2009年12月3日 星期四

替學校叫屈

報載,港生英文水平日差,主因是學校中英文夾雜授課。

讀到如此「結論」,真要替學校叫屈。大家可能沒留意,約在十多年前,本地的「英文中學」,多是名不副實,英書中教,連英文課也如是!可當年的畢業生,今天也能成為社會棟樑。

反觀今天,政府要求英文中學嚴格執行全英教學,學生的英文卻越學越差。明明學校的資源多了,學生的人數也沒增多,緣何會事與願違?究其主因,是社會變了,並非學校出錯。

從前的物質不比現在豐裕,加上出路有限,學生除了拼命讀書,並無他選。今日社會卻事事以學生為先,令學生成了土皇帝;另外,社會上讓年輕人出頭的機會減少,學生覺得讀書無用,哪會用心?即使教師再努力,學校再多輔導,結果還是徒然。

這幾年,栗子妹見學校的老師因著教改疲於奔命,大多捱到不似人形。他們的努力或許白費了,但那份教好學生的心,絕不能讓研究人員輕輕便抹煞掉。

從來研究都要有結論,但一句「中英夾雜是元兇」便了事?潘教授,這太兒戲了。

10 則留言:

  1. This professor Poon is obviously writing on behalf of those who wish to depress the English proficiency of the young people below even the current standards.
     
    What paper was he writing to?
    [版主回覆12/04/2009 20:51:00]Teacher: It's a research done by a university in HK. And the newspaper reported the findings of the research:
    http://gbcode.rthk.org.hk/TuniS/www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/radio3/backchat/20091202.html
    I can't believe the research team would think 中英夾雜 is main reason for poor English standard ...

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  2. 不似人形 --- best describe me Luckily, I still have movies and dreams, or I will be walking skeletons. Btw, will you watch Hear Me. Surprisingly GOOD!!!
    [版主回覆12/04/2009 21:00:00]Kenji: 我想看的,但還未有時間 (明天還要拍一整天的片 )
    或許這個週日可以去 bc 續會兼看電影
    別讓我太大期望呀,不然我可能會失望的
    另外,一定要學會忙裡偷閒,別讓工作拖垮身子

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  3. 我覺得,單是社會物質比以前豐盛,解釋不了問題,是共同思考方式發生轉變,如果要具體地說,或許我會說不單港人政治意識比以前薄弱,社會意識亦一樣。在這一輩年少的香港人(我是說teenagers)身上,究竟有甚麼共同抱負﹖
    [版主回覆12/04/2009 21:07:00]認同物質豐盛並不能解釋問題。看過一些關於社會 mobility 的文章,說現今世界給年輕人的機會,不比從前的多;加上父母溺愛,弄至新一代沒有上進心 (有點像我,再努力也沒機會上位),更不用說有抱負了。
    至於思考方式為何會發生轉變呢?這個我反而想去探究

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  4. Some of my F1 blog friends English are surprisingly well. Maybe it depends on the school itself also.  They are going to SSGC.  I think it is still one of the best school in HK.  When there are so many schools and students, there will be some that are better and some that are not so good.  Sometimes it is not so easy to keep up the high standard across the board.
    [版主回覆12/04/2009 21:17:00]堅: I think family education matters most. If parents are willing to spend time with their children, they will perform better at school (even in an average school).
    I'd like to find out what the people in the EDB are thinking. Do they think that by forcing students to listen to English in class, students' English will improve? Unbelievable.

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  5. 為何星加坡的人英文水平會咁好呢 ?
    他們的母語也不是英文呀.
    [版主回覆12/04/2009 21:19:00]雲兒:我覺得還是要看人。有心學的,環境再差也會學得好。沒心肝的,打再多的補針還是徒然。

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  6. I listened to the whole segment, and didn't catch the part where she said 中英夾雜 was the culprit...
    [版主回覆12/05/2009 06:43:00]But the line I quoted was the headline. She didn't mention anything about it in the interview? 有古怪
    On meta-study, I'm not familiar with it. But I think they based on 不負責任的 findings/conclusions and drew the wrong trend.

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  7. I agree that spending time with your kids is very important but you do have to spend a lot of time. Seeing my niece and nephew growing up, I realize how much effort is required. I am not sure if every parent can spend that much time with their kids. Children don't just need to learn about the traditional education but also emotional stuffs as well. And that sometimes require some playing time.  As researchers are finding out, play could be one of most important part of childhood development. Learning a language require some memorization. To a child before the age of 7, everything is easy to learn including language and music. I don't know what is the best way to learn a language. One school of thought is to listen and speak it as much as possible. I think most foreign languages are taught in that language in class for most US schools.
    [版主回覆12/05/2009 06:54:00]堅: True. Being a parent is not easy nowdays. Parents have to take care of their children's physical as well as emotional needs. As HK is a city famous for its 拼博精神(!), how can parents spare enough time for their children?
    Early education is important for a child's development. Unfortunately, HK government does not pay enough attention to this sector. On the other hand, parents are so eager to get their children into 名牌學校 that they employ tutors for their three-year-olds!
    I believe that systems that work in foreign countries will not work in HK. It's not about the system but how the officials implement it. I agree that it's good to let students listen and read as much English as possible, but when 英文中學 became a brand label, everything changed. In order to retain the reputation of school, Principal forces teachers to raise the level of students, which means more homework and students' loss of interest in their studies.

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  8. 說得也很合理, 非常贊成.
    [版主回覆12/06/2009 17:15:00]謝謝祈櫻子
    真不希望傳媒把全部責任推在學校身上。

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  9. 新加坡人英文較好是自然的,因為新加坡有太多不同民族,唯有用英文作共同語言。你如果不懂英文就很難跟其他民族溝通。 香港則相反,九成幾人是說廣東話的,所以社會上沒有壓力迫人用英文。 話唯如此,新加坡人的英文也出名是混合了馬來語、華語、印度語的Singlish。英文說得較「純正」(英/美標準)的人也有限。 要香港人英文好﹖很簡單,如果政府夠膽強迫全港電視台只准播英語節目(連《宮心計》也要英語配音﹗)、所有政府部門只會講英文,我保證十年後的學生英文水平一定會好。 家長自己的英文也是「油麻地」、特首的英文文法一樣出錯,怎麼單方面去挑剔學生的英文﹖
    [版主回覆12/06/2009 17:14:00]嘩,如果連肥皂劇都要聽英文配音,做人還有甚麼樂趣?
    我本來覺得學好英文是好事,因為自己喜歡英文,且英語世界多姿多采,當是買張入場證也值得。不過,近年說學好英文,是為著做生意,目的很功利,小朋友不喜歡隨波逐流,我認為也有理!
    其實說到底,學語文真要講興趣,跟學生說多有用多有用,沒一個聽得懂的。

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  10. 學習不是人家喂一口,學生就吃一口。
    學校是以自助餐形式來經營的,
    一大堆老師就站在那兒等著學生問問題,有甚麼不懂,為甚麼不問?
    再說,學語文需多接觸,在短短兩小時的課堂中又能教授甚麼呢?
    老師也有老師的難處。
    [版主回覆12/06/2009 17:09:00]yuenyee 的比喻,有趣也貼切。確實,語文需要浸淫,只靠學校課堂,平日平用功,很難有起色的。朋友問我為何補數學不補英文,因為對於不愛閱讀的小孩而言,補習英文根本無補於事。

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