When asked to name the most challenging task as an English teacher in Hong Kong, many teachers would probably reply that it is to motivate their students to learn English.
In their search for a way to motivate their students to learn and speak English, the Panel Chair of Bethel High School encouraged the S1 English teachers to link a teaching unit in their formal curriculum with the English Outdoor Learning Day of their school. The teachers finally decided that they would use the unit “Travelling around Hong Kong” with the outing, thus they could make use of the activity to provide a real purpose and context for their students to make use of the English they were going to learn in the unit in an authentic situation.

Strategies used

Task-based learning approach
The task-based learning approach was adopted as it allows integration of skills and an opportunity to use language in meaningful and purposeful contexts. This will also help students achieve learning targets of the interpersonal, knowledge, and experience strands (CDC, 1999). Focus was put in making the tasks in this unit interactive and student-centred. Students were equipped with the knowledge and skills required for their final tasks through careful sequencing and scaffolding of the learning tasks.

Strategic integration of the formal and informal curricula
As suggested in the English Language Education Key Learning Areas Curriculum Guide (P1 – S3) (2002), “integrating the formal and informal curricula is a way to provide relevant, pleasurable and meaningful learning experiences”. Language learning should not be confined to the classroom. Students should be exposed to the authentic use of the language so that they can associate what they learn in the lessons with real life, and hence, become more motivated in learning English.

Cooperative learning
When designing this unit, special attention was placed on incorporating cooperative learning activities into the lessons so as to reduce the stress and anxiety learning a second language may cause (Ur, 1996 & Kagan 1993). It was also believed that through cooperative activities, students would be able to generate more ideas and be exposed to different points of view contributed by different group members (McDonell, 1992).

Catering for learner diversity
In order to provide more support and scaffolding for the less capable students, sets of differentiated materials were prepared for the different classes.