Week 17 - So long Hong Kong! (Professional Blog)

A farewell gathering organised in our halls!

Yesterday I finished my teaching placement in Jockey Club Primary School. It has been a fantastic experience having the opportunity to teach and work with children in a different educational setting outside of Northern Ireland. On reflection, it has been a challenging placement, in particular as I was teaching children who use English as a second language. I feel, however, that this completely new experience will really be of benefit to me in the future.

The teacher who I was with during school placement.

Compared to my previous experiences of teaching back home, the students in Hong Kong aren’t as used to participatory classrooms with plenty of teacher-student dialogue. This was even noticeable in my classes at University here where the local students were very reluctant to answer questions and interact with the teachers. This meant that the exchange students were often the ones answering the questions! It was encouraging when I was teaching in the primary school however, that the students gradually got more used to me and eventually they became more receptive and confident in participating.

Grade 6 class.

Grade 5 class.

Having just concluded my teaching practice, I feel better equipped to evaluate the systems of primary education in Hong Kong and Northern Ireland.  When reflecting upon the differences, I feel there are definite advantages and disadvantages for each schooling system. From my prospective, I missed the opportunity to teach areas of the Curriculum other than English here in Hong Kong. Working back home offers variety through teaching a range of different subjects but with the same pupils in the same class. There is the obvious argument that in the Hong Kong schooling system teachers are specialists in their subject areas resulting in a higher standard of learning and teaching across all subject areas. Having experienced both systems, it is my considered opinion, that it is more advantageous for children at primary school to have the same teacher throughout the year so the teacher can closely monitor and help the pupils’ progress in their learning.  The children should also feel more comfortable building up positive working relationships with the same teacher.

Another enjoyable home visit!

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I have been engaged in some out of school activities with the pupils and this week had another opportunity to visit a pupil’s home. I had a fantastic evening and really enjoyed sharing with them some traditional Chinese dishes which they cooked.  Again I was amazed at how gracious and courteous the local families are over here. I showed them some pictures of Northern Ireland and they were impressed by the scenery and also by the size of my house as most families here live in flats.

Having completed my teaching placement in Hong Kong, I now realise the wide-ranging opportunities we have as teachers. During discussions with the Principal, I was made aware of the high demand in South East Asia for Native English Teachers, an initiative which is being backed by the Hong Kong government. Certainly while I have been studying in Hong Kong, I have met many expats who are now teaching here full-time and Hong Kong, in my view would definitely be a great place to live and potentially work in the future.

I can’t believe my time in Hong Kong has now finally come to an end. It seems like no time since I arrived but I suppose this just goes to show what a great time I have had. Coming to Hong Kong and doing an international exchange has been an amazing and unforgettable experience which I will always look back upon with fond memories. I have made lots of new friends and met people from all over the world. This opportunity has also allowed me to immerse myself in a completely different culture and see parts of the world I would never have expected to have visited twelve months ago. I have had such a great time in Hong Kong, studying and teaching, doing a bungee jump in Macau, going to the Hong Kong Sevens, travelling to Vietnam at Easter and now flying to Sydney on Thursday morning. For those students in second year back home who want to go on international exchange I would really recommend Hong Kong. Having lived here for over 4 months it really is as they say – a place where ‘East meets West!’ Well it is now time to go as I still have lots of packing to do... I am leaving my halls at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning in order to catch the early flight to Sydney!

So long Hong Kong!

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael

Week 16 - Extra curricular activities (Professional Blog)

At the railway museum.

This week has been a really interesting week in Hong Kong. The Chairperson of the Parent-Teacher Association has been trying to make the most of having ‘English speaking’ student teachers in the primary school and this week had organised some “events” including a home visit to a pupil’s house and a ‘tour’ of the local town on Saturday morning by the students. Although possibly unconvinced at first, I now feel that both of these events were really beneficial and constructive for the children as it gave them an excellent opportunity to practice and use their English outside the formal setting of the classroom.   As for me, I really enjoyed getting to know the children socially and spending time with them outside of school.

One of the old diesel electric trains.

On Saturday morning we met at 10 o’clock at Tai Po Market station with around 30 of the school children some of whom were accompanied by their parents. My “guided tour” of Tai Po commenced with the 6 pupils in my group first taking me to the Railway Museum which showed the transition of trains from a couple of hundred years ago to the trains we now have today. After this, the children thought it was very important that I went with them to Man Mo temple which is a temple where you go to if you want to pray and ask for good academic results!

Hopefully our prayers come true!

Trying some traditional Chinese desserts.

We also had great fun visiting some of the morning markets and tasting Old Chinese traditional desserts which were surprisingly quite good! It was also really interesting seeing the wide range and varying types of fresh fish and different meat in the local market with the children particularly enjoying watching the butchers chopping up and slicing the meat right in front of us. After a quick visit to the local library where we discussed all the different types of books we liked reading, we finished our morning by having lunch together and enjoyed eating some ‘Dim Sum’ which is probably the only traditional Chinese food that I may actually miss when I leave Hong Kong! 

Some of the colourful fish at the market!

During the week I also had the opportunity of visiting a student’s house and spending an evening with his family.  They generously invited me out to a restaurant and we all enjoyed dinner together. Not only was this very welcoming, but I felt it was a really worthwhile experience, because as student teachers we rarely get the chance to spend any time socially with children outside of the school environment and it provided me with an excellent opportunity to get to know the child better in an informal way. In Hong Kong helping children speak English is very important to their parents as it opens up many more opportunities and possibilities. The parent with whom I had dinner on Wednesday evening told me that her eldest child is over in England at a boarding school and really enjoying it.  So much so that he doesn’t even want to come back to Hong Kong during the holidays because there is such a range of activities, sports and opportunities “outside”  the school  day in England. The impression I get is that many parents are quite keen to send their children away, not only to improve their English but because growing up and settling in Hong Kong is now particularly difficult because of the colossal house prices. 

Enjoying some Japanese cuisine.

A farewell party was also organised by the International Office on Friday and it was nice to have everyone gathered together for one final time before we all go off on our own separate journeys. We watched a presentation showing lots of photos since we came to Hong Kong and we shared a few stories and experiences about the great time we had here, before we all joined together for one last lunch. At this event, it finally hit me that my adventure in Hong Kong is now coming to an end, and with many students already having left it has made me realise that I must try and make the most of the remaining days I have left!

HKIEd International Students 2011!

This week I am in school again and my final assignment is also due to be handed in so it will be a relief when that work is completed. Hopefully next weekend, which is my last here in Hong Kong, I will be free to do anything which I have not yet done!

Until next time...

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael

Week 15 - Studying abroad... (Personal Blog)

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” Mark Twain

It somehow seems appropriate that when I started my first blog all those weeks ago, I quoted from Mark Twain. Now that my time in Hong Kong is coming to an end, I thought I should seek further words of wisdom! Coming from Northern Ireland the words “prejudice”, "bigotry” and “narrow-mindedness” sometimes seem to go with the territory. So have I learned anything about the society and world we live in and gained anything from its diversity and variety?

I thought my blog this week was an important opportunity to think about how travel really does broaden the mind, now that our little group or “family” of international students are beginning to leave Hong Kong. Coming to Hong Kong has given me the most fantastic opportunity of meeting people from all over the world. Travel gives you a global perspective that allows you to view things through a much wider lens; to understand the world and its people; to appreciate the wealth of diversity you gain by such an assortment of cultures and beliefs. Most importantly of all however, is that it changes you in a totally unique way.

Getting to know the other international students over the past number of months has impressed on me how open-minded they are and how they are always willing to try and accept new things. This made me think about many people’s attitudes and perspectives back home where in spite of considerable progress over recent years, we can still be traditional in our views with uncompromising opinions and biased attitudes. This is exemplified by the widespread negativity surrounding the influx of new immigrants from Eastern Europe seeking employment (usually in jobs that no one else wants to do) or the continued sectarian violence between the protestant and catholic communities.

I think it is important that we realise society is now becoming a global one and that Northern Ireland in twenty years’ time will almost certainly need to be much more diverse and multi-cultural than it is today. As a prospective teacher, it is noticeable that the Northern Ireland Curriculum is strongly emphasising the importance of developing and encouraging children to be more open-minded and accepting of diversity and to be more tolerant in their views. Areas such as PDMU (Personal Development and Mutual Understanding) have now become an integral part of the Northern Ireland Curriculum with teachers being encouraged to strive to educate children to be open to diversity and accommodating of other cultures and traditions.

On a personal level, where I always considered myself to be broad minded and indeed, easy-going, I feel that having this great opportunity to study in such a cosmopolitan city, surrounded by people from all over the world has helped me develop personally with regards to becoming a much more liberal and tolerant person. I know that I now respect, and certainly appreciate, different cultures and traditions much more than before I came to study in Hong Kong. Hopefully we are all moving towards a global society, where diversity and inclusiveness are the norm. Travel and in my case studying abroad, is one sure way of bringing this about much sooner. As Mark Twain reminds us - "Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

Week 14 - Good Morning Vietnam! (Cultural Blog)

I remember watching a Top Gear special a couple of years ago with total fascination as Clarkson, Hammond and May travelled through Vietnam on motorbikes in their new tailor-made suits and being amazed at the spectacular scenery, in particular Ha Long Bay. Remembering the programme, and knowing I had some spare time during Easter here in Hong Kong, I was determined to book a trip to Hanoi – so we arrived in the north of Vietnam last Tuesday! 

Despite all its faults -- traffic, pollution, and dirty streets -- I loved visiting Hanoi. 

The first thing I noticed in Vietnam when I got into the taxi at the airport was that the traffic was absolutely crazy with people beeping their horns every few seconds! Our tour guide told us that there are approximately 4 million scooters in Hanoi which gives you a sense of what the traffic must be like around the city. Combine this with few traffic lights or pedestrian crossings and you soon realise that it is a free-for-all for on the roads. As a pedestrian, when crossing the road, it is very much a case of trying to walk slowly and carefully to avoid the cars and hoping that the motorbikes avoid you!

After living in Hong Kong where everything is spotlessly clean, in contrast the streets of Hanoi are quite dirty and it isn’t unusual to see piles of rubbish lying at the roadside in the bustling streets amid vendors, shoppers and traffic. Also a lot of families sit outside their shops and eat dinner together at night time in a really relaxed and peaceful atmosphere which I liked.

Vietnam is renowned in Asia, for its good food and it didn’t disappoint especially as meals are so cheap compared to back home or in Hong Kong with a substantial meal costing only £3. The main traditional dish in Vietnam is called ‘Pho Bo’ which is basically noodles and beef in a soup that is really tasty. There was also a buffet breakfast in the morning at our hotel which needless to say, made getting up that little bit easier, especially as I hadn’t eaten a good cooked breakfast since I left Northern Ireland!

Before I came to Vietnam I considered getting a tailored suit especially after hearing how cheap they were. So on the first day, when I was walking around the shops alongside Allen, Simon and Rachel (who as usual was hounding us to buy stuff!) we finally gave in and couldn’t resist the temptation to splash the cash! I got measured up for a tailored grey suit with matching shirt and tie and now look a thousand dollars (or in their currency a million!)

Whilst the buzz of hanoi was something i wouldn’t have missed, the highlight of my trip to Vietnam was the day trips to Ha Long Bay and Tam Coc. 

Ha Long Bay is a spectacular limestone maze which has over 3,000 karst limestone structures, although our tour guide told us that locals claim there are only 1,969 in memory of Ho Chi Minh, the late President. The day trip to Ha Long Bay was totally amazing. I absolutely loved visiting the floating fishing village and kayaking in among the giant karsts and through the caves. The atmosphere was so serene and peaceful and the kayaking was the definitely my favourite part of the trip.

Another fantastic trip was to Tam Coc where we got to visit some Buddhist Temples (although they all appear very similar once you have seen one or two)! A particular highlight was when a group of us went on bikes through the Vietnamese countryside and had great fun cycling through the small villages and country roads. This was followed by the opportunity to “unwind and relax” as we were rowed down the Ngo Dong River among the paddy fields and caves which was surprisingly every bit as stunning as Ha Long Bay.

I had a fantastic week and really enjoyed my time in Vietnam.  The sights, the history and the contrasts I discovered during my short stay, will entice me back to Vietnam again to visit other parts of the country, especially Ho Chi Minh City in the south where I may get another tailored suit on the way!

Only 3 and half weeks left in Hong Kong now before I fly out to Australia! This week it will be heads down to work hard and complete my remaining assignments, before I start back in Jockey Club Primary School next Tuesday.

Until next time...

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael

Week 13 - First Week of School Placement! (Professional Blog)

This week I began my placement in Jockey Club Primary School teaching Grade 5 and 6 classes.  Although I had prepared well, to be honest it has been quite a challenging and different experience to the placements I have had in the past. It took a little bit of time to adjust to teaching students who only use English as a second language. The teaching approach and style in my lessons therefore is more formal than it would be back home with the focus mainly on comprehension skills, language skills, vocabulary and grammar instead of a more cross-curricular approach which I am used to in the Northern Ireland Curriculum where English for example would be taught alongside history or geography.

I have become very aware that with some teaching periods lasting only thirty-five minutes it is quite hard to get a full lesson completed with the class. Back home when we are teaching we are encouraged to begin with an introduction in our lesson to “set the scene.” However, due to the time constraints, it is a matter of getting started straight into the lesson, after a brief introduction, and getting the content covered quickly with the students.

A particular difficulty of having some single periods is that the time constraint makes it challenging as a class teacher, to ensure that all the children are following and achieving the success criteria of the lesson. In both my classes there are one or two pupils who are not familiar with or confident in using English and I have found it demanding to keep them engaged and focused throughout the lesson. With classes of 32 students it is difficult to spend time individually with children who need more help and encouragement. Obviously this links back to the need for differentiation, which as I mentioned in my blog last week, doesn’t seem to be as fundamental in the Hong Kong education system as it is back in Northern Ireland.

I have detected in my English lessons that the students don’t seem as confident or willing to interact and participate in teacher-led class discussion compared to my previous experiences back in Northern Ireland as the students seems to be more shy and afraid of giving a wrong answer. To overcome this, I have tried to integrate as much partner and group work as possible into my lessons so that the students, in particular the weaker pupils, are interacting and practising their English with one another instead of just listening or responding to the teacher.  The overall English ability of the class is very good; however, there is a noticeable and distinct difference in motivation between the higher and lesser ability students.  Often when you ask a weaker student a question or if you try to interact with them they will ask their friend (who is better at English) for help in Cantonese. I feel that trying to break down this barrier and instilling some confidence and motivating the weaker students to learn English will be one of my biggest challenges in the remaining weeks.

During the week we were also asked to do an English activity each afternoon with the Grade 3 students because soon they will have to complete their TSA (Territory-Wide System Assessment Tests) English test. This basically involves a formal oral test where the children are shown a picture and they have to answer questions about it, using sentences and developing their answers as much as possible. I was extremely surprised by the use of vocabulary, thinking skills and confidence which some of the children displayed at such a young age. So much so that I think their answers would be just as good as any student of the same age back home!

The pupils seem very excited to have some guests in the school and the head of the Parent Teacher Association appears very keen for the student teachers to visit some of the children’s homes and participate in some organised trips with the pupils providing them with opportunities to improve their English. Overall it has been a really interesting first week and I am looking forward to the two weeks of teaching placement again after Easter despite the increase in workload!

Outside of school this week we managed to meet up with Claire Annett and Clare Beacom who came into Hong Kong to visit for the weekend. It was nice to be able to catch up and hear all about their personal experiences in China and it seems as if they are also having a great time. Hearing them talk about China makes it sound very different to Hong Kong, so much so, that I am tempted to go and visit them. Depending on my workload over Easter and how much I can complete of my remaining assignments I hope to maybe get the opportunity to go to Guangzhou for a few days and see what it is like for myself!

Tomorrow evening we are flying out to Vietnam to stay in Hanoi and hopefully visit Ha Long Bay which I am particularly looking forward to. I will be updating you on our travels in my blog next week.

Until next time...

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael

Week 12 - School Observation and First Assignment Complete! (Professional Blog)

This week I had the opportunity to go into Jockey Club Primary School to observe an English lesson with the Grade 5 class with whom I will be working. There are 32 pupils in the class and the overall ability of the class is generally very good. I was particularly surprised by how well-spoken and confident the students were in their use of the English language. The range of ability differs however, from those students who are fluent in their English skills to some who have only recently moved to Hong Kong from Mainland China and as a result have very little experience using English.  The catchment area of the school is a mix between children who come from very well off backgrounds and those from poorer backgrounds which predictably has an effect on how fluent the children are in English. 

Surprisingly, teachers in Hong Kong do not differentiate the lessons and instead teach to the 'average' of the class which is a big contrast to the way we have been trained back home. There is a big emphasis on teachers back in Northern Ireland to take into account the needs of every individual within the classroom, not only the needs of lower ability pupils or those with special educational needs but the higher ability children (who are often overlooked) also need to be challenegd and stimulated so that they do not lose interest and become disengaged. Consequently when I am planning my lessons I still intend to carefully consider how to help both the weaker and the stronger students in developing their English skills. Particular attention will have to be paid to the oral skills of the weaker students because the class teacher told me that they naturally try to avoid speaking English as they lack confidence in answering questions in front of their peers. My class teacher also explained that when teaching an English lesson the key is to ensure that you get every child actively involved and make certain that you provide opportunities for the students to practice their English speaking skills as much as possible. When I was observing the lesson, I noticed the teacher had a small area on the board where the class was divided into specific areas and as she was asking questions or trying to get the students involved she kept a tally. With a class of 32, this meant that the teacher knew that everyone in the class was participating in and contributing to the lesson. I thought this was a good way of monitoring input from the pupils because sometimes it can be an easy option for teachers to just let the stronger pupils answer the questions and forget about the weaker pupils who are not engaged in the lesson.

During this week I also completed my first assignment which was a validity analysis of an assessment tool that we created as a group. I particularly enjoyed this module and feel that it was extremely relevant and beneficial in my professional development since assessment is at the heart of being a modern teacher. In the old days, teachers taught and central examination authorities assessed. Teachers did not really have to know about or become involved in the assessment process.  All that was required was to be able to mimic public examinations so that students experienced school assessment as preparation for exams. Nowadays however, teachers are obligated to collect evidence and exercise interpretive judgement about student learning.  Having completed this module, I now feel much more competent in designing, administering, selecting and interpreting assessments properly. I am confident that I can design my own assessments and understand how to create a ‘valid’ and useful assessment tool which will benefit both the teacher and students in evaluating and improving their effectiveness and learning respectively. 

On Saturday the international students went on an organised trip to Cheung Chau (meaning ‘Long Island’ in English) which is one of the surrounding islands near to Hong Kong (a half-hour boat journey). Traditionally the island was a fishing village and there are still fishing fleets working from the harbour. However in recent years the island has become a major tourist attraction, offering a mixture of sandy swimming beaches, seafood cafes, and traditional Chinese culture. At Cheung Chau we shared some lovely seafood and I managed to force myself to try some fresh octopus, crab and fried squid! After going for a hike last week I decided this time to relax and try to get a bit of a tan at the beach!

The weather in the past week has been amazing with temperatures hitting 30°C and not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately, the humidity is starting to pick up and it is now very warm at night time requiring the air conditioning to be put on in my room as I am finding it difficult to get to sleep. The international students gathered together last night again for another barbeque because a lot of students are beginning to go travelling as classes have finished and only assignments need to be completed. I also had to go into Central a couple of times this week to get my visa for Vietnam as we are going to Hanoi next week. This is something I am really to looking forward to and I will keep you updated about the trip.

Following my visit to Jockey Club Primary School, I am starting my teaching placement there this week so I will let you know how I get on in my next blog.

Until next time...

Joi Gin (Goodbye)

Michael