Part 3
CURRICULUM SUGGESTION AND REFLECTION📝
CURRICULUM SUGGESTION AND REFLECTION📝
CURRICULUM SUGGESTION
ELABORATION
Based on Walker’s Model, the supplementary curriculum aims to improve both the DSKP/SOW and the textbook by enhancing flexibility, authenticity, and student-centred learning. The DSKP should provide clear direction for differentiated instruction to support mixed-ability learners, especially in environments with minimal English experience (Chien, 2020). The platform values culturally responsive teaching, ensuring that topics and dialogues reflect Malaysian contexts and traditions. Through deliberation, teachers are given autonomy to adjust lesson pacing and select tasks that suit different proficiency levels, promoting inclusivity. In the design phase, authentic and collaborative activities, such as rewriting textbook dialogues or creating “My Culture, My Celebration” projects, are introduced to replace rigid, teacher-centred tasks. These revisions strengthen cultural identity, increase learner engagement, and provide more authentic opportunities for language use, while still aligning with the communicative aims of the Year 4 CEFR-aligned English curriculum.Â
REFLECTION
Evaluating the Year 4 ESL curriculum and textbook has been an eye-opening experience for me as a teacher trainee. It made me realize that curriculum design is not just about following the DSKP or SOW, but about understanding how these documents actually shape classroom practice. Through this process, I became more aware of how the strict sequencing of the SOW can limit my flexibility when teaching pupils with different abilities, and how textbook activities may lack insights for Malaysian learners. Using Walker’s Model helped me see the importance of teacher collaboration and thoughtful decision-making in improving curriculum materials. Designing the supplementary curriculum also pushed me to think more critically and creatively, especially when adding more Malaysian cultural elements and more student-centred tasks. Overall, this evaluation helped me grow as a future educator by strengthening my ability to analyse materials, make informed curriculum decisions, and design lessons that better match the needs of my pupils.