I wrote an e-mail message, quite a long letter actually, to Ms Fanny Law, the Permanent Secretary of the Education and Manpower Bureau, on the last day of August and another on the fourth of this month. Her prompt replies reached me in a few days respectively. Her efficiency and willingness to take the trouble to send personal replies to an unknown teacher really touched me.
The first letter, with a letter to the editor of SCMP attached, is about encouraging social leaders, especially teachers, to read English books and watch English films. The letter to the Editor was published in SCMP on 3-9-2005. The second one sent to her is about specific suggestions.
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The letter to the Editor of SCMP (8-2005) Despite the poor standards of my students¡¦ English and the obvious difficulty in helping them to get high marks, the SBA, which is the new Cert English syllabus component accounting for 15% of the total subject mark requiring candidates to give four oral reviews about two books and two films has my full support. At last, the reform is taking our future generations in the right track in language learning. However, there is no funding for resources such as books and films, for all things related to filming candidates¡¦ assessments as records for marks moderation, or for technical and clerical support. Guidelines are far from clear and there are also loopholes in ensuring fairness of marking. The practical side is not thought out well. I hope that a well-intentioned change will not result in a mess, which is nothing but mere additional burden on both the teachers and students. Reading English books and watching English films are how I built and have been further strengthening my English foundations. These two ways are not just for students. If I were the Education Head with the goal of improving the English standards of Hong Kong people in mind, I would put forward an incentive scheme to encourage all government officials, members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, and teachers, especially English teachers, to read English books and watch English films regularly. Set an example for our students in the interest of both themselves and the children. Everyone says reading broadens our horizons, but I wonder how often our social leaders read! Recently, I started a paid website in which I put my book and film reviews and other essays to share my thoughts and feelings. I am going to tell my students about that in the hope of arousing their interest in reading and writing. Action always speaks louder than words. If I were the Education Head, I would also start a club for teachers to share their response to their favourite books and films, or even those that they don¡¦t like. Start with teachers. If I were a student, I would enjoy watching my teachers sitting together exchanging their views, and I would pick up the books and videos to see if they are really that impressive or terrible.
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