- HHCKLA Buddhist Leung Chik Wai College found many students lacking confidence and communication strategies when they were speaking in English
- The teachers have rolled out various activities for students to practise the language in daily conversation
HHCKLA Buddhist Leung Chik Wai College makes use of Pokémon’s popularity to strengthen their students’ English. Photo: HandoutTeachers and students dressed as Pokémon characters and hid around HHCKLA Buddhist Leung Chik Wai College, waiting for players to “catch” them – by having an English conversation for a few minutes.
This is just one of the engaging themes the school in Tuen Mun has used for its English Speaking Days.
“Students enjoyed playing the game Pokémon Go a lot which encouraged them to speak more English,” said Mong King-yau, the school’s English panel chairperson.
“During the conversation with these creatures, the students would understand that they have to interact with others ... instead of muttering to themselves.”
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For years, Mong noticed students lacked confidence and communication strategies when speaking in English.
“Some students would ask their teachers: ‘Why are you speaking to me in English?’ Or they just simply refuse to speak in English,” he said. “They are just reading word by word from the notecards, which is a common mistake of a lot of students.”
Mong was determined to make a change. “I would like the students to find out the meaning of using English in their daily lives,” he said.
Thus, he rolled out activities to create an authentic environment for students to practise the language in everyday conversation. The English department goes the extra mile by providing students with relevant vocabulary or sentences and preparing question banks and mind maps to stimulate their ideas.
Another theme that enticed students was a street performance: the school corridors were transformed into vibrant streets, and students dressed like hip-hop artists to “busk” and act in drama performances.
After these events, Mong said students became more comfortable with speaking English, and he would like to continue going beyond textbooks to create immersive speaking environments for them. Ultimately, these efforts equip pupils for the public speaking exam.
“It is important to build up their communication strategies. We would like our students to show that they are interacting with others during the public exam, instead of reading word by word from their notecards,” he explained.
“They are now gradually building up their confidence.”