Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1998

(from left) Young writers w r i t i n g the campus in colours Youngsters exchange study tips in the Introductory Course in Chinese Studies Students o n the 'Read More a nd Write More' scheme have s o m e t h i ng to s h o w for having read a n d writte n more The scheme i n v i t e d Prof. Lo Wa i - l u e n ( hsiaoszu) of the University to be the consultant and convener of the organizing committee. J o i n i n g her we re seven v e t e r an l a n g u a g e teachers and writers, w h o organize regular classes an d writing camps for the students, and mark w r i t i n g assignments. Each student has to submit a composition every 10 days . U p till n o w a b o u t a h u n d r e d Secondary 1 a nd 2 students f r o m 30 schools have j o i n e d the scheme o n the r e c o mm e n d a t i on of t h e ir teachers. Talks and seminars are organized for the students wherein famous writers share their experiences, and professionals f r om different social sectors discuss the importance o f having a good comman d of Chinese. Small-group peer critique sessions are also arranged to cultivate the a b i l i t y to critiqu e and revise their o w n writings. A n d finally, to give them the chance to indulge i n the pleasure of w r i t i n g i n poetic surroundings, 'Writing the Campus in Colours' is arranged wh e r e i n these p o t e n t i a l Eileen Changs are let loose on the University campus to stroll, observe, and simply be inspired. The scheme has been w a r m l y received since its launch. TV stations have interviewed the scheme's coordinator a nd participants. Newspapers and magazine s have also set aside columns t o p u b l i sh the wo r ks of the y o u n g writers. J o i n t School I n t r o d u c t o r y Course in Chinese Studies Due to l i m i t e d class time, Chinese language teachers tend to focus on training the students ' language ability and neglect the teaching of the culture that surrounds the language. The scheme supplies teachers w i th a set of cultural teaching material that can be used w i t h great f l e x i b i l i t y—e i t h er t h r o u gh r e g u l ar teaching i n class, or t h r o u gh extracurricula r activities, or to be self-learnt b y the students. The contents include the structure of Chinese characters, Chinese festivals a nd customs, Chinese ethnic cultures, and Chinese literary classics, al l designed to inspir e interest i n Chinese culture . A t the end of the academic year, students w h o have done w e l l ca n be recommended by their teachers to receive a certificate of merit. Ma ny participant s i n the s c h eme h a v e s h o w n n o t o n l y g r e a t er k n ow l e d ge about their o wn cultur e b ut can recite 30 classical poems an d over 300 idioms at the end of the first year. About 700 Secondary 1 students f r o m six schools are c u r r e n t l y enrolled in the scheme. 35 Years of Bilingual Education 9