Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1998

Joint School 'Read More and Write More' Education Scheme M a n y language teachers believe texts s h o u ld b e i n t e n s i v e l y a n a l y s e d a n d r e a d a n d c omp o s i t i o ns m a r k ed w i t h great a t t e n t i on to detail. Despite their merits, these habits often l e a d to i n s u f f i c i e nt t i me f o r t e a c h i ng a n d m a r k i n g, as a result of w h i c h students get to read and w r i te less. To encourage s t u d e n ts to l e a rn w r i t i n g t h r o u gh w r i t i ng a nd reading t h r o u gh reading, t h is scheme r e q u i r es its p a r t i c i p a n ts to d o designated r e a d i ng each w e ek a nd h a n d i n a composition w h i c h w i l l be ma r k ed r o u g h ly b y teachers. A s e n c o u r a g eme nt a nd i n c e n t i v e, these compositions are p u b l i s h ed m o n t h ly i n the Joint School Junior Secondary Collection. S t u d e n ts w h o s h o w great i m p r o v e m e nt i n r e a d i ng a nd w r i t i n g d u r i n g the t e r m can be r e c omme n d ed b y their teachers for the a w a rd of a certificate of m e r i t b y the U n i v e r s i t y 's F a c u l ty of Ed u c a t i o n. There are c u r r e n t ly 12 p a r t i c i p a t i ng schools i n v o l v i n g some 1,000 Secondary 1 students. Favourable Response Co o r d i n a t or of these schemes, Prof. H o M a n- k o o n of the D e p a r t m e nt of C u r r i c u l um a n d Instruction, p o i n t ed out that special attention s h o u ld be g i v en to students b o t h above a nd b e l ow par. For instance the ideal instruction for a y o u ng writer whose standard is equivalent to an A i n the H K C EE s h o u ld come directly f r om a professional w r i t er or teacher. S i m i l a r ly a ny improvement made b y below-average students, if r e w a r d ed p r o p i t i o u s l y, can be a cause f or renewed motivation. Since its launch, the Joint S c h o ol Ch i n e se E d u c a t i on P r o g r a mme has received the great s u p p o rt and encouragement of schools, parents, students, and the public and has been r e p o r t ed b y n u m e r o us Chinese a nd E n g l i s h n e w s p a p e rs a n d m a g a z i n e s. T h i s s h o ws that there does exist i n o ur society a p r o f o u nd concern for language education. Summer Course in Languages and General Education I n 1997 the U n i v e r s i ty o r g a n i z ed the f i r st s u m m e r c o u r se i n l a n g u a g es a n d g e n e r al e d u c a t i on f or 100 o u t s t a n d i ng S e c o n d a ry 6 students. W h e n the project w as r e p e a t ed i n 1998, the n u m b er of participants increased to 150 as a result of a m a n y - f o ld increase i n the n u m b e r of a p p l i c a n t s. K e e n c o m p e t i t i on is expected to result i n higher academic requirements for participation i n the c om i ng years. Wh i le the general education component of the camp features interesting lectures b y Prof. A r t h u r K . C . L i , v i c e - c h a n c e l l or o f t h e University, Prof. Richard M . W. H o , U n i v e r s i ty registrar, a n d Dr. Lee T i e n - m i n g, lecturer i n p h i l o s o p h y, the language c omp o n e nt includes courses i n p u t o n g h u a, Cantonese a n d English proficiency, as w e l l as p r o n u n c i a t i on t r a i n i ng a nd skills i n u s i ng dictionaries. Students w h o pass an exit test m a y be p a r t i a l ly e x e m p t ed f r o m the g e n e r al e d u c a t i on a n d f i r s t - y e ar l a n g u a ge c o u r se r e q u i r e m e n ts if t h ey are eventually a dm i t t ed to the University. Prof. Richard Ho chatting w i th students in the Summer Course in Languages and General Education Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 1998 10