EMI Teaching Resources for English-Medium Schools in Hong Kong
EMI Teaching Resources for English-Medium Schools in Hong Kong
English-medium instruction means every subject leans on English at once, beyond the English lesson alone, so a vocabulary gap in one class can slow down history or writing in the same week. None of the five units below were written against Hong Kong's EMI guidance specifically, but each targets a skill an EMI classroom needs early: controlled vocabulary, a levelled reading passage, a content-area history unit taught in English, and structured writing scaffolds. A vocabulary bundle sits at the end for classes that need breadth across topics rather than one more single sheet, and every unit stays well under twenty-five dollars.
See the Grade 6 reading passage →Where to start
Five Resources for EMI Classrooms
Pick the skill your EMI class needs most this week. The vocabulary bundle at the end covers core topics across four grade bands for classes that need breadth rather than one more single sheet.
English Vocabulary Trainer – Grade 3 XXL | 6 Topics & Practice
Grade 6 Reading Comprehension – The Lighthouse Mystery
Ancient China: Great Wall, Silk & Inventions Unit – Worksheets, Projects & Slides (Grades 1–4)
Grade 4 Writing Prompts – Structure, Word Banks & Support Tools
Vocabulary Trainer Mega Bundle – Grades 1–4 | ESL Essentials
The honest starting point
What EMI Classrooms Actually Need
In an EMI school, a vocabulary gap does not stay inside the English lesson — it slows down history, science and writing in the same week, because every subject is delivered through the same language a struggling student is still building. None of these five units are written against Hong Kong's EMI guidance specifically, but each is chosen for exactly that pressure point: a controlled vocabulary trainer, a levelled reading passage, a content-area history unit taught fully in English, and a structured writing scaffold with word banks built in.
For how language support actually runs inside a content lesson rather than a separate English period, see Teaching in an EMI School: Language Support Inside the Subject Lesson and Non-Chinese Speaking Students in Hong Kong Schools: Practical Classroom Support on the Teacher Hub blog, or browse the EMI & English-Medium Classroom Resources collection and the EAL & NCS Learner Support collection for more targeted options.
A sequence that works
Running Vocabulary, Reading, Content and Writing Together
- Open the week with the vocabulary trainerPre-teaching six topic sets before a content lesson gives EMI students the words they need before they meet them cold in a history or science passage.
- Use the reading passage as a mid-week comprehension checkThe Lighthouse Mystery works well once vocabulary has been introduced, testing whether students can now read for meaning rather than decode word by word.
- Teach the history unit as a content lesson, not an English lessonAncient China is written to stand as social studies content delivered in English, so treat the language support inside it as scaffolding, not the point of the lesson.
- Bring writing prompts in once students have read and discussed the contentStructured writing with word banks works best after students have absorbed vocabulary and content, giving them material to write about rather than a blank page.
- Use the vocabulary bundle once a single topic list stops being enoughSix weeks into a term, most EMI classes need broader topic coverage than one grade-level trainer provides — the bundle's spread across four grade bands fills that gap.
Where it goes wrong
Three Misconceptions About EMI Support Material
The first misconception is treating EMI support as remedial English rather than content scaffolding. A student struggling in an EMI history class is not necessarily behind in English overall — they may simply need the specific vocabulary of that content area pre-taught, which is a narrower and more solvable problem than a full English intervention.
The second misconception is assuming a grade label maps cleanly onto EMI readiness. A Grade 6 reading passage assumes a reading level, not a content-language level, and an EMI student can be strong in one and weaker in the other. Check the actual vocabulary demand of a passage against your class before assigning it purely by grade number.
The third misconception is buying content units, like the history unit, expecting them to double as language lessons. Ancient China teaches historical content in English; it is not built as an ESL grammar or phonics resource, and pairing it with a genuine language-support sheet from this page gives better results than expecting one file to do both jobs.
Inside the files
What Every Download Includes
- Print-ready PDF for every sheet
- Answer keys where the task has a right answer
- Controlled, grade-appropriate vocabulary
- Word banks and sentence starters on writing tasks
- No login or account needed to use the file
- Instant download after purchase, ready the same afternoon
Everything on this page is independent teaching material for a general English-medium classroom. None of it is an EDB or CDC publication, and none of it has been vetted or endorsed by any examination authority.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this material approved by the EDB or aligned to an official Hong Kong EMI policy?
No. These are independent teaching resources. They are not an EDB or CDC publication, they are not vetted or endorsed by the HKEAA or any examination authority, and they are not written against Hong Kong's EMI or CMI guidance specifically. Teachers use them inside their own school-based scheme of work and decide what fits.
Are these suitable for students who recently transferred from a CMI school?
Yes, often especially so. Controlled vocabulary and clear grade labelling make it easier to find the right entry point for a student who is confident in Chinese-medium content but still building English content vocabulary.
Should I use the history unit in an English class or a content class?
A content class. Ancient China is designed to deliver social studies material in English, so it fits best where history or general studies is timetabled, with the language scaffolding inside it supporting comprehension rather than replacing a dedicated English lesson.
Is the vocabulary bundle better value than buying single trainers?
Per-topic, yes — the bundle covers grades 1 through 4 for under ten dollars, cheaper than buying four single trainers separately. It suits a school that knows it needs that breadth across a year; a single class working one topic for one term may not need it yet.
Can a teaching assistant run these without EMI-specific training?
Most of them, yes. The vocabulary, reading and writing sheets are self-contained enough for an assistant to run after reading the instructions once, though the history unit benefits from a teacher available to explain content vocabulary as it comes up.
What if my school already has its own EMI language policy and materials?
Use these as supplementary practice rather than a replacement. A school-wide EMI policy sets expectations and pacing; a single vocabulary or reading sheet slots in as extra reinforcement without needing to match that policy's structure exactly, which is often exactly what a student behind the class pace needs most. Mixing grade levels within the set also helps — a Grade 6 class with students reading closer to a Grade 4 level can use the Grade 4 writing prompts alongside the Grade 6 reading passage, running two versions of the same lesson side by side.
Build the Set One Sheet at a Time
Start with the skill your EMI class needs this week, not the whole set at once. The vocabulary bundle is there once single sheets are not enough breadth.
See the Vocabulary Trainer Mega Bundle →