English and Literature

English Language and Literature Department

The English Language and Literature Department is committed to nurturing Beattyians to become confident speakers, proficient writers, effective listeners, keen readers and critical thinkers.

Programme

For the English Language & Literature Department, promoting effective communication in the spoken and written form is paramount. Various programmes have been put in place to offer our students an array of platforms to express themselves clearly, creatively and confidently.

Reading Programme

At Beatty Secondary School, we believe in inculcating a passion for reading in every Beattyian, be it for leisure or to broaden students’ horizons through exposure to a wide range of books, news articles and magazines. The department cultivates the love of reading through initiatives such as bulk loans for classes, curated news articles and supplementary books during the weekly morning reading period, book review poster contests and book talk competitions. This year, we will be conducting a Reading Fiesta for Secondary One students to nurture their interest in reading and expose them to various genres of books through exciting activities and intra-class competitions over a three week period in Semester 1.

We are also collaborating with the National Library Board (NLB) to inculcate the love of reading and learning in our students through learning journeys to the Tampines National Library. These learning journeys are followed with reading activities to allow students to promote and share about the books they have read, such as the 3NT Book Trailer project. Through these initiatives, we aim to build a school-wide reading culture and promote a lifelong reading habit in our students.

Enrichment Programmes

This year, the department is conducting a public speaking programme for Secondary One students to develop students’ confidence in speaking to an audience and hone their presentation skills. In the process, students will learn about word and sentence stress, oral delivery techniques such as posture and gestures as well as how to craft an engaging speech for an audience. They will deliver a speech and be formally assessed individually at the end of the twelve-session programme.

As for the Secondary Two students, the department is conducting a Media and Communication Programme to develop students’ critical thinking and persuasive speaking skills. This is a collaboration between the English and Humanities Departments, where students will apply the analytical skills taught in History to form their own opinions on the topics assigned to them in the programme. Through role-playing as experts on a given topic and presenting their views in the form of a talk show, students will explore alternative viewpoints and substantiate their opinions on the issue. This programme is aimed at developing twenty-first century skills such as critical thinking, self-directed learning and effective communication skills.

Secondary Three express stream students further hone their persuasive speaking skills through a Debate Workshop organised to develop their analytical skills and ability to form opinions and substantiate them with reliable evidence and examples. Secondary Three express and normal (academic) stream students are given the opportunity to pit their argumentative skills against their peers through intra-class debate competitions, culminating in the Debate Fest scheduled in Semester 2.

In Secondary Four, through the ‘Your Say’ Programme, students are given the platform to practise self-directed learning by researching on a given topic and delivering an oral presentation with visual aids to express their views on a topic. Through this programme, students hone their public speaking skills while developing critical thinking in substantiating their views and evaluating their peers’ presentations.

Writer’s Ink

We believe in giving students the opportunity to express their creativity and youthful wonderment in the form of the written word. The Writer’s Ink is one such department initiative. Writer’s Ink, which was established in 2013, is the department’s creative writing programme for budding and promising writers and is open to selected Secondary 2 and 3 students every year. Through this programme, participants learn the art of fiction writing from a professional writer and write his or her own short story, with constructive feedback from the trainer throughout the writing process. Their works are published in an anthology titled Kaleidoscope. We believe that encouraging creative writing and building a school culture that supports the literary works of students will contribute towards creating a literate society that appreciates, if not add to the body of, Singapore Literature.