Cases

Continuing education in Medicine distinguishes itself by a learning practice known as “rounds”. During rounds, young and experienced physicians come together to share knowledge and practice clinical diagnostic skills. Doctors move from patient to patient in a hospital ward to discuss each patient’s case. Education has fewer opportunities for this kind of collaborative life-long professional learning. To stay abreast of current developments in our field while continuing to teach, we at Wiseman today begin an initiative to collect, review and share experiences with our learning community. Welcome to Rounds at Wiseman.

The Culture of Online Learning

Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School
Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School began to explore online English programmes for its students three years ago. Over those three years, the programme has expanded to encompass all students between S1 and S5, and has been fully integrated into the English curriculum at the school. The first level of the programme is used with incoming S1 students to prepare them for their studies in English at the school.

While reading for comprehension remains a central part of the classroom curriculum, most listening, speaking and writing exercises are now online. The school has reported many benefits to this – students are streamed much more efficiently and as a result are performing better because they are working on exercises appropriate to their level; the students work at their own pace, including during the long vacations, and can decide whether to advance to the next level or repeat a level in order to solidify their skills; high achieving students take part in an extension programme that integrates online with real life exercises, including development of writing and presentation skills.

The most significant achievement of this programme has been a change in the culture of English learning at Shun Lee. The programme has grown deep roots in the school, and student self-initiative has been outstanding, such that it has been possible to reduce faculty oversight to a bare minimum. Academic results continue to improve and students are extremely diligent about charting their own progress, requesting upgrades and level repeats on their own initiative.

From Words to Ideas

St. Paul’s Convent School (Secondary Section)
To cultivate the ability to use language competently and with creative flair, students need to read, read, and read – notably, the more diverse the genre/ subject matter/ authorial style, the richer and more productive the learning experience.

To help teachers bank up this wealth of materials as well as monitor students’ progress, an interactive programme like English Builder comes in handy.

Thrice weekly, students read and listen to a wide variety of texts (structured as ‘Intermediate’, ‘High Intermediate’ and ‘Advanced’ pieces) that aim to engage their minds, expand their knowledge, and sensitize them to the language of contemporary media. We believe that promoting students’ interest in, and knowledge of, disparate global issues will help prepare them for their place in our local and global community, and e-learning will inevitably play a major role in this technology-driven millennium.

On a different note, I wish to applaud Wiseman & National Geographic Channel whole-heartedly on their ‘Think Again‘ Award Scheme, launched in 06-07 academic year. This initiative has most definitely inspired young people all over HKSAR to craft and showcase their film-making potentialities. I for one can’t wait to see the gamut of high-calibre documentaries produced by local young talents in forthcoming years.

Project leader:Clare Cheung, Head of English
Technical advisor:Cutson Liu
Learning Consultant: Kinnie Lai


BLENDED MODE FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

Hong Kong Tang King Po College
This English enhancement project consists of two parts: the interactive online programme and face-to-face presentation workshops.

INTERACTIVE ONLINE PROGRAMME

Effectiveness & Challenges: 85% said that the interactive programme had improved their listening; and 75% said that the online project had improved their speaking; 50% said that the online project had improved their vocabulary and reading; and 90% said that their confidence in speaking English had improved.

On average most of the interviewed students spent one hour for each chapter and they felt the workload is a little bit heavy. Some of them completed many chapters on the same day. Some suggested that the exercises can be shortened.

In general, the interviewed students felt that the online project is helpful, especially in improving their English listening and speaking. Only one student mentioned that it is boring because there are no games in it.

PRESENTATION WORKSHOP

Effectiveness & Challenges: From the 15 interviewed S1 students, (6 going to the Monday workshops, 2 to the Thursday workshops and 7 to the Saturday workshops), almost all of them said that they liked their workshop teachers because the teachers could make the workshops interesting and engaging.

Over 90% said that the workshops had improved their English speaking skills because they were given chances to practice speaking in class. 80% said that they had learned new vocabulary in the workshops; nearly 80% said the workshops had helped them become more confident in speaking English. 2 students mentioned that they felt the workshops were difficult for them, but they were learning things from them.

Project leader:Timothy Ho, English Panel
Researcher:Dr. Qin Jiang, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Learning Consultant: Elaine Wong


Building Confidence through Drama

CNEC Lau Wing Sang Secondary School
Drama classes are the latest trend in education, and for good reason. Traditional learning places excessive emphasis on rote learning and not enough on skills required to succeed in the real world, such as presentation skills and team building. Drama classes give students a break from textbooks to explore their expressive and creative potential. Drama allows the students to act as someone else, so they are not afraid to make mistakes.

CNEC Lau Wing Sang Secondary School has implemented a half-year drama programme for all S1 students. The results have been incredibly positive, resulting in better academic performance in both written and spoken English, presentation skills, teamwork and creativity.

The school has done an internal survey showing more than 70% of students would positively like to continue the drama workshop again with this approach.

Project leader:Ms. Wong, English Panel
Learning Consultant: Bill Loo

Writing for the Future

Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School
Learning to write well is intimately connected to an understanding of who your readers may be, and what they might be interested in learning about.

In a series of summer workshops conducted at Tang Shiu Kin Victoria Government Secondary School teachers encouraged students to share their ideas clearly and passionately, and to imagine an audience responding to their words.

Students drew from their own past experiences to create pieces that touched on topics that were meaningful to them. They were encouraged to dig deep and ask questions about themselves. The best pieces were submitted to English newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong for publication.

Project leader:Ms. Hilda Lee, English Panel
Learning Consultant: Bill Loo


Inspiring Both Students and Their Parents

Buddhist Wong Fung Ling College
Effective learning programmes for children always have one thing in common – a deep commitment by parents to help the programme succeed. Children in traditional learning environments often find the learning process tedious, and because the material does not inspire them, children fail to bring parents into that process. The challenge is to create a learning environment that utilizes technology to interest both students and parents alike. The process of learning must be engaging.

The online English programme at Buddhist Wong Fung Ling College has brought about a high level of parental interest. Currently in its first year, the programme for S1 students has had a very positive impact across the school. Teachers, students, parents and school management alike have responded enthusiastically. As a result, academic results have improved, and students are much more enthusiastic about new learning material.

Project leader:Ms. Sum, English Panel
Learning Consultant: Bill Loo


Executive Workshop on Business Presentation

The first term “Executive Workshop on Business Presentation” held in Siemens had a successfully closure, which was provided by HKU The Cyberport Institute of Hong Kong (HKU Cyber.i) and Wiseman Education.

The goals were to enhance students’ speaking and listening competences in business environment, to strengthen presentation skills and to establish more accurate envisage of contemporary business development.

In order to improve students’ language competence in different business situations, a great deal of practices and simulations were employed in the class.

The survey, pre and post – assessments showed that students have made significant improvements, particularly in speaking and listening. We are pleased that the project achieved a 95% satisfaction rate from our staff members. We hope to continue to roll out the program in the second term to other departments.

Project leader:Xie Ting, Human Resources Manager, Siemens Electronics Assembly System Ltd.
Learning Consultant: Mary Huang


 

Continuing education in Medicine distinguishes itself by a learning practice known as “rounds”. During rounds, young and experienced physicians come together to share knowledge and practice clinical diagnostic skills. Doctors move from patient to patient in a hospital ward to discuss each patient’s case. Education has fewer opportunities for this kind of collaborative life-long professional learning. To stay abreast of current developments in our field while continuing to teach, we at Wiseman today begin an initiative to collect, review and share experiences with our learning community. Welcome to Rounds at Wiseman.

Effective Cross Curriculum Sharing

Buddhist Tai Hung College

“The students see the need of exposing themselves to the wider context of the world. …They think the reading passages are very contextualized and very global. …They can control their own pace of learning……they listen, try, re-listen and try …they can get a sense of achievement.”
– Ms. Chan

“It really exposes the students to something that they have never come into contact with. …For instance, for Arts students, they may never know names like Albert Einstein. But from doing the exercises, they got some ideas of who this famous scientist is and what he has achieved.”
– Ms. Cheng

The Buddhist Tai Hung College has effectively implemented “Cross Curriculum Sharing”. With this programme, teachers capitalize on English Builder by integrating its lesson plans into the curriculum of various subjects. Through exposing students to diverse subject matter, and through requiring them to write reflection reports, this move has enhanced students’ learning of English.

Whole-School Monitoring System to Motivate Students

The HKTA Ching Chung Secondary School

“It is wise for us to choose English Builder as a channel for students to develop self-access language learning. English Builder actively immerses students in interactive listening, speaking, reading, and most important of all, thinking. Not only does it widen students’ vision, but also helps them gain confidence. Last but not least, our students develop the interest in English and start to build up the spirit of excellence.

With English Builder, students should be able to well-equip themselves for the challenges they face in the NSS English curriculum”

– Miss Ng

The HKTA Ching Chung Secondary School has implemented a comprehensive monitoring system which led to a remarkable 78% completion rate. With teachers’ rigorous follow-ups and wise arrangements, great improvement in student’s English standard is seen throughout the year.

Motivating Zero-attempt Students to Complete their Assignments

CCC Kei Heep Secondary School

“We help our students to nurture their habit of finishing online assignments at home and encourage them to do it regularly by giving them prizes. Teachers would make use of the online materials in lessons from time to time…… Students will understand they have the responsibility to finish their online assignments.”
– Miss Poon

CCC Kei Heep Secondary School has established a very effective monitoring and implementation system. The number of “zero-attempt” students of English Builder dropped drastically to less than 10% on a whole-school basis in the third month. On average, each student completes 72% of lessons in 07/08.

A Student Shares Tips & Views on Learning English

Wah Yan College, Kowloon

“[Other English education programs] are always the same. Everyday you do tasks and you answer questions but they do not promote critical thinking. English Builder helps us develop critical thinking through setting us tricky questions as well as inference and thematic questions. You actually learn from the material you read.”
– Jason Cheng

Jason Cheng of Wah Yan College (Kowloon) has improved his English speaking skills with the help of the English Builder programme. He has completed 100% of the lessons and received an average score of 99% in 07/08. He also discusses the benefits of the learning materials by using them every day.


To share more with us, please contact our consultants at 3188 3842 or WeCare@wiseman.com.hk

 

Continuing education in Medicine distinguishes itself by a learning practice known as “rounds”. During rounds, young and experienced physicians come together to share knowledge and practice clinical diagnostic skills. Doctors move from patient to patient in a hospital ward to discuss each patient’s case. Education has fewer opportunities for this kind of collaborative life-long professional learning. To stay abreast of current developments in our field while continuing to teach, we at Wiseman today begin an initiative to collect, review and share experiences with our learning community. Welcome to Rounds at Wiseman.

A Fresh Approach to the New Senior Secondary (NSS)

Lam Tai Fai College

“Every single item of English learning can be so much fun. Grammar can also be taught through different games!”
– Ms Gatchalian

Miss Rosita Gatchalian, an experienced teacher for 38 years, is an English consultant at school. She devotes herself to demonstrating that the learning and teaching of English can be fun. She initiates many innovative ways to assist her students, especially the less capable ones, to learn English. Her passion is inspirational and infectious!

Overcoming AL UE with English Builder

China Holiness Church Living Spirit College

“Students’ learning attitude is important. I try to put more effort into encouraging the hardworking students to complete English Builder lessons as they are more willing to learn and can achieve higher.”
– Ms Law

“Motivation is more important than punishment for the below-target students. The students see the benefits of using English Builder through sharing ideas with their school mates who have performed well in both English Builder and school tests. The sharing can be an impulsion for students.”
– Ms Chiu

Teachers pay special attention to resource-needy students and motivate them to learn through English Builder.

A Good Team of Teachers Nurtures Positive Results

QualiEd College

“Our English department is very supportive to our needs… therefore we are quite successful in using English Builder.”
– Ms Chow

QualiEd College has been using English Builder since 2007 and they have successfully adopted their strategies to encourage their students to participate in English Builder. They have also created a self-learning culture through English Builder. Hebe Wong was the champion of English Builder Level One QualiEd College has been using English Builder since 2007 and they have successfully adopted their strategies to encourage their students to participate in English Builder. They have also created a self-learning culture through English Builder. Hebe Wong was the champion of English Builder Level One in 2008!

English Builder Enables a Student’s All-Rounded Development

  Stewards Pooi Kei College

Students from Stewards Pooi Kei College devote their time to EB and receive recognition for their hard work. One student, Trevi Yeung, was the Hong Kong Top Achiever for 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Inspiring Students to Achieve High

Diocesan Boys’ School

“We want to encourage students to do more online reading at home because if they can cultivate this habit of reading at home, it will help them to consolidate their English.”
– Mrs. To

Diocesan Boys’ School is one of the most outstanding schools in Hong Kong and has won the Best School of the Year Award in 2007-2008 with 100% completion in all lessons of English Builder.

Top Achiever of English Builder Shares His Tips on Learning English

Stewards Pooi Kei College

“Always remember that after you spend your time studying, you will have good results and get great compliments afterwards!”
– Trevi Yeung
“Whenever I have time, I try to sit next to my boy and we’ll do the exercises in English Builder together. It is a connection between my boy and me.”
– Mrs Yeung

Top achiever of English Builder, Trevi Yeung, and his mother share the happiness and tips on learning English

Students’ Views on English Builder

“English Builder helps me learn English in a fun way. Every lesson has an interesting, small video clip that’s in English. It uses vocabulary and describes new words well. It also helps you pronounce so it improves your pronunciation. EB helps me in every area of English because it separates each lesson into 4 parts: Listening, Vocabulary, Reading and Speaking. “Listening” helps me to understand what is happening and listen to find out the answers. “Vocabulary” helps me use the words that I learnt in the lesson while learning other new words in the sentences. “Reading” helps me evaluate what I read, visualize it, think about it, and then answer the questions. “Speaking” lets me read sentences on my own and gives me good practice. I think my English has improved drastically over the past months.”
– Chow U Yen Andrew (7D)
Diocesan Boys’ School


“By doing English Builder, I improved my comprehension skills, it gave me a wide range of word choices, and sometimes it even provided me with critical news such as the news on the recent election of America’s President. Sometimes I had fun while working on English Builder, for instance, one time there was pop music for the passage.”
– Si Chun Yin Cameron (7T)
Diocesan Boys’ School


“With the help of English Builder, I have learnt a lot of English vocabularies. I also improved my listening skills.”
– Yip Shing Yau (1C)
Kowloon Tong School (Secondary Section)


“What I like about English Builder is that I can always get the latest news video clip in it. Unlike those showing on TV, the video clips shown in English Builder are often interesting and eye-catching. … Anyway, I wish English Builder to be as popular as Facebook! ”
– Hermia Chik (6C)
Maryknoll Convent School


“English Builder has given me more chances to learn about the news of the world when I’m too busy to read newspapers or watch the news on TV. I like seeing my name in the top rankings. English Builder can be a bit more difficult though. I like challenges.”
– Cheryl Chu (1C)
Maryknoll Convent School


“English Builder helps me to improve my listening skills by doing listening exercises such as listening questions in reading parts and sentences in vocabulary parts.”
– Ho Sze Ling (6A)
Nam Wah Catholic Secondary School


“I think English Builder taught me a lot of words which I didn’t know, I also learned more about patience, as a lesson demands 20-30minutes. First I didn’t want to do it, but I attempted to do a lesson and I felt it was very easy. Then I started doing English Builder every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and got a mark of 2786. I learned a lot of things in English Builder, and I hope I can continue learning.”
– Cheng Ka Kit (1D)
NLSI Peace Evangelical Secondary School


“There is a large variety of passages and assessments with English Builder. They follow our daily life and current affairs that attract me to go through the passage with my whole concentration. My English’s skills have been improved and I have extended my ‘vocabulary storeroom’.”
– Li Sze Man Angel (4E)
Po Leung Kuk No. 1 W H Cheung College


“English Builder has listening and reading parts. In the listening part, I can listen to the video and the questions, to improve my English level in listening. In the reading part, it has underlined the vocabulary words in blue, so I can check the meaning of it and remember it, so I have more vocabulary in my brain. English Builder provides grammar exercises once a month. Because of these exercises, I think grammar is amazing. Because I have done many exercises, I find I have made a big improvement in my exam and in English Builder.”
– Tai Chit Yam (3N)
Po Leung Kuk Laws Foundation College


“I like English Builder which is a learning journey for me. By getting higher marks, I have become confident in English. By learning vocabulary, I can use more suitable words in my writing.”
– Lau Ho Yin (3E)
Sha Tin Government Secondary School


“English Builder is very useful in giving me chances to listen to native English. Moreover, the vocabulary provided is very useful and enables me to have a wide variety of words to use in writing compositions. Last but not least, English Builder helps me improve my reading skills through providing some interesting passages for reading assessment.”
– Yim Kwan Lok (6H)
SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School


“English Builder teaches me new vocabulary through interesting and daily-life-related articles and English pop songs. It also trains up my listening skills through listening to the articles and doing recitation. It’s more fun to use English Builder than textbooks to learn English.”
– Cheng Hung Yee (L63)
St Catharine’s School for Girls


“English Builder can improve my English listening and reading. I can do my exercises at home without a teacher and get the answers immediately even during my holidays. This increases my opportunities to use English.”
– Li Hiu Nga (5R)
St Catharine’s School for Girls


“Web-based education is the most efficient form of learning nowadays, combining knowledge and fun. I enjoy English Builder very much and at the same time my English improves – speaking, listening, reading and vocabulary.”
– Leung Kin Keung Leslie (1D)
St. Paul’s College


“Actually, English builder is such a great system that we can learn English easily from the website. And because it includes four parts, I can even practice my pronunciation and learn lots of new vocabulary every week. I think the reading part is really useful and the topic is always interesting. I really enjoy using this system to learn English. Thanks.”
– Cheung Yiu Lun (41)
STFA Seaward Woo College


“I personally feel that English Builder provides me with a very fun, easily accessible way of enhancing my English language skills and overall confidence.”
– Rory Chi Wai Lyon Fong (6C)
YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
Interclass competition to boost confidence in learning English

Hong Kong Taoist Association The Yuen Yuen Institute No.3 Secondary School

“The idea of holding an interclass quiz comes from TV programmes and other interschool competitions. It helps to maximise the learning outcome, raise students’ awareness toward English Builder and enhance the English speaking atmosphere at school.”
– Miss Ko

“The programme (English Builder) contains a lot of news articles; we can learn a lot of English that can be used in our daily lives…… We can practise our critical thinking. It is also a competition between schools.”
– Tiffany and Hugo of 6A

Hong Kong Taoist Association The Yuen Yuen Institute No.3 Secondary School pioneered by creating an interclass English Builder Quiz for students in the senior forms.

To share more with us, please contact our consultants at 3188 3842 or WeCare@wiseman.com.hk

What do students think about English Builder?

I think the English Builder exercises are very good. The exercises can help students to improve their English. Also, English Builder allows students to work at their own level. English Builder also uses some games to help students learn. My English has improved since I started doing English Builder exercises. So, I want to say thank you for making English Builder!!

Choi Wing Moon, Koey | Christian Alliance SC Chan Memorial College


I think English Builder is very useful and meaningful. This is because I can learn different knowledge from it which can’t be learnt during lessons. And also I can enrich my common sense and learn more about current events. I can also train my critical thinking skills as I need to analyse the issues. Moreover, I can practice my listening skills by hearing recordings of different English speakers.

Kyomi Kwok | Good Hope School


I think English Builder keeps me from getting bored as it contains many different topics. When it comes to listening to songs, I usually play them more than once.

Since the recordings are of native speakers, the English is good. Also, I can learn vocabulary words and easily remember them as they are divided into syllables already.

In short, it benefits students.

Chan Yan Yee | Holy Family Canossian College


I think English Builder is a good website for students. In these days, all students use computers, so we enjoy doing exercises online. Also, the exercises are close to the format of our public examinations which is excellent. I like the video in the listening part; there are many different varieties of themes. I will keep doing English Builder to improve my English.

Monie Sum | Holy Family Canossian College


I think it is a useful program for learning English. Through every task in the program, my vocabulary bank has enlarged. Also, my listening skills and reading skills have improved, so I read English books faster and easier. More importantly, this program provides us a chance to practice more as only doing the exercises at school is not enough. Therefore,

I am pleased with this program. It helps me a lot.

Chu Wun Ting Sally | Holy Trinity College


I think English Builder is really good for us to learn. We can learn many new vocabulary words and phrases in it. Also, English Builder makes me feel more confident in English and realize the importance of English. English Builder makes learning English fun. I hope that English Builder will become a part of our life.

Yuen Ching Ting | Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club College


I think English Builder can improve my reading skills. I enthusiastically finished every exercise. It was a wonderful chance to do exercises. Although I have some problems when I am doing English Builder, I can solve these problems on my own. I like this kind of exercises because I can finish them without anyone helping me. It can help me increase and enhance my confidence.

Yan Sin Man | Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club College


I do English Builder three times a week. I think it is a good way to improve my English level. I can learn many different kinds of new vocabulary. Also, I can have fun though the revision games.

Chan Man Wai | Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club College


I think that English Builder has provided me a lot of learning chances: listening, reading, vocabulary and more. To tell the truth, at the very beginning, I was unwilling and afraid to do the exercises because I thought it was too hard. However, English Builder caught my interest with the Film Campaigns and I put forth my greatest effort that time to win the tickets to “My Sister’s Keeper.” That time, I DID IT, and I was so proud of myself. From that time onward, I start to like English Builder and at the same time find it very useful to my study again and again.

Wanetta Lee | Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section)


In my opinion, English Builder is an excellent resource for students to practice English even at home. There are all kinds of exercises, like listening, comprehension, vocabulary, and usage, with interesting themes. The forms of questions are various too such as fill in the blanks, read aloud passages, vocabulary and multiple choice. I can really learn a lot from doing English Builder exercises. Teachers can check students’ scores and answers with their accounts; then, they can help those students who have difficulties in English to learn better. There are also some activities for composition. We can surely benefit from these activities as we can read good compositions and learn from them.

Jasmine Ng | Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section)


 

English Builder has helped me a lot since it gives me more learning opportunities. I have learned more about famous people such as Albert Einstein, Cristiano Ronaldo and Michael Jackson and the latest news of the world from the articles in English Builder. I have also gotten a lot of encouragement, such as winning movie tickets, to learn more English in daily life.

Natalie Chan | Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section)


I think English Builder is a useful device that helps us improve our English skills. There are a wide range of different levels so that students with different capabilities can benefit from it. English Builder also requires a lot of different skills, including listening and reading.

I think that among the different materials that English Builder uses in the tasks, movie clips or music videos are the most interesting.

Patricia Wai | Marymount Secondary School


I find it beneficial for improving my language skills in four areas—reading, writing, listening and speaking. The materials I used before provided nothing more than just a passage with a few questions. English Builder, in comparison, provides reading materials with a wide variety of categories ranging from entertainment to current affairs, from literature to pop songs and from geography to astronomy. The well-planned program with themed lessons helps me learn vocabulary from different categories with clear classification.

Alice, Ho Sze Ling | Nam Wah Catholic Secondary School


English Builder is a great program for learning English, but it could use some improvements. Spelling is a problem sometimes because of the American and British spelling differences, so sometimes I get it wrong. The videos could be improved and made more interesting for teens like us; for example, it could be about music and modern celebrities. But I like the movie trailers, it keeps me updated on what’s new in cinemas. The games are nice and kind of fun compared to the usual lessons. Even though I like doing English Builder, some of my classmates think that it’s boring and sometimes hard as their English is not exactly great. I think it would make students more motivated to do English Builder if you gave them prizes for good performances, besides certificates and trophies. Anyway, thanks for the new vocabulary words I learn doing EB!

Alexandria Lan Xi Yun | Pui Kiu College


I think English Builder is a very good way to learn more about English. Those videos shown in the first page of the exercise can improve students’ listening skill. The vocabulary definitions are easy to understand. Also, I can learn more information from the exercises that I can’t learn at school.

As mentioned above, I think English Builder can help me to improve my English!

Chan Yau Ming Jethro | Pui Kiu Middle School


English Builder is good. The exercises are fun. We can learn not only knowledge of English but also the culture of different countries, films, funny things, etc. We can learn knowledge in a different way. I know that learning is not always just listening to teachers and sitting in classrooms. We need learn on our own as well!

Ko Wai Lam | Shun Lee Catholic Secondary School


I’ve done English Builder lessons for almost one year. When I first came to this website, I thought the exercises were easy, so I didn’t pay attention to the skills I could learn from it. Day after day, I found the skills are very useful. Listening makes me pay attention and not just read from the passage. Vocabulary consolidates the usage and meaning of the vocabulary. Writing can increase my speed of typing too. English Builder improves my English greatly.

Wong Man Tin | SKH Bishop Baker Secondary School


I think English Builder is a well-developed e-learning website as I can learn English by doing it. The topics of the exercises are interesting and hot topics in this society. I think it is good to learn more about English through these issues. Moreover, English Builder provides a good exercise, Usage. It can help us remember what parts of speech we have learnt before. I review lots of parts of speech in this exercise. I hope English Builder can provide more useful exercises for us.

Lam Anna | St Catharine’s School for Girls, Kwun Tong


English Builder is such a wonderful English teacher in broadening my horizons and honing my English skills. By regularly doing exercises based particularly on current issues and pop culture themes, I find myself becoming more and more exposed to hot topics and performing better in mastering English. No doubt, English Builders is a fabulous and useful tool which provides an interesting and fun way to learn English.

Lee Carol | St Catharine’s School For Girls, Kwun Tong


I think English Builder is a good place for students to learn and improve their English and maybe get higher marks on exams. It also makes our writing and listening better. Sometimes there are chances to win some movie tickets; this can make student enjoy English! English builder really helps me a lot and makes my English better then before! I hope that English Builder can give students even more chances to learn English!

Miffy Lee Hill Yan | Stewards Pooi Kei College


I like English Builder. I think it is a great way to learn English. Every day it has different topics and exercises to do and some of them are very funny and interesting. Some topics are about school activities, friendship and some are on cartoons.

I’ll keep using the English Builder.

Bella Leung | STFA Seaward Woo College


I think English Builder is a very useful and educational program used to help build or enhance students’ skills in English language, hence its name. It can also give us a sense of competition and motivates us to catch up with other schools. Personally, I believe that English Builder is used to show us our status and how well we can improve if we try harder. Also it’s very interesting to know what our position is compared with other students from different schools. And it is even more fun to compete with students from our own schools. Since I have started English Builder, I have improved greatly on my English exams and tests. I think that I can improve even more through English Builder and I know that it will help us in our future studies.

Harina Rachel Anne Aristan | St Margaret’s Girls’ College, Hong Kong


I consider English Builder to be a very effective online learning platform. With different current issues as each week’s theme and challenging tasks presented as assessments, we students can test our abilities and understand our strengths and weaknesses among the different tasks such as listening and reading. Nonetheless, I think only 2 lessons per week is not sufficient and an extra assessment would be appreciated on Saturday in my level.

June Lei | St Paul’s Convent School (Secondary Section)


I think English Builder not only helps me to learn English but also broadens my mind. By introducing a different topic in every lesson, I am able to learn a lot of different things, from topics such as children in Palestine to the year’s hottest movie. Even though getting a high score is never easy, I think that as long as we do our best, we can surely learn something from each lesson.

Tacye Hong | St Paul’s Convent School (Secondary Section)


Many of my classmates might think that English Builder is boring or difficult, but I think it is great. Well, first of all, we can learn different skills such as listening, vocabulary, reading and speaking in each exercise. The content of the listening and articles are all up to date so that I can know what is happening recently in the world. They are also on different categories, so I can learn different things. I really enjoy learning English when at the same time I am gaining knowledge. That’s why I usually do my English Builder carefully.

Bella Chan | St Paul’s Convent Secondary School


 

English Builder is a very successful e-learning platform for students to learn English. I have been doing English Builder for about 3 years and I can see that it’s improving constantly. I like lessons which are on movies because that is very interesting and eye-catching. It increases my interest in English Builder which makes me like it more.

Verma Divya Prem Kumar | St Paul’s Convent School (Secondary Section)


Actually, when I first did the English Builder exercises, I thought the video and the passages were quite interesting. There are different kinds of themes in different exercises such as songs, poems and stories. Students can learn English more easily and appreciate the lyrics or some poetic techniques. I think English Builder has provided useful and meaningful passages for us to read.

I enjoy doing the exercises. English Builder can really arouse my interest in learning English.

Rebecca Chan | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


To be honest, I used to think English Builder had nothing to do with my English academic results.

But now, I have changed my mind. English Builder helps me a lot in improving English. We may benefit from taking part in traditional English lessons, but maybe visual lessons are better. A short time each day will produce better, longer-term results.

I have made English Builder a hobby, not a chore, and I have fun doing it.

Christy Wong Tsz Lam | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


In my opinion, English Builder is a learning platform which provides a more diversified and efficient way to help students enhance their English level. It is true that most students will not learn English actively by listening to English programmes, learning and applying different vocabularies, reading English passages and speaking English with friends and family after school. However, English Builder provides motivation for students to learn and practice English by providing regular exercises. Therefore, English Builder is really a good way for students like me to learn English.

Mandy Lam | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


I love English Builder, yet I hate it. From one side, it provides a comprehensive English learning platform for us, in which we learn English with interesting topics. In this way, English Builder does not only build English, but could widen our horizons too. To be honest, it sometimes annoys me a bit due to my laziness. However, “No pain, no gain”. And that is not really a pain.

Kristy Lo | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


English Builder is like my mum. My mother always asks me to improve my tidiness and English Builder reminds me to improve my language skills, and I find them equally annoying. However, somehow what your mum says to you is quite right. I would not deny that I was as untidy as my mum said. Similarly, English Builder tells the truth. It points out my mistakes directly and pushes me to improve them. Therefore, I am so thankful for English Builder’s honesty.

Jessie Li Chui Shan | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


From my point of view, English Builder is a good platform for me to practise my English reading, listening, grammar, etc. Those exercises help me a lot in learning English. Also, I think some of those video clips of the listening part are quite meaningful and touching like the one “Create a better future.” I like it very much.

Connie Lui | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


The content of English Builder is up to date. It covers various topics, from drama to drug and environmental problems. It helps to enhance student’s knowledge in all directions.

The part I appreciate most is Listening. There are many sources of video, not only those banal exercises. It is interesting to include some scenes from movies or documentaries. These make the exercises close to daily life.

Amy Ho | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


I enjoy doing the online exercises provided by English Builder with various multimedia elements, e.g., video.

It provides students not only plenty of exercises, but also explanations about the wrong answers, which would effectively improve students’ English, I think.

I admire that each exercise is divided into 5 sections. Through the assessment, students can learn each of their strengths and weaknesses, which, I believe, will help students become more well-rounded.

Alice, Koo Mei Ying | St Paul’s School (Lam Tin)


English Builder always gives me surprises.

I see my favorite idols and movies often so I won’t feel bored while I’m doing it. I really like doing the exercises and checking out the latest events. Furthermore, the exercises aren’t really hard. I can learn English more efficiently.

The greatest thing is that I don’t need to use much time to finish the courses, so it’s really worth doing.

Angelie Shui | The Mission Covenant Church Holm Glad College


Doing English Builder is fun. By watching videos, I can practice my English. Moreover, I can learn about hot issues around the world at the same time. My favourite part in English Builder exercises is the speaking section because I can check whether my pronunciation is accurate by doing this part. English Builder really helps me a lot in my English language skills.

Chung Pak Lai | Tuen Mun Catholic Secondary School


I think English Builder is extremely excellent!!! I love doing English Builder very much! I think English Builder is the most wonderful English exercise that I have ever seen. It takes me on a meaningful, fun and amazing learning journey. It inspires me to have confidence in English. Doing it can really consolidate my English skills. Doing it can also increase my reading, writing, speaking and listening ability. Doing it is very interesting and fun because the passages are always about our life. I especially like the ones about new films!!! And lastly, my English scores at school have improved!!! I’m really delighted! Next year I will continue doing English Builder!!!

Chong Yin Kiu | TWGHs Sun Hoi Directors’ College


I enjoy doing English Builder very much! I think that English Builder is useful for us to do because we just need to spend just a little time per day finishing exercise but can gain a lot. I learn a lot of new vocabulary from English Builder‘s fun news and the wide variety of topics.

Leung Pui Ka Ruby | Valtorta College


I think English Builder is good for us and useful, because when we do English Builder, we can learn some new vocabulary, grammar and sentence patterns, and we can also get some up-to-date news. Besides, we can learn how to do better in reading and listening skills.

Leung Po Ki, Bobo | Valtorta College


I think English Builder provides different things that we need to practice such as listening, reading, vocabulary and speaking. We can practice a lot in doing one exercise and improve a lot in English. This is really good for us. Also, the topics of the exercises English Builder chose are some hot topics that we are interested in. We can even learn more about that topic and it is useful for us because we can get a lot of information on that topic. English Builder is quite good but a little bit difficult for me.

Pang Chun Ni | Wa Ying College


“Hello everybody.

My name is Felicity Cheung and I’m a Form 1 student at Heung To Middle School. I like learning English.

English Builder has helped me a lot, especially in listening and spelling. We need to concentrate whilst doing the exercises, so it can help us learn more vocabulary. Also, we do English Builder exercises three times a week so we can practice a lot.

This can help to correct and improve our grammar.

Thank you.”

Cheung Kind Man Felicity | Heung To Middle School, TSW


“Good morning everyone, I’m Sebastian Cheung from Heung To Middle School. I’m so happy that I can get this award. English Builder helps me a lot, especially in listening, spelling, and reading. I do English Builder exercises three times a week. It can help us to improve our reading and spelling.

Thank you.”

Cheung King Wan | Heung To Middle School, TSW


“I think that English Builder is a good platform for me to learn and improve my English. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I spend much time on it. I read and listen to the passages carefully so that I can understand the content before answering the questions. Also, I look up the meanings of the words that I don’t understand and proofread my answers before submitting so to reduce the mistakes that I make.”

Chan Man Ho Alan | Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club College


“English Builder is an excellent English teacher. In each lesson, I learn some new vocabulary. I always apply them to my composition assignments and class discussions. Through the listening and dictation exercises, I have a better English listening ability. I could even get higher scores in the dictations at school. I have learnt to think deeply and understand the underlying themes of the passages through the critical thinking questions of the reading exercises. The speaking exercises have helped me speak English more naturally. I also appreciate the weekly revisions and monthly assessments, which have helped me revise and memorise new vocabulary items and grammar rules. Furthermore, the interactive design arouses my interest in using English Builder. Lastly, I would like to thank English Builder for improving my English thoroughly.”

Shum Kin Kai | Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club College


“This programme provides an interesting way to learn and practice English. I have learnt many useful vocabularies and my English has been improved. The attractive themes make me look forward to doing the next exercise.

I like the listening part most because I enjoy watching the videos there. Besides, the assignments and revisions are meaningful as they can check how much I have learnt from the exercises.

To score high marks, we should do the exercises carefully and check the answers before submitting them. Also, we should not hesitate to check from the dictionary when we meet any difficult words.”

Yu Pui Yan | Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club College


In order to get good marks on English Builder, I have to spend a lot of time completing the exercises. However, the results are rewarding. I think English Builder is a good tool to help students learn English on their own.

Cheung Wai Hin | Kowloon Tong School (Secondary Section)


I have been doing English Builder since I was in Form One. English Builder improves my English a lot and builds my confidence. I have learnt new vocabulary by reading the passages. English Builder is a good way to improve our grammar and spoken English. By doing the exercises students can keep up with their English. In the past, I was afraid of speaking English, now, I have the confidence to speak in front of my class. I hope in the future I can do more English Builder exercises.

Ip Man Fong | Kowloon Tong School (Secondary Section)


I like English Builder because I think it is good for us, as it provides a lot of exercises which give us more chances to read, listen and speak in English. I think English Builder can improve our English and I hope it will continue in the future.

Kwok Ho Fai | Po Leung Kuk Ma Kam Ming College


Hello, everybody. I’m Yeung Chau Man from Po Leung Kuk Ma Kam Ming College, and I’m going to share what I have learnt after doing English Builder.

After doing the online exercises for two years, I have learnt lots of skills, for example, listening and reading skills. In addition, I know more about the environment and social problems.

Yeung Chau Man | Po Leung Kuk Ma Kam Ming College


English Builder is a very useful online exercise .It has 2 exercises per week so the workload isn’t very heavy. Its reading passages are top news, which can boost our knowledge and enhance our awareness on some social and international issues. For example, I was completely appalled when I read the passage on Australian computer dumping and I suddenly realized I was so ignorant about environmental issues. The listening exercises are pretty useful as well. They are read out by native speakers and can improve our English listening skills a lot. Last but not least, the vocabulary part can undoubtedly increase our vocabulary. I thoroughly encourage participation in this programme.

Kan Ming Yin | SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School


I find English Builder very useful in improving my English. I can practice my listening, reading and speaking skills regularly through English Builder. I have also learned a lot of different vocabulary. The monthly assessments helped me memorize what I have learned in the previous month. Besides learning, English Builder would hold some activities or competitions. I have joined these events, too, and I have won some movie tickets. It was just like a reward for my hard work. In short, English Builder is an excellent channel for learning English and gives learners lots of fun!

Leung Sze Chai | SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School


“Using English Builder is a really nice experience for me. It’s a truly fantastic learning journey. You walk on it day by day, and finally you discover that it’s not just fun but you can also gain a lot from it. English Builder gives me the opportunity to learn English through interesting social issues, films, current news and lots of other creative reading materials, and makes me be more confident to read in English. Marvelous! I can’t think of any other words which are more suitable to describe my feelings doing English Builder!”

Carol Lee | St Catharine’s School for Girls


“I think this English program is very good to improve our reading, listening and speaking skills in English. Sometimes lessons are based on pop songs. Through the lessons, I can learn much more vocabulary. I can use more words to express my feelings. Also, I can learn about current news and get a lot of new knowledge to enrich my life. This makes learning more interesting. I enjoy English Builder’s lessons very much and my English has been improved through English Builder.”

Mandy Fan | St Catharine’s School for Girls


“I am honoured and pleased to be one of the top achievers of English Builder.

I must admit that, at the beginning, I didn’t like English Builder much. Later on, when I considered it as a learning opportunity, I found it more interesting and it soon became a habit to go on the site to do the exercise.

English Builder has given me a challenge to enrich myself, and it allows me to witness that there are a lot of outstanding learners and they naturally drive me to work harder.”

Yeung Man Nok Trevi | Stewards Pooi Kei College


English Builder is the other way to learn English. I think my English is better than before. For example, my listening skills are improving. I like English Builder because it can improve my English and it is fun. It is more interesting than English lessons. I hope I can do well in English Builder. I will try my best!

Leung Yin Sheung | The Mission Covenant Church Holm Glad College


I was so surprised that I was the top one of the English Builder Programme in Holm Glad College. It is unbelievable. I never thought that I could do so well and get such good results.

I thank English Builder for giving me a chance to sharpen and improve my English. I have also learnt about music in High School Musical. English Builder is good for me. I hope that I can learn more things that I cannot learn in English lessons.

My mum said that she is so proud of me!

Li Chiu Ha | The Mission Covenant Church Holm Glad College


“I have improved my English through English Builder. English Builder provides new and interesting passages and I can learn new and useful words in each exercise. I can improve my listening skills too, as it provides listening exercises and I can train my writing skills through writing practice. I think English Builder is very useful to me.”

Lin Siu Kwan | Wa Ying College




After using English Builder for 2 years, I recognized my English has improved a lot in all aspects. English Builder has boosted my speaking, vocabulary, reading and comprehension skills. It boosts my listening and English usage in the native English speaking environment. It also increases my exposure to authentic English. I love the animations, videos and music in English Builder. I learn a lot of vocabulary from English Builder. In the coming academic year, I will continue doing English Builder in order to enhance my English skills.

Michael Yip | SKH Tang Shiu Kin Secondary School

To share more with us, please contact our consultants at 3188 3842 or WeCare@wiseman.com.hk

In this issue we introduce you to three schools that are successfully implementing English Builder. They are TWGHs Sun HoI Directors’ College, PLK 1984 College and CCC Kei Keep Secondary School. Each of these schools has its own unique story, but all three share something special in common – teachers dedicated to motivating their students to learn English.

TWGH Sun Hoi Director’s College

“The programme is quite comprehensive. Students can practise English at home, especially during holidays.”
– Miss Ng (English Teacher)

TWGH Sun Hoi Director’s College

“The way that English Builder grades students is quite appropriate. If the exercises are too difficult or too easy, students will not have the initiative to do them.”
– Mrs Cheng (English Panel)

TWGH Director’s College has achieved one of the highest English Builder completion rates in Hong Kong. They have successfully created a self-learning culture through their use of English Builder.

Implementation Strategies:

– Remind students to finish English Builder exercises during morning school assemblies.
– Allocate 5 marks of reading papers for English Builder performance. If students complete all the exercises satisfactorily, they will have a higher score.
– Checks students’ results regularly.

Integration with School Curriculum:

– Use English Builder to compliment school curriculum as self-access learning, where students do it in their free time at school or at home.
– Integrate English Builder passages into dictation exercises.

Comments on English Builder:

– The weekly progress reports are very handy for English teachers. Teachers are regularly provided statistics on each of their students’ progress for easy monitoring and follow-up.
– English Builder addresses learner diversity as students are assigned the level of difficulty that is most suitable for them.

What do students think about EB ?

Anson (left), Sam (middle), Pinky (right) of TWGHs Sun HoI Directors’ College

“I think EB is a useful programme. I enjoy the English Builder listening, reading and vocabulary tasks. I love the vocabulary tasks most as I build my vocabulary from them. I use this vocabulary both in writing and reading. It is useful for our examination too.” – Anson (F. 4D)

“I like the usage section most because it helps me improve my writing skills. For example, the exercises in the usage section require us to use words in the correct part of speech. Grammatical mistakes in my compositions have been greatly reduced!” – Sam (F. 6A)

“English is an international language so it is very important to us. During my previous oral examinations, I often pronounced words incorrectly. The speaking section of English Builder helps me improve my pronunciation and speaking skills.” – Pinky (F. 4B)

Tom (left one), Maggie (left two), Leanne (right two), Lau Cheuk Lam (right one) of TWGHs Sun HoI Directors’ College

“I think English Builder helps to improve my English. It helps us learn more vocabulary and it is also good for our writing.” – Tom (F. 3A)

“I think English Builder is good for us because there are articles on different topics. It widens our exposure to these topics.” – Maggie (F. 3A)

“I think English Builder is good for our writing because we learn new words in the listening part we can then practise using in our writing.” – Leanna (F. 2D)

“I think it is quite a user-friendly tool. The grammar training is very useful. “ – Lau Cheuk Lam (F. 1B)

 

Po Leung Kuk 1984 College

Ma Wai Yee (left one), Susan (left 2), Miss Fong (right 2), Francis (right one) of Po Leung Kuk 1984 College

“I think the text types and the topics of English Builder are wonderful. Students can explore cultures from different countries and learn about different text types, which can help them broaden their horizons.” – Miss Fong (English Panel)

Po Leung Kuk 1984 College has implemented a comprehensive monitoring system, which has lead to a remarkable completion rate and average total score. Teachers persistently monitor and follow-up on their students’ progress, and their students have greatly improved their standard of English.

Implementation Strategies:

– Treat English Builder as weekly homework.
– Show both the completion rate and the total scores of English Builder in students’ report cards so parents stay informed on their child’s progress.
– Encourage low achievers to redo lessons to achieve better scores.
– Present certificates and small prizes to outstanding students during morning assemblies.
– Set completion rate targets for students.

Comments on English Builder:

– The weekly progress report is very useful. The school prints out the reports for our English teachers every week so that they will know how well our students perform and then follow-up accordingly.
– There are a lot of text types and topics in English Builder that help increase students’ exposure.
– English Builder provides special certificates to motivate students to be outstanding. This service is excellent.

What do students think about EB ?


“In my opinion, English Builder is quite a good tool to improve our English. English Builder helps us improve our reading skills as well as our listening skills, through authentic native accents. “ – Francis (a F.5 student)

“I think that English Builder helps me prepare for the exam. The reading part enhances my knowledge on different topics and equips me with better reading skills. I also like the Usage section.” – Susan (a F.5 student)

“I think English Builder is very useful for the exam. EB is useful for improving my listening skills as well as my grammar. The reading part is also useful for improving my vocabulary and reading skills.” – Ma Wai Yee (a F.5 student)

CCC Kei Keep Secondary School

Miss Poon of CCC Kei Keep Secondary School

“I find the EB Classroom Teacher’s Resources resourceful and interactive. Some topics tie in with the school-based curriculum very well. This saves teachers a lot of time they would otherwise have to spend looking for videos, audios, reading articles, and other teaching materials. For example, last year we had an environmental protection theme so we used the EB teaching resource lessons on “Hybrid Cars” and “Earth Hour” in our classrooms.

Students like this approach because it is interesting and interactive. Since EB Teacher’s Resources are also based on EB topics, students also feel that their self-access learning is related to the school’s English subject learning.”
– Miss Poon

CCC Kei Heep Secondary School integrates topics in English Builder that are relevant to the modules they are teaching for classroom facilitation.

Implementation Strategies:

– Announce the top achievers for each month and give them small prizes.
– Allocate 5%-10% of coursework marks to award students who complete English Builder. Instead of focusing on the scores, the school places emphasis on the completion rate since there are great individual differences between students.
– Set up an English Builder monthly review quiz.
– Offer bonus marks to students who achieve a certain coursework percentage.

Integration with School Curriculum:

– The school downloads lesson plans according to themes and then adapts the questions and listening materials as teaching texts. For example, there is a theme called “Natural Disasters” in F.2 so the school adapted the EB “Sichuan Earthquake” lesson for the theme. They made use of the audios for listening practice and then tailor-made exercises for students to complete.

Comments on English Builder:

– English Builder is a very good resource for teachers. It saves teachers a lot of time from adapting the current issues into their classroom teaching. Teachers can make use of the current local and global news in the lessons and download the lesson plans for their daily teaching.
– Students find English Builder inspiring and up-to-date. They find it interesting and motivating because they are not learning textbook English, but rather contextual English through relevant issues.
– Students also know they will see questions about EB lessons on their tests and exams so this further motivates them to try their best.

Wiseman in Macau

Wiseman has been commissioned by the Education & Youth Affairs Bureau as the only English learning programme provider for all primary and secondary schools in Macau for the school term of 2010-2011.


To share more with us, please contact our consultants at 3188 3842 or WeCare@wiseman.com.hk

Kwai Chung Methodist College

(http://www.kcmc.edu.hk)

While everyone keeps talking about the benefits of developing school based teaching materials to replace textbooks nowadays, Kwai Chung Methodist College is a pioneer in this respect. They have already created and implemented their own materials based on English Builder for three years.

Using English Builder to create school-based teaching materials

  • The school has been integrating English Builder into their curriculum for F.1 to F.3 for three years. With the self-designed school-based learning materials, the school is no longer using textbooks from publishers for the junior forms. They review the content every year and replace it with more suitable and interesting content.
  • There is a theme for each module. For example, there is a theme called “Culture” for F.3 students. They select 12 passages about culture from English Builder and then include question types for TSA or HKDSE. The school also includes some writing tasks in each lesson so that students can practice their writing skills. Teachers will go through the answers with students in class and teach students techniques for answering the questions.
  • Even though it creates heavy workloads for teachers, especially in the first year when they developed these school-based learning materials, the teachers still think that it is worthwhile as it better fits the English standard of their students. They include phonics and vocabulary, which aid in building the foundation for students’ English skills. They also include moral values in the themes, such as loving animals for F.1, role models for F.2 and racial discrimination for F.3, which helps students build good character along with learning English. For teachers, since they know the rationales behind each of the materials, it is easier for them to prepare for their teaching.

Implementation Strategies:

  • The school also uses English Builder as their self-access learning programme for students. In order to motivate students to learn better, it assigns ten percent of their daily marks to English Builder. Five percent of the marks go to the completion rate and another five percent go to the average scores. The subject teacher of each class is advised to check the progress report every week, and then reward or penalise the students accordingly.
  • In order to address learning diversity, teachers will assign students at the beginning of the school term to the level that is suitable for them. When they see any students showing good progress in their learning, they will adjust their levels immediately.

(Miss Lau (Left) and Miss Tsang (Right))

“Some passages and themes in English Builder are quite up-to-date. I see their efforts in introducing more NSS elective passages in these past few years. If teachers can use these passages as the morning reading materials for students, or if students can come across these topics when they do the online programme when they are in the junior forms, it will be very helpful. Moreover, the question types provided in the programme are closely related to the public exams, which can help familiarise students with the exam formats.” Miss Lau (English Teacher)

“I like the UE lessons developed for Level 7 this year as they are very similar to the public exams. Students are more eager to do the lessons if they think that the practice papers are in the exam formats. Also, I think the services of English Builder are very good. The staff are supportive in responding to our requests.” Miss Tsang (English Panel)

The school-based learning materials are called “Readikipedia”. They are comprehension books integrated with the content of English Builder.

What do students think about EB?

(Katie (Left), Yanus (Middle) and Rico (Right))

“We have been using English Builder for five years. I like its contents as they are attractive and have a wide variety. We can be exposed to different topics and techniques for learning English every week. It includes almost all the major areas we should know for the exam, so I think it is quite practical. I found my vocabulary has improved a lot. Since the lessons in English Builder are similar to the format of the HKDSE, I think it is useful for exam preparation.” Katie (a F.5 student)

“In every lesson, English Builder will highlight some difficult vocabulary for us. We can learn the pronunciation and meaning of these vocabulary words simply by pressing the buttons, which is really convenient! Frankly, I don’t usually watch English news programmes when I am at home, but since English Builder is a compulsory programme in our school, we have to do it and so have the chance to come across those lessons developed from the NGC or BBC clips. English Builder helps break through the traditional learning models in the classroom. It is a good platform for us to watch videos and train our listening through authentic English. When we practise the past exam papers, all the listening passages are read clearly and precisely, but we can get used to listening to more native English in English Builder, which is helpful to enhance my listening skills.” Rico (a F.5 student)

“English Builder is a comprehensive programme that helps us learn reading, listening and speaking. It is self-access learning, so we can review the lessons even we are at home. We can correct our own pronunciation after listening to the vocabulary in authentic English. The topics provided are fresh to us so it helps broaden our horizons. I found my reading skills have improved after using the programme.” Yanus (a F.5 student)

SKH Bishop Baker Secondary School

(http://www.skhbbss.edu.hk/)

SKH Bishop Baker Secondary School was the ”School of the Year” in 2008/09 and was ranked in the top positions continuously in the past few years. For having such a good performance, the credit should go to the English Panel and the subject teachers who have contributed so much in implementing the online programme in the school.

Implementation Strategies:

  • After receiving the progress report every Monday, English teachers will identify those students who have not completed the lessons on time. They will give the students a grace period of one day to finish it before taking any penalizing actions.
  • Although it will create a heavier workload for teachers to check the reports twice a week, the school believes that it is more fair to the students, as sometimes there may be some forgivable reasons for failing to complete the assignments.
  • For those who always fail to finish the lessons, the school will arrange for them to catch up in the MMLC after school.

(Ms. Kwok (left ) and Ms. Wu (right))

“ I like the reading section in English Builder. It is very practical. Students can always refer back to the passage and gain some insight on what they have learned.” Ms. Kwok (English Teacher)

“It is important to show our students explicitly how serious we are in implementing the programme. It is part of their learning” Ms. Wu (English Panel)

What do students think about EB?

“I have been using English Builder for 7 months. I find the video clips, especially those informative videos, in the lessons very interesting. I can now learn English not only in the English class, but also learn it through watching something interesting

With the writing exercises, I have a chance to practise my vocabulary, which helps me do well in dictation. Actually I have acquired more vocabulary since using English Builder; I understand not only the words’ meaning but also their pronunciation.

I used to find listening quite difficult. After continuous practicing, I have overcome most of the difficulties and can now manage it well.” Bobo Mak (F. 1A)

“I think my English has improved a lot after using English Builder, which can be substantiated by my better exam results. With the training of English Builder, I find my listening skills have been improved because I can comprehend what I am taught in class more easily now. I also find English Builder helpful in improving my grammar and vocabulary.

My friends and I like collecting virtual gifts too. We like to exchange the gifts with each other to get a full collection!” Yolanda Wong (F.1B)

Hong Kong True Light College

(http://www.hktlc.edu.hk/)

To implement self-access learning programmes successfully in schools, both encouragement and teachers’ dedication are important. Hong Kong True Light College will share with you how they promote English Builder in the school.

Implementation Strategies:

  • The school organises bi-monthly inter-class competitions. The top 2 classes of each grade will be given some gifts as rewards. To accommodate the inter-class competition, English Builder provides tailor-made reports for the school to monitor the results. The school appreciates the helpful and timely support in this matter.
  • For individuals, if the students complete 80% of the lessons for the period, they will get 3 stamps. Students who ranked in the top 40% in score will get 5 stamps. These stamps will be converted into their daily marks.
  • Some teachers make use of the progress reports to monitor the students’ learning situation. Take Mr. Lo as an example: after reviewing the weekly progress reports, he will ask those students whose completion rates are unsatisfactory to catch up on the lessons at school any time they want.
  • The school also encounters learning diversity, but they assign students to different levels according to ability at the beginning of the school term, so students have found the difficulty of the work to be well suited to what they can handle

(Ms. Hassel Cheung (left), Mr. Wilson Lo (right))

“I think the monthly highlights are quite good. Since all English teachers will receive it too, they can have a preview of the topics for the coming month and suggest that students pay attention to a particular lesson if they think it is useful.” Mr. Wilson Lo

“I like the topics, the current issues and the up-to-date content of English Builder. As far as I know, there are teachers using the passage in the reading section for dictation. It can help students become more diligent in their learning.” Ms. Cheung

“I think the monthly highlights are quite good. Since all English teachers will receive it too, they can have a preview of the topics for the coming month and suggest that students pay attention to a particular lesson if they think it is useful.” Mr. Wilson Lo

“I like the topics, the current issues and the up-to-date content of English Builder. As far as I know, there are teachers using the passage in the reading section for dictation. It can help students become more diligent in their learning.” Ms. Cheung

EN