Chapter 2 Selection Procedure

The need for English pull-out programmes arises from the emergence of a pool of students outstanding in English. Nonetheless, they are not necessarily all-rounders in language skills. Some students may display a good command of reading skills but lack the awareness of using them strategically. Some may be good readers but mediocre writers. Some may have plenty of creative ideas but do not have a clue of creating a well-organised piece of work. Without appropriate, explicit instruction, students may not be able to perceive the literary techniques used in a text and their purposes, not to mention express their thoughts and writing styles in an innovative way. By multiple assessments of their English proficiency and abilities, teachers can identify a range of students including those competent at certain aspect of English usage or literacy skill while fair at others. Understanding students’ needs, linguistic competence, interests, strengths and weaknesses, teachers will be better informed when they design a programme which aims to strengthen students’ creativity, higher-level thinking skills, as well as language skills. In this programme, the teachers of the participating schools attempted to use various means for placement with reference to their readiness and school policy:

Students’ previous results and performance in English Language

Teacher nomination

Pre-programme writing tasks (Appendix 1)

Pre-programme speaking tasks (Appendix 1)

Students’ past achievements in use of English

Examplesof pre-programme student writing scripts are in Appendix 2. You may also view the clips of some students’ performance in the pre-programme speaking assessment and have a try to identify their potential and characteristics at

As in the pilot at Holy Angels Canossian School, some of the pre-programme writing tasks can be used as pre-assessment to assess the knowledge or skill the students have mastered. Teachers should identify students’ learning characteristics as they make instructional decisions to optimise the learning outcomes of gifted learners.

Please refer to the Reference Manual in Implementing Gifted Education in School:
Acceleration Programmes for more on curriculum compacting and acceleration, and Curriculum Guide on School-based Gifted Development Programmes and Exemplary Resource on Pull-out English Gifted Programmes for identification of gifted students on the EDB website at

2.1 Characteristics of the Target Students

Each student who participated in the Young Playwrights’ Theatre is unique and demonstrated different characteristics. The following are the distinct characteristics that the students possess in general which imply their need for furtherlearning opportunities. The students:

have mastered the basic language skills;

feel bored easily in the classroom;

resist rote or repetitive tasks;

ask many questions;

are keen on learning new vocabulary;

chatter intelligently with a wider range of language forms than that of their age group;

are perceived as “show-offs” by peers;

see exceptions;

overflow with ideas;

share bizarre, sometimes conflicting opinions;

enjoy creating;

improvise ideas and thoughts.

2.2 Foci of the Programme

The programme addresses:

the students’ reading interests;

the students’ ability to extend their imagination and creativity in reading and writing;

the students’ desire to learn and be challenged by a wide variety of topics; and

the students’ interpersonal, collaboration skills in a team.