature

of the Grade 11 course, and provide students with

further opportunities to practise the grammar

presented in Unit 2 of each theme.

1.3.3 The Teacher’s Book

The Teacher’s Book provides an introduction to

the curriculum for Grades 11 and 12, an outline of

the course components and detailed suggestions

about how to use the course materials. Listening

scripts are provided throughout the teaching

notes.

1.3.4 Course CD

All recordings used during the course are included

on a CD supplied with the other course

components.

2. Course Materials

2.1 The Coursebook

The Coursebook opens with a contents map,

which outlines the syllabus.This is followed by a

two-page spread with the learning objectives for

each theme, for students’ easy reference.

2.1.1 Overview page

The overview page for each theme is intended to

introduce the topic, and activate students’ prior

knowledge about the subject. Students are usually

asked to look at a number of photographs or

pictures and discuss their content and/or some

questions associated with the general theme.

There is also a short text that introduces the

sub-themes and which contains relevant

vocabulary.A number of words and phrases are

presented in bold lettering, all of which will occur

in the theme.These words can be used for spelling

practice, in addition to the 12 – 14 words

presented in the Glossary in the Review and

Reference section at the end of each theme in the

Coursebook.

2.1.2 Reading

The focus of Unit 1 in each theme is reading.

Students read a variety of reading texts using a

range of strategies and reading skills.The materials

in this unit focus on different reading micro-skills,

such as ‘recognising topic sentences’ or ‘inferring

information’.

• Teacher’s Book • xv

Realistic purposes for reading are developed with

naturalistic texts being used in a variety of text

types. Both informational reading and reading for

pleasure are developed with a focus on both

intensive and extensive reading.

The final activity in each unit is a discussion

activity, Time to Talk, which picks up on a topic

associated with the content of a reading text.This

gives students the opportunity to express their

ideas and opinions in small discussion groups, and

then present the results of their discussion to the

rest of the class.

As mentioned in 1.3.1, the ideas generated by each

Time to Talk activities are used as the basis for

extra writing practice. Students are asked to write

a paragraph, details of which are given in each

theme. Suggestions and guidelines for paragraph

structure are given in the Teacher’s Book.

2.1.3 Grammar

Unit 2 in each theme has a focus on grammar.This

unit provides the opportunity to review and

consolidate specific areas of grammar which have

been encountered earlier in the English for Me

course.The grammar items are presented in clear

contexts with a balance of inductive and deductive

tasks.The practical function of grammar is

demonstrated through an equal emphasis on

meaning and form.

The grammar tasks are discussed and analysed

orally, and this is followed up by a pair/group

speaking activity Activate your Grammar.This

activity focuses on the accurate oral production of

the grammar items being revised, through creating

a dialogue.

2.1.4 Vocabulary

The focus of Unit 3 in each theme is vocabulary

development. In addition to the acquisition of

vocabulary through a wide variety of reading and

listening texts, there is a focus on the teaching of

high-frequency vocabulary used in different contexts.

Opportunities are created to help students

make their receptive vocabulary productive

through the process of recycling.

Students are exposed to word-building activities

which involve them in working out how words are

put together and how to work out the meaning of

unknown vocabulary using clues such as context,

cohesive devices and word endings.There is a

wide variety of activities to maintain students’

interest, including crosswords.