Did anyone actually *enjoy* Chinese school?

Wongy · Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 3

You know i think the problem why some of us hate to go chinese school is that we have too much schooling during the week and then have saturdays (or sundays) also!

and whilst it is only roughly 2 hours, it takes up the whole of the day really!!

Also i see everyone is saying that their cantonese is a bit rubbish, i kinda think thats also because we (and this is generalising) all speak english at home.....why?

well, because our parents naturally want to improve their english and so will speak english to us!! therefore unless we go 'tong yun guy' everyday, our cantonese will probably not improve as well!!

carolso · Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Posts: 5 Location: oxford

As a Cantonese teacher in the Chinese school, I understand how painful it is when everyone is having a break on Saturday or Sunday but some poor Chinese students have to come to Chinese school to learn something that they are not really interested in. I also understand how much work they have to do at school and they really dont want to do any Chinese homework. But as a teacher I still have to give them some homework and tests from time to time and make them write in traditional Chinese, as this is the only way they can remember the words.

I enjoy reading all your posts as they really help me to understand my students and think about what i can possibly do to make the Chinese lessons less boring. I find it particularly to justify learning Cantonese now as everyone is talking about Mandarin and it seems like Mandarin is going to take over Cantonese completely. The only thing is some Chinese students still have to learn Cantonese so to communicate with their grandparents or old relatives in HK. I tried to use all the methods I can think of and make the class more interactive, for example playing games, listening to canton pop during the class, teaching students to type chinese with their computer and to search chinese materials online, learn expressions and words related to food and popular culture... everything really, and I think they enjoy it more than studying the textbook. However I have to face the pressure from the parents as well, as they hope their kids can do GCSE and A Level, and so I still have to make my students to write and read the boring texts, to do lots of past exam papers, and help them to get an A* in the exam (rememebr, A is never good enough, it has to be A*, poor students).

I think some problems do occur in Chinese schools are that we dont have enough resources. Normally Chinese schools dont have their own school venue, and have to rent classrooms from other school or community centre. It makes using any audio visual equipment very difficult. I have to bring my own laptop and speakers to the school sometime and I couldnt watch any films or clips with my students, though I think this is a perfect way to learn, simply because we dont have a portable projector. There are also very limited teaching resources available for cantonese teachers at the moment, and I have to do lots of work in preparing for my lessons.

I agree that most of the teachers in Chinese schools, including myself, do not have a teaching qualification in the UK, and some of them may not be familiar with the UK education system and style though they have kids. But generally I think the situation is improving as I find there are increasing professional training opportunities for both cantonese and mandarin teachers.

joybetluck · Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 206

hi carolso
Would you know the name of the examination boards setting Gcse and A-levels exams? Are there much difference between them and which one would you recommend for a mature student? I presume you were educated in HK but as you are not a qualified teacher, are you teaching your students in the same way as you were taught or have you made some adaptation?

carolso · Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Posts: 5 Location: oxford

Now in UK only Edexcel does GCSE and A Level Chinese.

There is a very big gap between GCSE and A Level exam, and A Level exam is always critised as unaccessible to non-native speakers. I have some Chinese students whose parents are Chinese and they use Chinese at home all the time, but they still find the exam very difficult. They have to put a lot of efforts in it to get a good grade. GCSE is more accessible to non-native speakers, but you still have to learn Chinese for at least 3 years to take the exam.

I would say it is actually your language ability that decides which exam you should take, rather than whether you are a mature student. In GCSE you will have speaking, listening, reading and writing, and all the tasks in the exam are based on 4 main topics. These topics are very practical and accessible to both students and mature learners.

A Level, however, requires students to translate an english paragraph into Chinese, and also to write an essay between 500-1000 words. So you will have to know lots of Chinese characters and have a good level of understandings towards Chinese culture to take this exam.

I was educated in HK, but I dont really teach students in the same way I was taught. Things have been changing a lot and I dont think using the old teaching method would work, no matter the students are Chinese or English. And indeed when I teach I just consider my students as English, in fact they are. They know very little about Chinese culture, and they dont really share the same value that most of the Chinese would have. However in the Chinese school, we, as the teacher, are always facing the dilema that we have the responsibility to teach students the traditional Chinese values, in which this it what students are here for. So we really have to find a balance between them. Although I am not a qualified teacher, nor I was trained here, I have some experiences in teaching in an independent school. So I have some basic ideas of the English education system and school culture, and I try to teach Chinese just as any other MFL.

I think it really helps if Chinese teacher in the Sunday schools can have some experiences in the local, mainstream schools, as it really helps them to understand their students and their expectations.

joybetluck · Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 206

carolso
I quite agree with you. It is certainly beneficial to learn more about your customers, Embarassed

I mean the little darlings in their natural habitat.

Shingu · Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 1 Location: United Kingdom

I don't know when exactly did I started going to Chinese school every Sunday but five years ago I made my choice to leave - it was certainly a relief for me! Wink

Like many BBCs in my area, it was compulsory to go to school. Many were forced by their parents thinking they're giving the best to the children, but actually vice-versa. Sad

During my schooling, I love the fact that I can meet up with my friends but occasionally there are isolated students walking around the building truanting from classes. Do you think they're enjoying being in Chinese school? Evil or Very Mad

For me, the first years of Chinese school were amazing, that is because I was so little I didn't know my parents expected me to learn Chinese (I thought it was another 'nursery'...). Very Happy

Again, once I knew that it was actually a 'school' for learning, I still had fun because the level the teachers taught the student was beyond the level for my knowledge (I live in a no-English family, so I already knew quite a large amount of Chinese). Honestly, when I was little my Chinese language and knowledge was better than English! Razz

However, things started to changed during the last years of my schooling not because of the level (as it was still too easy for me) but because there was a lack of resource provided from the local council and the Chinese community, the teachers were lazy to teach (imagine how it feels to sit in a room for 4 hours watching a teacher showing off on a nearby piano and another time when a particular teacher only taught us Chinese swear words for our future reference! Mad

) and everything from staffs to activities were disorganized. Another reason why I started to dislike Chinese school is because I felt that the school was ripping off my family, £15 per term and what I receive was an absolute disgrace from the school itself. Shocked

As far as I concern, Chinese school was supposed to encourage the BBCs to take GCSE Chinese, but with their 'high standard and level' of teaching didn't really inspired me to do it. Crying or Very sad

Instead, I left the school and then a year later I thought about doing the exam since my sister did it (Yeah, I was a copycat!) Rolling Eyes

I entered myself to the exam through my English school and using my contact with my Chinese fellow mates, I found out that none of them wanted to do the exam believing it will be too difficult for them. (Are they crazy to think that? It’s a primary level! Confused

Oh well…) I had some obvious mistakes in writing Chinese, for example, I didn’t how to write hair in Chinese so I wrote法 instead of 髮 (Guessing I did great for my exams, the examiners should be well impressed, heh?! Cool

) Anyway, I achieved an A* afteral. Very Happy

From my experience, Chinese school wasn’t essential for me because I was only repeating of what I have learnt from home. I continued to be ‘home tutored’ (well, almost) as I had a Chinese satellite, an extremely good resource for improving your Chinese (but it’s an addiction towards the TV dramas). Smile

After taking my GCSE Chinese I entered myself for A Level Chinese through English school and I was competing with the native Chinese students studying in the same college as me… (I felt a lot pressured this time and of course, stress! Twisted Evil

) It has been a long time since I written an essay about 500 words! Although I did struggle a bit I did gain a reasonable grade, B. I was overwhelmed. Very Happy

I had the same grade as the natives!

So as I said, Chinese school is not necessarily the most important role for the children because there are other ways for a child to learn Chinese.

1, parents. (Aren’t the parents should be responsible for teaching them Chinese since they’re the one whom brought them to UK?!),

2, TV (Ok, maybe the parents are too busy with their work and so, get a Chinese satellite! It is addictive though, so no.)

3, Join the Chinese community (Isn’t the best way to learn the language and the culture?! I’m sure it’s free to join, is it?!) and

4, Respect, (If the parents use Chinese in daily conversation, this will help the children build up their confidence, however, not all BBCs want to learn Chinese, best to respect your children and leave them to make their own decision.
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Edwina Lee · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:26 am Post subject:

I had a conversation last night with the wife of a chinese takeaway business.

We were talking about the chinese school in High Wycombe that was folded years ago. It was sponsored by a local restauranteur.

People thought that she was good a chinese because she spoke cantonese fluently, but she was born in Hong Kong and moved here at 2 years old, so she could not read chinese.

I presented her with a red Chinese New Year card of my own design, and she could not recognise any of the well known characters.

The problem was that most chinese schoools used to be staffed by unqualified volunteers.

China has sponsored Confuscious Schools recently, often as part of a school or university department.

I expect chinese schools of the future will be much better. I look forward to follow the mandarin A-level syllabus as that would introduce useful commercial and cultural knowledge about China.

salerie · Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 2

I am definitely one who has regretted not paying more attention in Chinese school when I was younger.

I agree with the comments made that the notion of Chinese "school" just seemed like another academic thing to do to our list of tasks anyhow. I know a family whose parents enroll their kids into Chinese cultural lessons (and not the conventional piano or violin lessons, per se). Their girls grew up learning how to play the Chinese violin, Chinese dancing .. I haven't been in touch with them for a few years, but I think this could be a positive and creative way for parents to help develop interest in Chinese culture for their kids.

As a young adult now, though I regret the neglect I gave towards learning Chinese language, I find that I've returned to Chinese culture with a curiousity. I want to learn the language again, even take up calligraphy or participate more in Chinese arts.

I also agree with the comments posted about the western world propgating Chinese culture in schools, the arts, in movies .. maybe this is a stepping stone though. Maybe it will help integrate British and Chinese culture, so at least we can find some common interests.

can4every1 · Joined: 07 Sep 2010 Posts: 2 Location: London

I am a Cantonese tutor myself.

I recently went for a job interview as Cantonese tutor at a Chinese community centre. They expressed 'concerns' that they are losing students.

Honestly, from what they told me, I was not surprised. They were teaching children to read and write Chinese when those children only had a handful of vocabularies; plus, the kids could not even use Cantonese properly...

I hope that one day, there will be Chinese schools which employ proper Chinese teachers who are passionate in their jobs and know what they are doing...
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