ENGLISH

GRADES 9-12

SWOT ANALYSIS

 

Strengths:

●       Progression grid outlines a distribution/bifurcation of paper 1 and paper 2 along with percentages allocated to language and literature. This may be considered as value addition.

●       Currently, assessment is conducted on content rather than skills. Therefore assessment guidelines will be given with clarity and level descriptors to facilitate authors and practitioners.  

●       Comparative analysis has been conducted with IB and Cambridge. Good practices have been incorporated with contextualization with the 2006 Curriculum as the base document. Other curricula were researched and studied, for example: Extended Essay in IB.  

●       Literature is recommended which replace books such as ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’. Contemporary and classic poetry is suggested in Curriculum Guidelines.

●       Higher-order thinking in Bloom’s taxonomy is approached

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Weaknesses:

●       Standards are internationally benchmarked. But according to our context and inherent problems in English as a non-native language, the National Curriculum 2006 has been considered as copious, verbose, and complex by some sections.  Similarly, National Curriculum for ECE to Grade 8 also has a high difficulty level.

●       Key factors which can weaken the implementation of English curriculum may include challenges faced in the particular context, community, local language, teacher’s expertise, and structural factors.

 

Opportunities:

●        Various genres are touched; students’ exposure to various forms of literature is attempted.

●        There are opportunities for developing better language skills.

●       Programs for Differentiated Learning and Remedial Learning will be developed for better implementation 

●       Scaffolding of students is necessary so children can be brought to these standards and benchmarks.

●       Language Support Program for Teachers will be developed. This would entail rigorous professional development for teachers which includes language learning as well.

●       Technology-enabled supplementary language program- to plug the difference between current and desired competencies of students.

 

Threats:

●       Because of the diversity and varied context within Pakistan, a one-size-fits-all approach may not be possible. Authors need to contextualize the English Standards and SLOs while developing textbooks and supplementary materials.

●       There is lack of clarity in the identification between Foreign Language and Second Language in the field.

●       In the implementation phase, these documents may be difficult for authors/public school teachers/practitioners to interpret in their true spirit.  Additional learning materials, teacher guides, etc. may be required.

●       Teachers’ expertise in language and teacher training on understanding the SLOs is crucial

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