Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    Learning English through reading and acting out stories in picture books can greatly help young students at primary schools master the language. This is what Wang Shuhong, the headmaster of Lequn Primary School and the founder of an English picture book studio, firmly believes.

    With joint effort by Wang and all the English teachers at Lequn Primary School and Tianxin Primary School in Yantian Distirct, the Colorful English Picture Book Studio was set up in the district to help students learn English while having fun. “The picture books in English are very helpful for students, especially for students at lower grades,” said Wang yesterday.

    Wang and the other English teachers have been developing an English curriculum that integrates various learning materials based on official textbooks. “The textbooks have limited resources for the students and what we want to bring to the students is rich resources to learn English,” said Wang. In the headmaster’s eyes, English picture books provide abundant learning resources, including images and text. The studio organized a seminar last week for English teachers in Yantian District to probe possible ways of integrating English picture books into language teaching.

    A special consultant, Rodney Martin, member of the Curriculum Council of South Australia Department of Education and also the founder of the Era Reading-center Australia, was appointed as the district’s messenger of international education.

    The serial English picture books developed by Martin are resources for learners of English as second language (ESL) and students with learning difficulties in South Australia. “We believe it’s a great help to incorporate Martin’s picture books in our English classes because the books are suitable for young English learners in Asia,” said the headmaster.

    According to Wang, Martin will visit schools in Yantian District on a frequent basis and bring in advanced teaching philosophies.