“The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for.”

The acquisition of a wide and sophisticated vocabulary is the greatest challenge that the second language learner faces: it is the ‘Everest’ of second-language acquisition.

At SISU Bilingual School, we make a focus on vocabulary acquisition the core element of the G10 English program. Using the best, most up-to-date resources, we support and guide our students through the process of acquiring a high-level vocabulary.

G10s primary language book comes from the Pathways series. Produced by the same company that publishes the National Geographic, it presents a wide range of vocabulary through interesting articles and exercises that take a global perspective on environmental, developmental and cultural topics.

The Pathways series is heavily influenced by the approach and methodology of the General Service List, and the GSL and the NEW GSL also form a major part of our approach to the teaching and learning of vocabulary in G10.

We believe that vocabulary and grammar are essential tools to decode the input into key information that again requires encoding for our students to express their ideas in speech and writing. This requires skills development.

In G10 English classes, students are also exposed to opportunities and contexts that they could make full use of to develop such skills as skimming and scanning, paraphrasing and summarizing, and giving oral presentations etc. so that students will be able to convey the information they’ve absorbed by means of writing and speech.

In addition, students receive a comprehensive and systematic introduction to the fundamental elements of literature through a wide range of literary texts from a large, diverse group of writers.