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Mother-tongue teaching helps improve classroom interaction while stimulating students' interest to learn, according to the education chief.

   Director of Education Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun was speaking at the speech day of Homantin Government Secondary School.

  When Mrs Law interrupted her speech to ask students whether they agreed with her views, there was a loud 'yes'.

 She said mother-tongue teaching helped enhance teacher-student interaction, leading to a better atmosphere in class.

 The school has been using Cantonese as the teaching medium since it was established 40 years ago.

  Praising the school as a model for others to follow, Mrs Law said: 'I truly believe your teachers and students have been experiencing the advantages of teaching in the mother tongue.

  'Your school's achievements in the HKCEE over the past several years reflect the success of your education strategy.

Positive experiences 'As the principal told the media in an interview: 'Being creative and far-sighted is the most valuable asset students gain from learning in the mother tongue'.'  Mrs Law said the school should share its positive experiences with other schools to convince them of the advantages of using mother-tongue teaching in the classroom.

 It boasted a pass rate of 92.4 per cent in the HKCEE last year, compared with 87.8 per cent in 1998.

   Principal Lilian Chan Lui Ling-yee said the achievement of hearing-impaired student Lee Ching - who obtained two distinctions and five good grades in the HKCEE - was one of the highlights of this academic year.

   She said the school adopted a proactive approach in strengthening the English language skills of its students.

 It worked hard to create an English-speaking environment and encourage students to speak the language as much as possible, Mrs Chan said.

 The school had received government grants for a series of extra-curricular activities aimed at promoting English, including a day camp, debate contest, drama performance, and cultural ex change programmes with institutions of the English Schools Foundation.

   As part of an award scheme for Form One students, English story-telling and writing competitions were also organised.

 Mrs Chan said she was disappointed that not many students showed interest in the on-going debate over the proposed education reforms.

 This apathy was reinforced when, at the end of her address, Mrs Law asked students who had read the education consultation booklet to raise their hands.

 Only a few hands were raised.

  'I hope all of you will spare some time during the holidays to read it carefully. The reforms will have a far-reaching influence on education in the future,' Mrs Law said.

  'It may not benefit you right away, but I hope you can contribute your opinions for the sake of the future generations.' 



Mother-tongue teaching 'best for students'