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SCMP Reporter

As pressure mounts for a greater grasp of English, a new CD-ROM could be just what SAR students and teachers have been waiting for.

         Produced by the South China Morning Post, the interactive CD-ROM and complementary materials provide ample grammatical explanation, language support and supplementary exercises and activities for English learners.

         Students can obtain the premium CD-ROM, titled Journey to the West: Mission One, through their schools by joining the Post 's reading programme.

  It introduces major characters from the Chinese classic, Journey to the West. They will appear initially in a 22-part cartoon series and then in a full CD-ROM, Journey to the West: Y2K Mission, to be released next spring.

  Lynn Yau Foon-chi, managing director of Encounter Enterprise - which teamed up with the Post to produce the CD-ROM - said the package offered a stimulating dimension to learning.

  'It is not just about English learning. There are various exercises and activities which focus on good manners and the importance of quality service in Hong Kong,' she said. 'The idea is not just to teach English, but also to help them improve their general knowledge and reading and comprehension skills.

  'They also learn a great deal about the services industry.'   The cartoons will appear in Young Post every Monday starting next week.

  The narrative recounts the story of the pilgrimage of Monk Xuan Zhuang, accompanied by his famous disciple, Monkey.

  But, instead of being set in the Tang dynasty, the strip cartoon has the pilgrims on a journey to save the world from destruction at the end of the 20th century.

 The weekly exercises appear in graded form, from simple spelling activities to more complex text. Students following the cartoons will be able to improve their English by working on a range of exercises.

 Project director Vicki Ooi Cheng-har said the CD-ROM was based on Xi You Ji because she wanted the students to appreciate the spirit of Journey to the West.

  'I hope students can learn the importance of self-discipline, wisdom, friendship and commitment and take these qualities into their daily lives. The CD-ROM also highlights the spirit of fun and adventure,' she said.

   'There are also interactive spots, which will contribute to the student's knowledge of history, geography and general knowledge,' she said,   For more advanced students, there is a self-study centre where they can draw on actual and simplified texts from the South China Morning Post.

 The CD-ROM was a further proof of the Post' s support for multimedia learning, Dr Ooi said. The growing link between learning and information technology could not be ignored, she added.

   'The package will enhance students' capacity for independent learning and equip them to perform more confidently in public exams,' she said.

 'There are many CD-ROMs in the market today, but only a few address the needs of SAR students,' Dr Ooi said.

 'The producers of this CD-ROM are experienced English teachers. We also consulted 400 teachers on students' problems and interests in learning English,' Dr Ooi said.

 The CD-ROM is endorsed by the Business Promotion Unit of the Government Secretariat. For details about the student reading programme, contact the school subscription section on 2680-8670.



Journey with a difference