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