XN000022-1975-03-08 — Page 2

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IN T SCHOL

SATURDAY, MARJU 0, 1975

MORE INFORMAL APPROACH IN ENGLISH TEACHING NEEDED

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E NEED FOR A MORE INFORMAL AND ACTIVITY-BASED APPROACH TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN HONG KONG PRIMARY AND SECONDARY

WAS STRESSED TODAY BY MR. JOHN TANDY, PRINCIPAL

INSPE OR (ENGLISH), EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.

→THERE IS STILL TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON WRITTEN HOMEWORK AND TESTS AND FAR TOO MUCH RELIANCE BY THE TEACHER ON THE TEXTBOOK, PARTICULARLY AT THE PRIMARY AND LOWER SECONDARY LEVEL WHERE THE TEXTBOOK SHOULD BE A GUIDE AND REFERENCE BOOK FOR THE TEACHER AND NOT OVER-USED BY PUPILS IN THE CLASSROOM, HE TOLD A MEETING ORGANISED BY THE HONG KONG PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS' UNION.

IT WAS NOW VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE NEEDS OF ALL PUPILS SHOULD BE CATERED FOR AND THAT PUPILS IN THE LOWER ABILITY RANGE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PROCEED AT THEIR OWN PACE IN THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH, HE STRESSED.

COMMUNICATION, HE SAID, WAS THE MOST NEEDED SKILL IN HONG KONG AND TEACHERS SHOULD ENSURE THAT PUPILS LEAVING SECONDARY SCHOOL SHOULD BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND CONVERSE IN SIMPLE, EVERYDAY ENGLISH.

THE AVERAGE NATIVE SPEAKER DID NOT USE LONG COMPLICATED CLAUSES, AND SELDOM USED MANY OF THE TENSES FOUND IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS EITHER IN SPEECH OR IN WRITING. THE TREND IN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ENGLISH AMONG NATIVE SPEAKERS WAS TOWARDS CLEAR EXPRESSION IN SHORT, USUALLY SIMPLE SENTENCES, AND TEACHERS OF ENGLISH WERE ADVISED TO FOLLOW THIS TREND IN THEIR TEACHING.

MR. TANDY SAID THERE WERE GOOD SUPPORT FACILITIES IN HONG KONG TO SECURE STANDARDS OF ENGLISH, AND TEACHERS WERE URGED TO MAKE THE FULLEST USE OF THEM.

HE SPOKE ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CENTRE, WHICH OPERATES AS PART OF THE ADVISORY INSPECTORATE (ENGLISH) AND HAS A HONG KONG AND KOWLOON UNIT. THE CENTRE RUNS REFRESHER COURSES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR FOR TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS. SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT IN 1965 OVER 5,000 TEACHERS HAVE ATTENDED THESE COURSES, AND MORE THAN 7,000 ADVISORY FOLLOW-UP VISITS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THESE TEACHERS IN THEIR SCHOOLS.

/THE CENTRE