The Construction and Development of the English Curriculum for Excellence (English Programs from Kindergarten to Senior High School to Foster Students’ English Excellence)

Abstract

The research objectives were to: construct and develop the English curriculum for excellence, including an English language curriculum, English language lesson plans, teacher’s manuals, student books, and achievement tests; This research employed the research and development design and mixed methods including quantitative and qualitative data. The respondents on the use of the curriculum were teachers and students from kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) studying in the schools under the local administrative organizations affiliated with Om Noi Municipality, Samut Sakhon Province. The research instruments included the English curriculum, English lesson plans and student books. The results were as follows:

English curriculum for excellence showed that the English curriculum for excellence consisted of an English curriculum, lesson plans and English instruction manuals, and English language achievement tests for 13 levels of students studying for K-12. The focus was to promote kindergarten students’ positive attitude towards learning English under the theme “English is Fun” using a play-based learning approach. For the elementary level, the emphasis was on the integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in terms of “Integrated English”. The curriculum for junior high school students with a focus on creativity was known as “Creative English”. The senior high school curriculum emphasizes excellence under the theme “English for Excellence2) “. It was found that the teachers organized activities letting students learn by doing and participate in teaching and learning. There are periodic performance assessments focusing on blended teaching and learning. Students were willing to learn, have the ability to communicate in English, be assertive and happy in learning. The English learning achievement of kindergarten students was higher than the expected criteria. For elementary and secondary levels, the English language achievement before the implementation was higher than before.