The National Curriculum Statement states that Education is a lifelong learning process. In Solomon Islands, an outcome based education approach was adapted to develop the English language syllabus and learning and teaching materials. The basis of this approach is that learners should acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will be useful to them later in life. The English syllabus prescribes relevant skills and knowledge in the four main strands: listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as literature and research and study skills for all learners. Each of these strands are further sub-divided into sub strands to enable specific coverage of different language areas and skills.
English is an important Lingua Franca used widely for communication in today’s modern world. Learning English is fundamental to understanding the world in which we live and work. It is through language that people communicate and share ideas, and come to understand each other. English is one of the national curriculum learning areas and builds on the teaching and learning of important language skills from Year 1 to 6 in the Primary level. At Secondary level, learners are given the opportunity to enhance their language skills and further develop confidence to enable them to use English competently at school and in the real life situations.
English fits particularly well into the outcomes- based approach to learning because it is a skill-based subject, not a content- based subject. The outcomes based approach emphasizes a learner- centered approach in which learners are required to participate actively among themselves and with their teacher and demonstrate competence in all skills. In English the main objective is to learn the skills of using English, which can only be learned by doing or practising the skills themselves. Through active participation learners can develop their language, critical thinking skills as well as study skills.
In order to facilitate the acquisition of language skills, the English curriculum has adopted a thematic approach which provides learners with relevant contexts for language learning. This is made possible through the integration of Key Learning Outcomes and other subjects taught in Secondary schools, which are further simplified into themes as titles for each unit of the English textbook. Teachers may use the Key Learning Outcomes as basis for selection of resources or materials for teaching English.
Assessment is an important component of teaching and learning, and is integrated into the teaching and learning activities of English. The emphasis is on continuous assessment and as such will provide feedback to learners and the teacher on learner’s progress towards achievements of the learning outcomes. It helps learners improve their standards of achievements by knowing what they need to do well and where they need to improve. In English, teachers will gather evidence from learner’s work during the course of the term and use those continuous assessments to improve their teaching and learner’s learning. Suggested activities for assessment are provided on the third column of each year level of the the syllabus. Teachers may also refer to the Year 7, 8 and 9 textbooks to see actual samples of activities which can be used as assessment tasks.