Job Discussion Forums

[once again]

I am looking for ideas to help an "English Medium of Instruction" secondary school create an "English Environment".
Essentially this means finding ways to encourage the students to use English around the school and in their daily interactions. This is quite a tall order, so all suggestions would be gratefully received.

[Mark-O]

Within the primary school I work at, to encourage the Key Stage One children's familiarity with words and spellings, we label all of the obvious objects in the room with words on laminate card. The children then encounter these words on a daily basis and quickly inherit these words/spellings by osmosis. Obvious, I know, but it's effective. This might be below the pupils at your secondary school, depending on their proficiency in English. Similarly, all displays, notices and signs at the school could be created by the pupils in English. Is there a canteen? Menus in English?

I remember that we had an active student exchange with both French and German schools at my secondary school; this would give us a great opportunity to practise our language skills and build confidence with overseas students - does a similar concept exist in Hong Kong?

[ozman]

A good suggestion from Mark O. You could take this further into the whole school environment though. Look around the school and notice all the signs in Chinese. Label everything in English next to the chinese signs on laminated cards. Stick directions in English around the school. e.g. hall; lab; library; fire escape, staff room etc. You should find lots of places to stick labels in the library. Don't forget to check out the loos - stick up "wash your hands" signs in English and "boys" and "girls" outside the door.

[Ludwig]

The English language signs are a good idea, though I suspect that scheme may already be in force. One that worked well for me when a NET was to introduce an English language policy at the tuck-shop (I started with one day a week and eventually increased it to 3; my school was not English medium). Another good idea that seems to go down well with HK kids is that of English language PA broadcasts. I had my kids, by rotation, give simple English language weather forecasts to their peers via the PA straight to the individual classrooms. The kids do not seem to mind it as "no one (outside their group) sees them speak" (I am quoting local teachers from memory). Believe it or not, I actually had a waiting list for this activity after it had been up and running for a few weeks (I allowed them to make sound effects in the background). I also had students who had already done it help me train other, younger students for the same task (girls tend to like this). One other idea is to have the kids get a signature in a special little pocket book from you every time they ask a common everyday corridor-type question in English (the parents tend to like that one).

[Mark-O]

I like the P.A. weather broadcasts idea a lot; do all Hong Kong schools have the P.A. facility?

Following on from Ludwig's idea - though this might be a little ambitious - how about a lunchtime radio programme once a week? This could potentially employ a large number of pupils, each of which contributing to a small segment/feature of the show. Different classes could be scheduled each week so as to ensure that everyone is involved. Of course, this would rest on the assumption that the P.A. could be used for such an activity!

[once again]

Thanks for the very constructive replies guys. The tuck shop idea is to be implemented, but I had not thought of using the kids to make announcements over the PA . I think that should work well. We do in fact have a TV station which is ready to go this year. But I have been at a number of schools where TV stations were "ready to go" and they never did. I was asked not to go to the meeting today as they wanted to do it all in Cantonese and Putonghua! That does not bode well!!!

One idea that, it seems, we are going to implement, is that students seen conversing in English will be awarded a "sticker". The stronger students, who will become "English Prefects", will give them out. The stickers will then go toward house points and an eventual prize of the winning house being able to come to school out of uniform for a day.

One thing that I did point out at the meetings today was that there are no posters or artwork around the school. This seems a good opportunity wasted to have English wording etc. around the place. In defence of the school though, they have recently moved to a new campus and are taking on many other changes as well.

Thanks for the ideas, and any other comments would be truly welcome.

[well-travelled]

I think this is an important thread - relevant to any NET working in a secondary school in HK, whether in an English-medium or Chinese-medium schoool. And all the comments have been positive & helpful - the ESL Cafe at its best.

In my opinion (although this is obvious, I guess), the more English there is displayed (visually & orally) around the school - posters, notice boards in classrooms, lunchtime broadcasts etc.. - the better.

My main reason for commenting on the post, however, is to say that the fact that you were "asked not to go to the meeting today as they wanted to do it all in Cantonese and Putonghua" is a positive rather than a negative factor. There are a helluva lot of NETs out there who are forced to endure these incredibly tedious meetings in Cantonese - tedious because you can't understand them and they tend to go on for 3-4 hours. Time better spent elsewhere.

I would take it as a positive factor that you were excused from the meeting. Just ask your panel-chair if anything was said in the meeting that has a direct bearing on your role in the school. I'm sure he/she will respond positively.

In short, the fact that you didn't have to attend the meeting bodes well, rather than ill....

Cheers.

well-travelled

[ozman]

Some very good ideas here especially about the weather report.
Following up on the PA idea - why not get a once a week song dedication. This can work well for students who don't have a lot of English - give them a scaffold like - I'd like to dedicate the song .......to my friend....... because......

It's good to see this forum getting back to what it should be. I kept out for a bit due to some of the awful postings.
Ozman

[once again]

I checked out a few of the ideas today with the school. It seems that any kind of music radio station would be out of the question: the reason given-the school is too conservative. My thought that being requested to avoid the TV meeting did not bode well was born out today. They have said they have some ideas that would involve me presenting some stuff, and I am welcome to put forward some ideas, as long as they are not crazy. The commitee head was sure that I had lots of crazy ideas, but I must remember that the school is, well, conservative. As one of the other teachers put it,"Basically you are free to do as you please, so long as it is guaranteed that the students will not enjoy it".

A familliar story.

[Mark-O]

The inmates, sorry, children, will no doubt be disappointed to learn of what they could have taken part in.

[lagerlout2006]

Marko---Do you realize your avatar is highly offensive and has not even a tenuous connection to EFL?

[Mark-O]

Ha ha!

But to call "small people" offensive shows your ignorance and total lack of ...