Macquarie Grammar School’s High School Preparation Program is a gateway to an ATAR

Macquarie Grammar School offers two academic study programs: the traditional comprehensive Year 7 to Year 12, NESA-prescribed curriculum and a High School Preparation Program (HSP) catering for international students to promote English language learning at the secondary school level. HSP students often arrive at the school without a word of English. This course aims to take new students from the A1 Beginner level and teach English language skills to the level required to support learning in the mainstream; see the infographic below.

English language acquisition takes time. Parents and students can expect to spend at least two terms on the HSP course, often three terms or a year. During instruction, teachers will explicitly teach:

• Context clues: Highly readable text provides enough familiar context to infer/ guess new words
• Natural grammar: Clear sentence structures help learners absorb syntax patterns implicitly
• Subconscious learning: Students pick up formatting, idioms, and flow without explicit drilling.

At Macquarie, we know language acquisition happens best when messages are levelled only slightly above the learner’s current capability. This will assist with the comprehension of text, as well as the modelling and scaffolding of both reading and writing skills.

Teachers at Macquarie consider the readability of texts, both for mainstream and HSP learners. Readability is the ease with which a reader can understand a written text or decipher visual characters. Typically, readability is determined by two main factors: language complexity (vocabulary and sentence structure) and typographical presentation (font, spacing, visual layout, and graphics).

Over term two this year, our HSP students have been very committed towards their studies, and there has been a positive transition towards their academic growth. It has been most inspiring for the teaching staff and I to see this taking place. The students undertake a broad study programme while in HSP, and it’s an absolute pleasure to walk into the classes and see the students well engaged with the lesson and practising their oral fluency and written expression with such commitment and determined focus. During their recess and lunch breaks, it’s not uncommon for the lesson to continue with the students discussing what they have been taught and how they can master the task.

Whatever the pathway, Macquarie students are supported with expert teaching and close monitoring. We invite your child to join us at Macquarie.