In line with West Island School’s vision, mission and aims, the English for Academic Purposes curriculum enables students to:

• • take ownership of their learning.

  • embrace challenge and support for all aspects of learning including social, emotional and cognitive.  

  • master learning through a sustained process that asks us to produce, review, evaluate and refine.
    
    

West Island School represents a multilingual, multi-faceted community of learners who have over 40 first languages. This represents a diversity and dynamism within our community which we are particularly proud of, as an international school. We also have students who come from various local and international schooling systems around the world. These students often have a natural adjustment period where they need to adapt to the rigours of the IGCSE examinations and ways of working at WIS. 

It is not unusual for multilingual young people joining WIS to find that academic English is their second or additional language. Students may be perfectly comfortable with speaking and listening to English in informal social contexts with their peers. However, accessing academic language and applying, analysing, evaluating and synthesising it for assessment and examinations could prove challenging at various levels. This might depend on students’ prior schooling experiences, language backgrounds or even just the variety of schooling systems they have been through. 

To enable students to cope efficiently with the transition to IGCSEs and to support the ongoing development of their academic language across subjects, we offer 2 pathways of support and direct instruction. 

This is one of the option choices in Group C and is highly recommended for students who are new to WIS in Year 10 OR existing students who need in-school support for examinations. 

EAP Support Option offers an intensive CALP ( Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) course that focuses on students who might need some intensive language support to access their IGCSE courses across the curriculum.  

Prior schooling history, newness to WIS and MiDYIS scores are some of the factors that determine our recommendations. The purpose of these recommendations is to support students who could maximise IGCSE performance through this option. Some students also opt for this course to reduce the load of IGCSE examinations and improve performance in each of their choices. EAP teachers work closely with Heads of Subject, Heads of Faculty and the Guidance and Achievement team to track and monitor student progress on an ongoing basis. Parents are also kept closely informed of their child’s progress in the EAP Support Option. EAP Support Option lessons take place for 3 periods per timetabled cycle. 

These small group lessons are taught by a language specialist.  Students are given an intensive academic language skills programme which includes grammar and vocabulary as well as advice on efficient study habits in the context of their (I)GCSE work in other subjects. Students also get language tips and advice on drafting, editing and improving coursework pieces from across the curriculum.  They are encouraged to bring challenging homework, coursework and class work tasks to these lessons for consultation, review and clarification.  All EAP skills lessons are closely linked to the IGCSE subject work that is ongoing, across the curriculum. EAP specialist teachers maintain close communication with staff teaching other IGCSE subjects to ensure the relevance and transferability of the work done in these lessons.  Wherever necessary, work from other IGCSE subjects is pre-taught, revised or followed up during this time.  

• • A SMALL GROUP environment with supportive teachers to help you.

  • TIME to revise what you have learnt in other subjects.

  • ​HELP and ADVICE with drafting and editing coursework assignments, projects and homework.

  • TARGETED error analysis for language-intensive subject areas.

  • CLARIFICATION of the language and vocabulary used in subjects.  

  • STUDY SKILLS to make revision for tests and exams easier.

  • LEARNING STRATEGIES like mind-mapping, critical thinking frameworks,  concept mapping and brainstorming to improve your knowledge and understanding of subject work.

  • ACADEMIC LANGUAGE SKILLS to make you more confident in every subject, including critical literacy and literary analysis across the curriculum.

  • ACCESS to INTERACTIVE language activities online.

For those bilingual students that do not require the EAP Support Option, EAP Study Skills runs during Supervised Study and Learning 4 Life. EAP Lite is provided for 2 periods per timetabled cycle. This course scaffolds and supports the development of key academic language skills including critical literacy, associated with success at coursework and examinations while building long-term skills for the future.

​Please note: You do not have to indicate EAP Lite as part of the online options process. We recommend that you take EAP Lite if you already have EAP in Year 9 or are referred to take it by a Subject Teacher. 

N.B.Please note EAP Lite ( Study Skills) is not a part of the option choices so students are not giving up an IGCSE subject to take EAP.

In the EAP Lite double lessons, students will be taught and supported with the following skills in the context of their on-going subject work:

Study Skills: Including self-management, time-management, planning for deadlines, revision, note-taking, graphic organisers, summary skills, colour coding and mnemonics as well as digital literacy to aid efficient study skills. This includes PEN Principles and the latest neuroscientific research on effective study skills.

Reading to Study: Analysis and synthesis of textbook language and worksheets, reading for meaning, skimming, scanning, deep comprehension, directed reading and thinking and reading to gain vocabulary.

Writing Skills: Writing for specific audiences and purposes and writing to meet specific coursework and examination criteria in various subjects. This will include critical literacy and literary analysis.

Speaking & Listening: Developing confidence with delivering formal oral and multimedia presentations using ICT, chairing discussions, giving opinions and arguing a point of view with confidence and clarity.

Students will also cover the following key content which will be the same as that provided in Learning for Life Lessons:

• Making Smart Choices

• Relationships & Sex Education

• Wellbeing programme

• Future Career Pathways

Please note: some students will pursue their first and second languages both within and outside school at IGCSE. This opens up the possibilities of pursuing a future Bilingual IB Diploma pathway which is highly valued by universities around the world. If you are in this category, please get in touch with Ms Shubha Koshy. 

For further information, please contact Ms Shubha Koshy (shubha.koshy@wis.edu.hk), Head of EAP.