Regardless of the old form of public exams (HKCEE&HKALE) or the recent combined assessment , for secondary school students in Hong Kong, language subjects still play a pivotal role. Mastery of Chinese and English is crucial for students applying for a place in a local university. For average students, it is nearly impossible to earn a place in a local university ticket unless they obtain at least a grade 4 or above at both language subjects.

English is the weakest link in the loop for many teenagers. In Hong Kong, some students are not interested in learning English; moreover, they seldom have the opportunity to speak in English after their classes. Improving students’ interest in English has become many schools’ main goal in the years to come.

When we examine the assessment framework of the English language, reading, writing, listening & integrated skills and speaking weighs 20%, 25%, 30% and 10% respectively, with another 15% for school-based assignments. In this respect, speaking has the lowest percentage prima facie. However, a closer look at the exam duration reveals that it takes only 20 minutes to be done! By comparison, if a student performs well in the 20 minutes, it would be easier for her or him to score in terms of time-efficiency.

Other than traditional reading and listening tasks, more schools are growing fond of English debate. The Education Bureau suggests using Native-speaking English Teachers in the English classroom for the Secondary Schools NET Scheme. The ground rules of the traditional debate system includes three speakers each on each side of the argument (opposition team and proposition team). They get their topics a few days ahead and they will then gather information from books or websites and prepare their arguments. During the actual debate, they also have to refute (effectively counter the critical points made by the opponents), which is something they cannot prepare upfront and the most exciting part of debate.

A good debater persuades the audience and adjudicator to either support or reject a motion. Throughout the process, all speakers must participate which can be difficult for shy students but will eventually lead to an increase in confidence. Simple English debate does not require extensive knowledge of certain subjects, but rather sound preparation and agile critical thinking (which is also a core component of liberal arts classes in Hong Kong).

For more information, please peruse the Education Bureau’s website.

 

*References:

1. http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/Subject_Information/eng_lang/2013hkdse-elang.pdf
2. http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/Media/PR/20130714_HKDSE_Results_ENG_FULL.pdf
3. http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/resource-support/net/using-debate-in-the-english-classroom.html