1.

WHY IMMERSION TEACHING WORKS

As a Canadian immersion teacher, I was enthused to see the letter from John Whelpton about the
Canadian immersion experience (South China Morning Post, June 11). I would like to take this
opportunity to expand upon and challenge some of his views.

I agree that the Canadian immersion and bilingual schools have been successful in producing
functionally bilingual students. In the province of Manitoba, there are French, Ukrainian, and
German immersion schools; Hebrew bilingual schools; and a school for native Indian students.
English immersion programmes are popular for students from the province of Quebec as well as
from countries such as Libya and Japan. However, Mr Whelpton's suggested condition that
teachers in these schools must be fully bilingual may be unnecessary. For example, primary
teachers can and do function with a smaller vocabulary than secondary teachers.

Secondly, it is doubtful that students will use English because they ''understand and accept the
objective of making English the language of the classroom'' which is a rather sterile motive. One
reason that Canadian immersion programmes work is because of the commitment to Whole
Language Learning, that is, children learn a language, (first or second), by using it to transmit or
receive meaningful messages that are interesting, real and important.

They want to make their needs and desires known and to understand the world around them.
Immersion programmes integrate language and content in an activity-based, child-centred
manner so that the child is motivated to use the second language as a tool to transmit and receive
messages related to social and academic interests. In addition the second language is modelled
throughout the school, is encouraged and rewarded, and thus becomes the language of choice. It
is not necessary to ''abandon'' Cantonese; an immersion programme should provide some daily
instruction in the first language.

Mr Whelpton's third argument that all the students in one class need to be at approximately the
same level of English proficiency when they switch to English is unrealistic and unprofitable.
How does a teacher group children who have a huge vocabulary but poor grammar skills and
others who have correct grammar but a poor vocabulary?

Also, suppose the students have similar language abilities but different learning styles! The odds
are that a teacher, at any point in time, will be teaching at a level that is too difficult for one-
third, too easy for one-third and appropriate for the final one-third of the students. Hence the
concept of Co-operative learning : students in heterogeneous groups with a mixture of
personalities, talents and weaknesses (a more realistic reflection of life) learn better as they co-
operate, instead of compete, and depend on each other for support and information.

This type of learning environment frees the teacher from the traditional lecturing mode in favour
of circulating, monitoring and challenging the students to make use of their different experiences
to expand their knowledge and skills.

I support immersion programmes not simply so that Hong Kong remains ''competitive as an
international business centre'', but because children who learn a second language partake in an
educational experience that expands their horizons in addition to their cognitive, social and
affective capabilities; important goals of education indeed.

Sources : Adapted from the South China Morning Post, 22.06.94

Vocabulary

// odds

chances Return

// immersion teacher

To immerse yourself is to cover yourself completely in something, e.g. water in the bath.
Immersion teaching is the practice of teaching a target language entirely in that language,
initially in language classes and then across the curriculum. Return

1. This passage is:

(a) an editorial response to a letter
(b) a newspaper article
(c) a letter in response to a letter
(d) a newspaper editorial

2. How would you describe the writer's style?

(a) written in an academic style
(b) written in a journalistic style
(c) written in a personal style
(d) written on the basis of widespread research in the area

3. How would you describe the writer's attitude towards the Canadian immersion programme:
(a) balanced - prepared to weigh up the pros and cons
(b) unenthusiastic
(c) supportive
(d) critical

4. In paragraph 8 the writer is:

(a) outlining her personal opinions
(b) reviewing possible courses of action
(c) describing possible effects of an immersion programme
(d) outlining what has already taken place

5. In paragraph 2 the writer:

(a) agrees completely with Mr Whelpton's argument
(b) agrees partially with Mr Whelpton's argument
(c) disagrees completely with Mr Whelpton's argument
(d) is overwhelmingly critical of Mr Whelpton's argument
6. According to the writer the Canadian immersion programme has been a success:
(a) because students accept the objective of making English the language of the classroom
(b) because students study in classrooms where everybody is at about the same level
(c) because the students can use their first language freely
(d) because it works towards real life goals

7. According to the writer which of the following will teachers in the Canadian immersion
programme NOT do?
(a) monitor students' progress
(b) challenge students' ideas
(c) lecture constantly to the class
(d) circulate around the classroom

8. According to the writer the reality of classroom teaching:

(a) is more straightforward than Mr Whelpton describes
(b) is more difficult to control than Mr Whelpton describes
(c) is more lively than Mr Whelpton describes
(d) is more complicated than Mr Whelpton describes

9. In paragraph 3 'sterile' is closest in meaning to:

(a) uninformative
(b) unusual
(c) stereotypical
(d) uninspiring

10. In paragraph 4 'integrate' is closest in meaning to:

(a) incorporate
(b) intensify
(c) interlock
(d) interchange

11. In paragraph 4 'they' refers to:

(a) Canadian immersion programmes
(b) Whole Language Learning
(c) messages
(d) children

12. In paragraph 8 'affective' is closest in meaning to:

(a) emotional
(b) rational
(c) reasoning
(d) affirmative

13. In paragraph 7 'in favour of ' could NOT be replaced by which of the following?
(a) instead of
(b) in place of
(c) in spite of
(d) as an alternative to

14. Why does the writer use a colon in paragraph 6?

(a) to give evidence for the point made
(b) to provide a reason
(c) to introduce the consequence
(d) to explain the term

Question1 Answer
1 c
15. In paragraph 8 "competitive as an international business centre " is
in inverted commas because: 2 c
(a) the writer is using direct speech 3 c
(b) the words are used in an unusual way
4 a
5 b
(c) the words quoted are a translation 6 d
(d) the writer is quoting from another source
7 c
16. In paragraph 8 'cognitive' is closest in meaning to which of the 8 d
following: 9 d
(a) recognition
10 a
(b) recording
(c) reasoning 11 d
(d) reference 12 a
13 c
14 d
2. UNEMPLOYED GETTING RAW DEALThe new 15 d
Financial Secretary Donald Tsang has said he is committed to the 16 c
principle and philosophy of financial management enshrined by his
predecessor Sir Hamish Macleod. It was really not surprising to hear
such a message as our Government has consistently reiterated its non-
interventionist policy.

Our Government is proud of the low taxation policy, free market operation and the enterprising
nature of the economy, as it believes that all these lay the strong financial foundations that make
possible the economic boom in Hong Kong. Hence, the role of the Government is to interfere, as
little as possible, in the public sector, for fear of damaging the "normal" operation of the market.

Government spending in money terms has never exceeded 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), since 1945. Many people in Hong Kong are scared by the spectre of
unemployment and yet the Government has done nothing to solve the problem, because
administration officials do not want to spoil the miraculous market mechanism. There is talk of
"self help" by entrepreneurs involved in the market. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is
rocketing. I believe the Government should act to combat this problem. Owing to the lack of a
comprehensive unemployment security scheme and unemployment insurance which exist in
Western industrial countries (for example, the US and Germany), Hong Kong's jobless suffer
more psychological and social pressure than their Western counterparts.

The unemployed have a heavy psychological burden to bear. This can lead to them having
feelings of low self-esteem and a feeling that they are worthless. Those who seek help from the
Social Welfare Department (SWD) have to endure the complicated application procedure and
the inhumane and harsh means test. The procedure to apply for assistance is not as easy as one
would imagine. This puts the unemployed under great pressure. I do not believe that
maintaining a policy of minimal government intervention will stem rising unemployment. The
Government should make its "invisible" hand in the market become visible by, for example,
creating more job opportunities for the unemployed; ensuring age and sex discrimination do not
exist in the workplace, restraining employers from exploiting employees - in the way that some
employers do by taking on casual staff and making them work long hours and, finally, bringing
under control the "crazy" property speculation of capitalists.

. This passage is:

(a) a newspaper editorial
(b) a letter to a newspaper
(c) a newspaper article
(d) an advertisement placed in a newspaper

2. 'Hence' in paragraph 2 introduces:

(a) a cause
(b) an effect
(c) a reason
(d) a question

3. What is the writer's attitude to the new Financial Secretary Donald Tsang:
(a) encouraging
(b) critical
(c) supportive
(d) committed

4. What is the main point of paragraph 4?

(a) to analyse the problem
(b) to give reasons for the call for action
(c) to describe the pattern of government spending
(d) to describe the operation of the free market

5. What is the writer's attitude to the role of government in the Hong Kong economy?
(a) critical of the new initiatives taken
(b) agreeing that the less intervention, the better
(c) arguing that more intervention is required
(d) arguing that in the past the wrong type of intervention has taken place in Hong Kong

6. In paragraph 1 'it' refers to:

(a) a message
(b) the government
(c) financial management
(d) none of the above

7. In paragraph 4 'endure' could be replaced by which of the following?

(a) enjoy
(b) wait for
(c) put up with
(d) start

8. In paragraph 4 'seek' could be replaced by which of the following?

(a) find
(b) look for
(c) choose
(d) are forced to go for

9. 'as' in paragraph 2 can best be replaced with:

(a) therefore
(b) because
(c) at the time that
(d) while

10. The word 'yet' in paragraph 3 is similar in meaning to which of the following?
(a) in spite of that
(b) then
(c) at the same time
(d) up to now

11. 'Meanwhile' in paragraph 3 can best be replaced by:

(a) at the same time
(b) whereas
(c) in spite of the fact that
(d) although

12. In paragraph 3 'owing to' is closest in meaning to:

(a) because of
(b) due by
(c) caused by
(d) although

13. In paragraph 4 the dash could be replaced by:

(a) a full stop
(b) 'that is'
(c) 'this means'
(d) 'for example'

14. In paragraph 4 "invisible" is in inverted commas because:

(a) the writer is using direct speech
(b) the word is used in an unusual way
(c) the writer is quoting from another source
(d) to emphasize the word

15. In paragraph 4 the word 'would' is used to indicate:

(a) a guess
(b) a past event
(c) a hypothesis that is true
(d) a theory

16. In paragraph 4 'This' refers to:

(a) pressure
(b) assistance
(c) difficult procedure
(d) harsh means test

Check your score sheet2

Question Answer
1 b
2 b
3 b
4 b
5 c
6 d
7 c
8 b
9 b
10 a
11 a
12 a
13 d
14 b
15 a
 16 c
3. CONFUCIAN
CONFUSION
Not even a three-day brainstorming session among top psychologists at the Chinese University
could unravel one of the world's greatest puzzles - how the Chinese mind ticks.

Michael Bond had reason to pace the pavement of the Chinese University campus last week. The
psychologist who co-ordinated and moderated a three-day seminar in Chinese psychology and
most of the participants came a long way to knock heads. ''If a bomb hits this building,'' muttered
Bond, half-seriously, ''it would wipe out the whole discipline.''

But the only thing that went off in the Cho Yiu Conference Hall of Chinese University was the
picking of brains, the pouring out of brains and a refrain from an on-going mantra : ''more work
needs to be done'' or ''we don't know''.

Each of the 36 participants was allowed 30 minutes plus use of an over-head projector to
condense years of research into data and theories. Their content spilled over from 20 areas of
Chinese behaviour, including reading, learning styles, psychopathology, social interaction,
personality and modernisation.

An over-riding question for observers, however, was why, in this group of 21 Chinese and 15
non-Chinese, weren't there more professionals from mainland China presenting research on the
indigenous people?

Michael Philips, a psychiatrist who works in Hubei Province, explained: ''The Cultural
Revolution silenced and froze the research,'' said the Canadian-born doctor who has lived and
worked in China for more than 10 years. ''And 12 years later, research is under way but it is too
early to have anything yet. Besides, most of the models being used are from the West anyway.''

In such a specialised field, how can non-Chinese academics do research without possessing
fluency in Chinese? Those who cannot read, write or speak the language usually team up with
Chinese colleagues. ''In 10 years, we won't be able to do this. It's a money thing,'' said William
Gabrenya, of Florida Institute of Technology, who described himself as an illiterate gweilo who
lacks fluency in Chinese. He said that 93 per cent of the non-Chinese authors in his field cannot
read Chinese.

Dr. Gabrenya raised questions such as why is research dependent on university students, why is
research done on Chinese people in coastal cities (Singapore, Taiwan, Shanghai and Hong Kong)
but not inland? ''Chinese psychology is too Confucian, too neat. He's been dead a long time. How
about the guy on a motorcycle in Taipei?'' Dr. Gabrenya said, urging that research have a more
contemporary outlook.
The academics came from Israel, Sweden, Taiwan, Singapore, United States, British Columbia
and, of course, Hong Kong. Many of the visual aids they used by way of illustration contained
eye-squinting type and cobweb-like graphs. One speaker, a sociologist from Illinois, even
warned her colleagues that she would not give anyone enough time to digest the long, skinny
columns of numbers.

Is Chinese intelligence different than Western? For half of the audience who are illiterate in
Chinese, Professor Jimmy Chan of HKU examined each of the Chinese characters for
''intelligence''. Phrases such as ''a mind as fast as an arrow'' and connections between strokes for
sun and the moon were made. After his 25-minute speech, Chan and the group lamented that
using Western tests are the only measure available to psychologists, who are starving for
indigenous studies of Chinese by Chinese.

How do Chinese children learn? David Kember of Hong Kong Polytechnic University zeroed in
on deep learning versus surface. Deep is when the student is sincerely interested for his own
reasons. Surface is memorising and spitting out facts. It doesn't nurture any deep understanding.
If the language of instruction happens to be the children's second language, students in Hong
Kong have all sorts of challenges with English-speaking teachers from Australia, Britain and
America with accents and colloquialisms.

Do Westerners have more self-esteem than Chinese? Dr. Leung Kwok, chairman of the
psychology department of Chinese University, points his finger at belief systems: the collectivist
mind-set often stereotypes Chinese unfairly. The philosophy of ''yuen'' (a concept used to explain
good and bad events which are pre-determined and out of the individual's control) does not
foster a positive self-concept. Neither do collectivist beliefs, such as sacrifice for the group,
compromise and importance of using connections. ''If a Chinese loses or fails, he has a stronger
sense of responsibility. He tends to blame it on himself. A non-Chinese from the West may
blame it on forces outside himself,'' Dr. Leung said.

By the end of the three-day session, there were as many questions raised as answered. It was
agreed there was room for further research. To the layman, so much of the discussion was
foreign and riddled with jargon and on-going references to studies and researchers. The work of
the participants will resurface in a forthcoming Handbook of Chinese Psychology, which will be
edited by Dr. Bond and published by Oxford University Press.

1. In paragraph 12, 'foster' is closest in meaning to:

(a) promote
(b) recreate
(c) destroy
(d) allow

2. In paragraph 2 the writer suggests that:

(a) the building is in danger of attack
(b) not many people study Chinese psychology
(c) Chinese psychology is a difficult subject to study
(d) Chinese psychology is a difficult subject to organise
3. In paragraph 6 the writer suggests that:
(a) the cultural revolution was a dangerous period for Chinese psychology
(b) the cultural revolution was a productive period for Chinese psychology
(c) the cultural revolution was an unproductive period for Chinese psychology
(d) the cultural revolution was a new beginning for Chinese psychology

4. In paragraph 7 William Gabrenya refers to himself as an 'illiterate gweilo'. This suggests that:
(a) he feels secure in his illiteracy
(b) he feels defensive about not speaking and reading Chinese
(c) he is representative of other westerners active in this field
(d) he can operate perfectly well without learning Chinese

5. In paragraph 9 which of the following does the writer NOT suggest:

(a) the conference attracted a very professional standard of presentation
(b) the visual aids were not very easy to understand
(c) the visual aids were not very tidy
(d) the presenters were under time pressure

6. In paragraph 10 which of the following does the writer NOT report:

(a) it is difficult to come to a conclusion about western and Chinese intelligence
(b) Chinese characters are very difficult for westerners to master
(c) it is difficult to measure Chinese intelligence with western tests
(d) more tests are required produced by Chinese for Chinese

7. Which of the following sources does the writer quote from in this passage?
(a) Confucius
(b) Chinese academics
(c) Oxford University Press
(d) journalists

8. The results of the conference can best be described as:

(a) conclusive
(b) unspectacular
(c) alarming
(d) surprising

9. In paragraph 4 'condense' is closest in meaning to:

(a) re-form
(b) reduce
(c) reflect
(d) refine

10. In paragraph 5 'an over-riding question' is closest in meaning to:

(a) an insignificant question
(b) a dominating question
(c) an overlapping question
(d) an overall question

11. The word 'yet' in paragraph 6 is similar in meaning to which of the following?
(a) in spite of that
(b) nevertheless
(c) at the same time
(d) up to now

12. In paragraph 6 'besides' is closest in meaning to:

(a) still
(b) in spite of that
(c) in any case
(d) instead

13. In paragraph 10 'indigenous' is closest in meaning to:

(a) indifferent
(b) indigestible
(c) home-produced
(d) homogenous

14. In paragraph 8 'urging' could be replaced by which of the following?

(a) insisting
(b) requiring
(c) suggesting
(d) recommending

15. In paragraph 10 'lamented' could be replaced by which of the following?

(a) emphasised
(b) regretted
(c) pointed out
(d) suggested

16. In paragraph 11 'zeroed in on' could NOT be replaced by which of the following?
(a) emphasised
(b) depended on
(c) focused on
(d) concentrated on

Question3 Answer
1 a
2 b
3 c
4 b
5 a
6 b
7 b
8 b
9 b
10 b
11 d
12 c
13 c
14 d
15 b
16 b