CO129-271 - Governor Sir Robinson - 1896 [1-4] — Page 425

1.

423

and the Rexaminers took care to as. certain from the boys and from the native Masters, that the

ni

story

dictated

lish had been made plain

English

by the lengthy explanations in Chinese.

(i) The Stead Master has

AL-

appa. the sently

incomplete idea of methods employed by the Examiner in encorvraging boys to converse in English. Persistent attempts

attempts were made

Lav

to u

engage boys in connected conversation on various subjects chosen before hand. We tried to get boys to talk about their holidays, and the choice of a profession, visits to the Museuns, and walks in

Hong Kong and Canton, Chinese so-

cial customs, etc., etc.,. And the method criticised by the Stead Master,

though it had been the

only one, was often productive of some results when other methods failed.

av

In regard to the question of the presence of school - masters during

an oral examination, the stead Moster was informed by letter that the exam. iners did not desire the presence of

the oral work. The

Masters

during stead Master replied by asking if it

was our intention to exclude hum

from witnessing such examinations. wroke that it might be lew

again barrassing to the Examiners and to the boys if other person were

present in the

soon: we, however, left the Stead Master himself free to

come. As he was not present,

kindly made

and

every arrangement s

Lo

that we could take the oral work in

-adjoining that in which the

claw to bo

ho

examined. was assembled, scarcely, in the face of our repors, believe that no

CATA

attempt was made at

"connecks conversation," or that the

sending boys into the verandah to report what they could see was the only thod adopted; neither could he have

Aw

heard