Kadoorie English Day

Kadoorie is a 6 year comprehensive school comprising some 1500 pupils of all levels. 250 of these are boarders from a variety of backgrounds and locations. Kadoorie is an experimental school, a status awarded largely due to its unique multi-cultural population. For a number of years now, one of our annual events in the Ninth Grade is an English Day in which the whole year ("shichva") is involved.  The general theme is: English Speaking Countries and the task involves studying and presenting through a variety of media the salient features of the culture, customs, traditions, history etc. of those countries. The chief countries dealt with are U.S.A., England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand and South Africa.

The process begins about three months prior to the auspicious day. Each class and teacher chooses one specific country. The aims and goals of the project according to the various domains are shown below:

Aims and goals

It is important to note that the most meaningful element of the whole project is the process leading up to English Day. The total immersion involved in the project, the unprecedented exposure to a large variety of media, the sheer intensity of focusing on English not just via text books, stories, grammar exercises but by delving into topics connected to the culture, history, geography, traditions etc of a foreign country provide a kind of enrichment that goes far beyond that which any regular classroom setting can give.

Once the class knows which country it is dealing with, it is divided into groups of three or four. Each group decides upon a topic connected to the general theme that particularly interests them. The topics vary from year to year according to the teacher and the pupils' own interests. A pre-decision brainstorming session can provide the pupils with ideas they may not previously have thought of. Not all the ideas will necessarily be suitable and it is up to the teacher to sift through the proposed topics and guide the groups towards pertinent themes. Themes that have been popular over the last couple of years are: sports, food, children's literature, famous people, historical landmarks, the Royal Family (in the case of England!), places of national interest (museums, tourist attractions etc) to name but a few.

Having chosen their topic/theme the group now begins to

work on writing a project both for handing in for a grade and

for presentation to the class. Most of the class time will now

be devoted to the appropriation of suitable materials, texts,

illustrations, national symbols, information, etc. A number of lessons are spent in the computer rooms where the pupils will

be able to search the internet for relevant materials. 

The school library is also a useful venue. The librarian will

have been notified in advance and have sought out

relevant books, encyclopedias and so on, pertaining to

the topics a certain class has chosen to present. Some

classes may also watch movies or part of movies as a trigger or

enrichment.Pupils are also encouraged to use their

own initiative and search magazines and newspapers,

maps, photos, travel brochures and holiday souvenirs to enhance their work. Of course, not all pupils have had

the opportunity of traveling and so the teacher will attempt to bring to the classroom as much as possible. Lower level

groups require more assistance in searching for and

sifting through materials. In every class there is one group which deals specifically with an "identity card" for its country.

The end-product of this stage is a written paper augmented by a

poster and an activity such as a game or a puzzle with which to

activate the class during the presentation. Both the written paper and

the presentation are assessed and given grades by the teacher.

The culmination of the whole process is English Day. Each

classroom becomes a "Country" wherein the group work projects in

the form of posters and accessories are presented to create a study

center. Following a brief opening ceremony, on "English Day",

each "Country" is visited and studied by its neighboring

classes. Approximately twenty minutes is spent in each room during

which time pupils partake of the typical foods and drinks of the

country, view the posters, enjoy the colorful decorations into which

much time and energy have been put, watch a video or power

point presentations, play the games invented by the particular class

they are visiting and attempt to complete the puzzles and quizzes

This year a group of about ten pupils from a number of ninth grade

classes took part in an adaptation of part of My Fair Lady. This

 innovation proved a great success and one of the  highlights of  the

day. Pupils who took part volunteered to do so but were not exempted

from doing their own class projects. The play was presented to the

whole Ninth Grade, visitors, teacher and home-room teachers in the

school dining. Following the presentation (which took about twenty

five minutes), everyone was treated to a country and western / folk

music concert followed by square dancing that provided a fitting

sequel to an exhilarating day.