2020 Revised Curriculum
It has become apparent that the English curriculum that was written in 2001 and revisited in 2014 should be aligned with international standards. Since the publication of a position paper regarding the application of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference: Standards for Language Learning, Teaching and assessment) to English instruction and evaluation chaired by prof. Ofra Inbar and Dr. Tziona Levi in March 2017, the work on the alignment of the English Curriculum with these standards has been targeted. To meet this aim, a professional committee has been formed chaired by Dr. Lisa Amdur and Dr. Elisheva Barkon working on localising international language teaching and assessment standards to suit the Israeli learning context in schools. There are three main components in the aligned Curriculum: the can-do statements, the vocabulary (lexical bands) and the grammar. Together these components comprise an integrated, cohesive and comprehensive whole. Now we are ready to start thinking about implementation of the English curriculum and how it will serve as a powerful means to promote English proficiency among learners of all ages and groups.
At the beginning of 2019 a revised Curriculum for elementary school was presented to the English teaching community. Based on this curriculum an implementation course for 120 expert teachers opened in addition to 40 National courses.
The aim of these courses was to promote the distinct mindset of the curriculum and to familiarize the teachers and counsellors with the terminology of the curriculum which is aligned with the European CEFR and adapted to the Israeli context.
The courses encouraged experienced and novice teachers to think and rethink their current teaching practices and beliefs.
During the year, the junior high school curriculum was published. During 2021, the high school section will be available to teachers. The national Curriculum courses will be offered to teachers around the country in addition to an advanced course that will lead the implementation of the Curriculum 2020 to stage 2.