Students' group composition

Fundraising Talent Carnival in Tin Shui Wai

by Tracy Chang, Martin Lam, Ruby Li and Thomas Tang

The SKH St. Philip's church held the annual Talent Carnival last

Saturday from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. The activity aimed to let people experience God's love, bring communities together and to raise funds to repay the Hong Kong Shang Kung Hui which helped finance the building of the church.

The Talent Carnival kicked off after the exciting Opening Ceremony at the beautiful spacious chapel. Visitors were entranced by the colorful 'mosaic' glass wall which tells stories of Jesus at the back of the altar. 

A performance by the School Orchestra of SKH Tin Shui Wai Ling Oi Primary School marked the beginning of the carnival. The piece of music that the Orchestra played was about a gift from the French Government to the Austrian Government. The performance won a loud applause from the audience.

After all the musical performances and praise dances, participants could either stay in the chapel to enjoy the Music Marathon or go downstairs to the Pastoral Center to join the arts workshop.

At the Pastoral center, there were Glue Key Chain workshop, Boutique Collection, Pastor's Cafe, Flower World, Winnie's Artland, Plant Dyeing workshop, Xi ju face Painting and Calligraphy Spiritual Practice. 

The Face and Hand Painting was the most popular amongst children. Tracy, a grade 5 student, said it's a nice activity to bring communities together. It's an opportunity to help. "When I heard that there's a 'Face and Hand painting' workshop, I rushed downstairs to enjoy them." she said excitedly. The two artists painted delicate and beautiful drawings on participants' face or hand. Despite the long queue, participants waited patiently for their turn.

Adults' favourite  was the Pastor's Cafe. It offered two different drinks to visitors: a special color-changing tea made by church members and a special coffee made by Pastor Kwok. The special drink was made of coconut slices and butterfly pea, and it changed color when lemon juice was added. One of the customers, Thomas, said the special drink tasted delicious but it was a pity he couldn't try the coffee.

At the plant Dyeing Workshop, the host taught participants how to decorate an ECO bag using the DIY method. "First, get a white ECO bag. Next, cut some flower petals and or leaves. You can choose the colors and shapes of flowers or leaves from the bucket of flower stalks. Then arrange the petals or leaves on the ECO bag in patterns you like. After that, cover the bag with a plastic wrap and use a hammer or a stone to pound the petals and leaves flat. Finally, remove the plastic wrap along with the petals and leaves. You can see the shapes and colors of the plants on the bag." said Mrs Chan.

"You need to pound really hard in order to get the bag dyed." said a boy who had just experienced the pounding and showing his purple pattern on his

ECO bag proudly.

The Chinese Calligraphy Spiritual Practice Room was very different from the other workshops. Instead of noise and laughter, the atmosphere was quiet, calm, and peaceful. "The moment I started holding the brush, became focused. I looked at the model script and tried my best to imitate the strokes, points and turns. I had to use force!" said Christy. "Me too! At first, I couldn't even hold the brush straight. My first piece was done quickly. I couldn't slow down. Mr. Fu, the elderly Calligraphy expert, encouraged me to do it the second time. I did much better then. There was strength in my strokes It is very rewarding." said Thomas. "I started learning Chinese calligraphy when I was a child. I hope that the calligraphy skills can be passed down to the younger generations." said Mr. Fu.

The fund-raising activities ended at 4:00 p.m. Parents, children and Tin Shui Wai residents enjoyed this community fringe day very much and returned home with their DIY souvenirs, memorable experiences and newly learned

skills.

 

回應家長           2024.7.13

一位X陽小學的家長發了她的朋友給她的信息，推薦幾本小二文

法練習。 以下是我的回應： 

“她要着力培育好孩子广泛阅读和寫作能力。这些练习是有用的，掌握了这些基本字詞和句式就不要花時间重覆太多。孩子喜欢阅读，很快就会升級和跳級。所有我的学生都是这样走过来，也是全世界的教育家和香港教育局的課程政策，规定学校要做好广泛阅读这一片。”

很多X陽的家長为了孩子考试拿高分，周圍找英文专科班做文法练习，结果是退步。

有一個女孩跟我6年，一直考到A, 到了今年呈分試一，英文考了全級第一。另外一個男生，和這女生同是拔尖組，跟我5️⃣年，在他的學校也是考到全級第一。究竟這些孩子這幾年經歷了什麼課程？現在簡單總結如下： 

我的學生学英文的路就是这样走过來的：

K1-K3 拼讀，故事閱讀學詞語

P1 -拼讀， 故事閱讀學詞語

P2- 故事&非故事閱讀學詞語&文法， Retell， Write

P3- 故事&非故事閱讀學詞語&文法； Retell， Write

       獨立文法課 （Brighter Grammar 1） 

P4- 故事&非故事閱讀學詞語&文法； 

       Retell，Experiential learning and writing (narrative) 

       獨立文法課 （Essential Grammar 1） 

P5 - 故事&非故事閱讀學詞語&文法； Retell， Write

       獨立文法課 （Essential Grammar 1）

        Experiential learning and writing (narrative) 

P6 -  故事&非故事閱讀學詞語&文法； Retell， Write

       獨立文法課 （Essential Grammar 1）

        Experiential learning and writing (narrative) 

        EAP (English for academic purposes) 

*10歲前完成閱讀500本書

Sun 完全可以在英文学习上拿到A, 只要他接受我的指导。现在他不接受，因为他认为我教的不是学校测验和考试的东西。幸好他聆听拿了80分，开始明白上网课的內容和考试无关卻大有幫助。這體驗在他的狭窄的题形和分数掛帅的思維种下改变的种子。

天水圍河畔 2017-21

 

城门水塘 Shing Mun in Spring

30 November 2018 

10 November 2015 

秋日城门

满满的塘水

Can you see the turtle basking on his island? 

扶贫英语建议書 Suggestions on How to Help Children and Young People from Disadvantaged Families and New Immigrants Improve English

Suggestions on How to Help Children and Young People from Disadvantaged Families and New Immigrants Improve English 
By Pang Shuk Mei 
19th November 2017 

Background of writer:  

• more than 25 years’ experience in teaching secondary school students’ English 
• five years as principals of EMI secondary schools 
• 3 years’ experience in training English teachers in Mainland China as a volunteer 
• 2 years’ experience in tutoring new immigrant students and LEP (Low English Proficiency) students in Tin Shui Wai

Observations： 

• Huge gap in terms of English proficiency between the LEP students and the proficient ones(1). The LEP students are mostly from families who do not have the support for English learning (2). One indicator is the limited amount of English reading conducted outside school(3). 
• Primary school English textbook contents are increasingly difficult, especially for the junior grades
• great variations in English curriculum across kindergartens (4)
• New immigrant students from China receive inadequate support to their English learning (5)
• a large number of students in Tin Shui Wai are attending tutoring programs after school offered by NGOs in community centres or private tutoring centres in shopping malls, and many in private and public residential buildings (6)
• Prices of five-day after school tutoring range from $800 to over $2000 per month in Tin Shui Wai 
• Tutors’ salary can be as low as $50 for private tutoring centres
• Each tutor can be assigned 10 students to look after 

Suggestions: 

1. Curriculum

EDB should issue a concrete English curriculum for different grade levels, specifying the core vocabulary, sentence structures, and language functions. The existing ones are too general. The core English curriculum will narrow the gap among kindergartens and primary schools. A core vocabulary list will help teachers both at school or after school programs control the difficulty of words for reading and dictation. 

2.  Assessment 

• EDB and HKEAA should design and upload sample online assessments for parents, teachers and students. 
• The assessments include reading, reading aloud, vocabulary, grammar, and listening. 
• These help teachers, parents and students to have a relatively objective assessment of each student’s English competence in different areas.(7)

3.  New  Immigrant Students 

 

• The number of new immigrant students each year and at different times of the year in different districts should be updated and made known to the public. The data will help the government and  the interested parties to set up English bridging programs for these students in places where they reside. 
• The two existing English bridging centres, one in Mei Foo and one in North Point, are far from adequate in catering to the needs of the immigrant students living in different parts of the territory. 
• Each new immigrant student should be assessed their English proficiency immediately on arrival. 
• Schools should make use of the assessment data to assign suitable English bridging programs for each student. (8)
• In case schools cannot afford to cater to the full needs of such students for different reasons, the students should have the opportunity to take English bridging programs outside schools. 

4.  Poverty Relief English Improvement Fund (PREIEF) 

1. The fund is aimed at reducing the number of LEPs among students from the low-income families and new immigrant students. 
2. The fund is to be set up by collaborative efforts of the private sector. 
3. The fund is to provide financial support for LEP students and new immigrants who are from low-income families to take quality additional English learning lessons.
4. The fund will operate in a way similar to that of Health Care Voucher. For example, each new immigrant student will go through an assessment of their English level. They will be  entitled to receiving a set amount of subsidy for modules of 50-hour English program.  For instance, a new immigrant student who is diagnosed as 4 levels behind the standard should go through 400 hours additional learning time. With the support of the PREIF, the student will have English Improvement Voucher for 8 modules of 50-hour program. These programs can be provided by education centres or individual teachers serving in “English Learning Clinics” who are certified by authorised bodies. 
5. Adults who have the academic qualifications and aspire to serve as a private English tutor can apply for becoming a member of “Poverty Relief English Improvement Teachers Association”. Training, certification assessments and regular re-assessment systems can be set up with the support of the PREIF. 
6. Pilot projects of the PRIEF can be launched in areas such as Tin Shui Wai and Tsuen Wan where there are large numbers of newly arrived students or from families which do not provide the English learning support to children. 

Footnotes: 

1. Data can be from TSA results across years and districts, and from HKEA 

2.  Research on LEP students and their family background is rendered

3. Case 1

4. Research should be conducted by EDB 

5.  Government subsidy for a primary school child is around $3000 and around $5000 for the secondary student. Most of the money is spent by schools on activities like ‘getting to know Hong Kong’. Usually schools group the immigrant students together and provide a 10-lesson for English bridging. In schools where the number of new arrivals is fewer than 10, they do not offer any bridging programs. 

6.  Data can be collected through schools or by research bodies

7.  There are some online assessments by different companies, but standardised ones designed for Hong Kong context will be useful to all parties

8.  In some cases I encountered, the students joined form one in a Hong Kong school and by the time they reached Form Three, they remained at K2 level. 

Appendix 

Case 1

A student who just completed Form One in a CMI secondary school in Tin Shui Wai failed to find a secondary school in Shatin between July 2015 and March 2016. He failed to meet the English requirements of the schools he applied for. He failed the English admission tests. After around 200-hour English coaching, he managed to be accepted by a school in Shatin in March 2016. By July 2017, he made into the EMI school in Form Three. 

Case 2

A student from Conqing finished three quarters of form three when he came to Hong Kong. I administered two assessments for him and identified his English level as K2 Hong Kong. He couldn’t even get the 26 letters correct. In Conqing he started learning ABC in form one. That means he had more than 2 and a half years’ English learning experience. After coaching for 200 hours from April 2016 to August 2017, his English has improved from K2 to around grade 4 (Hong Kong). 

Case 3 

A student from Shenzhen who studied in a school for Hong Kong children arrived in Hong Kong in July 2016. Her English proficiency was assessed about grade 4 (Hong Kong). She would study in a CMI class in a school in Tin Shui Wai. Immediate intensive coaching program started. She completed 250 hours one on one intensive coaching in a year. By July 2017, her English proficiency was about average Form One student in Hong Kong. She was promoted to Form Two and was transferred from the CMI to the top EMI class in her school. Her parents paid around $25000. 

Comments are welcome.