30 November, 2011

A wonderful trip

by 2C Rita Au 


  Last Summer I went to the Ocean Park because I had good results in my final exam.
  
  When I entered the amusement park, I was astonished by what appeared in front of my eyes. The sellers were dressed in fantastic cartoon costumes. The souvenir shops were selling things that I’d never seen before. The souvenirs were very expensive but dazzling.

  First, I went to the Ocean Theatre. The Ocean Theatre was huge and there were many cute animals, such as sea lion, dolphins and sharks.

  Next to the Ocean Theatre, I could see some wild animals such as pandas and red pandas walking around their living place. Although there were iron fences that block the visitors  from approaching them, I still felt delighted.

After that, I got on some thrill rides. The roller coaster was so terrible but exciting. Also, I saw a lot of wonderful scenes when I was on the cable car.

I tried almost everything in the amusement park and I was very delighted.


In the evening, I had dinner in a famous restaurant. The waiters were helpful, and handsome and the food was delicious. Everything in the restaurant was well-served and well-designed, such as tables, chairs and utensils. Sitting next to the window, I enjoyed a ravishing night view of the whole amusement park. “How pretty it is!” I thought. After I went home, I was still excited. It was such an amazing day.


Two Poems

by 3C Tina Lui

A Squirrel

A squirrel is...
as tiny as a mouse
BROWN as a cup of breakfast tea.


It has...
skin like a big coat
a soft tail like a scarf
and, as LOVELY as a creamy

                               cup cake!!!

This is a

SQUIRREL
   
      squirrel

          squirrel




HOME LESS
Cloudy, without sun light.
Is just dark, all things are dark.
Light was covered by darkness in my heart.

Home is the most important thing in our life.
Others have a home, but why I don't?
My home is just like a house without family love.
Eating alone at night just for living.

             time
Last Christmas we stayed together, how                                    

long ago?

    I wonder.

Even God can't remember.

Should I be angry to Dad & Mum?
Should I Cry???

23 November, 2011

Learn To Speak

By 6F Terrance Hung

The education regime in Hong Kong which shows no sign to improve is not living up to the goal for every student to become proficient in Cantonese, Putonghua and English. There are no signs of any progress notwithstanding the notable goal brought up by the government.

  That our students’ Putonghua level is stunningly poor is unimpeachable. This may be attributed to the government’s indifferent attitude towards Putonghua studies. It is uncontestable that our Putonghua will remain  a sleepy backwater if the Putonghua curriculum ends in form 3. Further studying of Putonghua is hindered by the lack of Putonghua courses provided for senior form students. It is undesirable, if not hopeless, to pins on the three years' foundation course of Putonghua in a bid to achieve proficiency in this pivotal language. To exacerbate the problem, teachers, however reluctant, are required to teach an extra subject concurrently while teaching Putonghua at school. Teachers, consequently, will possess a low initiative to pursue betterment for teaching, especially Putonghua, which is being considered an insignificant subject in the territory.

  Aside from this, in practice, our highly-acclaimed English capability is not so glaring either. Even schools using English as the medium of instruction face a problem of students’ low incentive to learn English, let alone schools using Chinese as the medium of instruction. The underlying reason for the low incentive is the deep-seeded Cantonese learning environment and atmosphere. The lingering problem lies in the reluctance of students to communicate in English owing to their Cantonese mother tongue. In the absence of heavy scrutiny, students will chat in their mother tongue even if the teachers do their utmost endeavor to promote English. In most cases, undesirably, teachers will also use Cantonese in lessons for further elaboration which is also deleterious to students’ English development. However, it is worth sympathy that students will be put in an embarrassing, if not anathematic situation if they are required to use an unfamiliar language 24/7.

  Though fluent students' Cantonese may seem, barely could they come up with a single readable Chinese essay. The problem lies in the lack of writing practice. Instead of writing essays, teachers opt for practicing comprehension skills which requires less effort to mark. In addition, students nowadays prefer comic books rather than novels, which has set the alarm bell ringing everywhere. Not only can Chinese novels boost students comprehension skills staggeringly, but it can also enhance their practical thinking skills. Comic books, on the other hand, will have detrimental effects on students’ writing skills, with bizarre phrases and violent content undermining their mindset. The school, however, has done little, making it too late to hamper students from reading comics.

There is no panacea to learn a language quickly. To be practical, in an effort to lay solid foundations for students’ Putonghua, a host of measures should be implemented. Extending the Putonghua curriculum is a case in point regarding the measures to strengthen student’s Putonghua skills. Lengthened Putonghua training is what students need to consolidate their Putonghua foundation.

Teachers play a key role in maintaining a favorable learning atmosphere for students. Teachers' teaching attitude is of cardinal importance to students’ improvement in language. A merely deep-rooted learning approach is not enough. Teachers are advised to formulate a host of thought-provoking activities like group discussion or personal presentation to lure students to study a language through formal interaction.

  Encouraging students to read more is also a juvenile-friendly approach to improve students’ linguistic skills. Reading Chinese novel, for example, is an effective and intriguing way for students to study Cantonese. The more novels students read, the broader  student’s horizons will be. Added to this, reading will, uncontrovertibly and indubitably, facilitate one’s reading skills and skyrocket one’s writing ability.

 All the three languages of Cantonese, Putonghua and English will make immense contribution to our future career in light of the world trend of globalization. Dwelling in a metropolitan like Hong Kong, we had better equip ourselves to be trilingual to surmount all formidable challenges ahead in our career path.

17 November, 2011

My Extraordinary Immersion in Australia

by 2D Ma Ho Bun
Gold Coast, Australia
During the summer holiday, I went to Australia with students from other schools. This study trip is the richest and the best one that I have ever gone.

  This study trip let me learn more about Australian animals. One day we went to the zoo. There were many animals that I hadn’t seen before. I think the cutest animal is platypus because it has a thin and flat mouth which looks like the duck. 

a platypus
  I stayed in gold-coast in Australia for 18 days. At first I didn’t want to stay there. After staying with the host family; I think that it is the best family because the family is very kind and friendly.

  During my stay in Australia, we had to go to school for lessons. The local teachers taught us about Australia. Sometimes, we would join the local students. They were very talkative. We played football with them. They also gave presents to us.

  We also went to the beach in gold coast. The beach is very large and beautiful. We had a barbecue there. Everyone there was very delighted.

  On the last day, the local teacher helped us to organize a farewell party. We sang a kookaburra song. Our host family cried when we said ‘Goodbye’ to them. I hope I can go to Australia again and again.


11 November, 2011

And I Want Those Shoes

By 6A Alex Tsang
 
    Having a tight budget changes your lifestyle and psyche, but it never reaves my desire to indulge myself in fashion. Or does it? From walking to schools, to traveling on the bus, there are always distractions that catch our eyes. Take the Versace x H&M advertisement as an example- embodied on skyscrapers, printed in alluring colors, featured top models in vogue and clothes from Versace. When the sun enlightened the scenario with halo, magic happened. It was the finest thing on earth, comparable to Pablo Picasso’s paintings. So later the day, I went to the H&M store, picked up the Versace shirt, handed it in to the counter where I found my wallet void with a hundred dollar. That moment, fashion slammed me in the face.

    Granted, wearing a Versace shirt is worth anything but that moment of embarrassment had dragged me in a dreadful plight that I went out of words. After all, it was vanity that drives us into a believer in brands like Louis Vuitton and Givenchy. The unsullied silk, polished leather with labels tagged at the bag unleashed our possession to search for those superior goods. Yet, underneath the labels are numerous figures and debts. So what drives us to pass that money we have toiled for to the salesperson?

  Patently, the brands themselves cause an abracadabra on us. Advertisements of those branded goods always project a fantasy as if the products are magic tools that change life and matters. For most of the city dwellers living in Hong Kong, a fast paced city crowned the title of international financial center, the atmosphere of affluence is everywhere. A Chanel leather clutch doesn’t only look good. It offers a voice to the user. It is elegance and grace. Given the picture, we can just let our mind be taken over by those commercial images. To overcome the baptism of fire, we should think about wants and needs which are, indeed, two different matters.

  Wants are unlimited. We crave for more as we satisfy more. The situation happened when we had our first sneakers. At first, we bought one pair from Adidas, with white strips on black suede. A few months later, other sneakers were displayed in the glimmering store’s window. The sneakers were a mix of materials of vibrant colors. Undoubtedly, that was the one that fitted your feet at that time.

  
Needs, however, tell a different story. That vibrant colors-coated sneakers were indeed not what you needed. Instead, that pair of classic Adidas was doing a good job in fitting your feet. It was a classic design, everlasting. What’s more? It could go with anything ranging from jeans to chic leggings. So do you still need those pairs of  new sneakers?

   Having said that, still, I always succumb to fashion, regardless of the budget I have. In theory, I have a good budget control. In reality, I lose my budget to designers’ goods. And the next time, when I walk past the store where a pair of sneakers was being nicely displayed, I will still say ‘I want those shoes.’ What a guilty pleasure!

08 November, 2011

How to Learn English the Easy Way

by Miss S. Wong

There’s no mistake - you hear it right! It is possible to learn English with ease, that is, provided you know how. In this article, you are going to read about some ways to learn English without effort or pain.

Keep a Vocabulary Bank

People save money in the bank so that they’ll be rich one day. Similarly, if you put several new words in a ‘bank book’ every day, you’ll become rich in words and your word power will increase. When people draw money from the bank and spend it, they’ll end up with less money. The best thing about a word bank is that, the more words you use, the richer you’ll become and the more knowledge of English you’ll have. Just remember to include the word class (noun, verb, adjective etc), the meaning and an example sentence when you enter a word into your vocabulary bank book.

Connect Passion with English

Having been a teacher of English for quite a while, I’ve heard stories of successful English learning related to one’s passion from time to time. I’ve met students who told me they learnt English through playing computer games. They chose websites written in English and communicated with international players in English. Some told me they acquired English proficiency through listening to English songs or watching English films. These are all fun activities to learn a language.


Read! Read! Read!

Everybody knows the importance of reading in language learning but few students can really do it. You don’t have to read for hours to improve your English. That’ll probably tire you out and kill your interest. Read for only 15 minutes per day. Always read books that you enjoy and can read without difficulty. Carry the book with you wherever you go. Read it on the MTR or when you’re waiting for your meal. As your ability and interest build up, reading will become a part of your life like eating or brushing your teeth. I bet nobody would think taking a bath is difficult!

Pay Attention in Class     

Believe it or not: time passes much faster when you pay attention in class. That means you’ll listen to the teacher’s instructions carefully and be on task all the time. As a result, you’ll be able to finish your class-work and probably part of your homework in class. With a good understanding of what you’ve learnt at school, assignments become easy and tests and dictation takes shorter time to prepare. Guess what, you'll have more spare time to enjoy your hobbies!

The above ways of learning English are all simple and easy. But they work and hence are worth taking. If you’ve read up to this point, that proves you do care about your English. Now is the best time to start learning English the easy way. Which of the four methods would you like to begin with?