No Cantonese in RC pl pl pl

rach_mama

Anyone knows if the same thing what yeung2212 happening at DC? It's kind weird that there are not lot of ppl talk about DC here even at other forum.

I wonder why???

WYmom

原帖由 rach_mama 於 09-11-12 01:47 發表
Anyone knows if the same thing what yeung2212 happening at DC? It's kind weird that there are not lot of ppl talk about DC here even at other forum.

I wonder why???

DC is very different from RC, it is originally ESF Bauhinia School, most students come from Discovery Bay, most of them are foreigners (I guess over 70%).  So students naturally speak English all the time.  In all other ESF schools, students speak English all the time naturally even among local Chinese students.  This is naturally the culture followed for many years.  RC was set up by 2006 to accomodate more local Chinese students and put higher focus in Chinese, so it is different from other ESF schools in culture.

There are a lot more people talking about RC in BK forum naturally because BK is a forum more for local Chinese parents.  DC parents normally won't come to BK.  They discuss more in their expat's forum.

[ 本帖最後由 WYmom 於 09-11-12 07:19 編輯 ]

nintendo

As far as I know, both RC and DC are the same. They are both PIS and are not exactly like other ESF schools. The curriculum of RC and DC are basically the same and in fact DC is simply a smaller version of RC. These school are both set up to help ease the demand of ESF places. I do not care where the kids are from but technically, DC and RC are the same. Not ESF schools, but PIS managed by ESF.
The main difference would non-chinese population. Because of the location, DC has much much more non-local students than RC.
But when you look at traditional ESF schools too, we have the same thing. KGV and WIS or SIS are very different. And STC is probably something in between.
Most western people chose to live on the island, then areas like Tai Po and Sai Kung. So that explains why there are more western kids in STC than KGV too. According to when I see KGV actually have the most local chinese, in fact even more than RC. But KGV is more strict on their language policy, and students are forced to use English only.

gentlemanhk

Agreed. I don't understand why people would equate allowing non-English playground language to not providing English environment. To me, enough is enough.

My girl is in RC Y1 and just within a few months now, her progress on English as well as other learning development are extremely pleasing. Our observations during various social activities are that many kids do speak both English (with other local kids) and Cantonese during play time. They switch easily to English when talking to the teachers and other English speaking kids. The home room teacher is also very caring and serious about the kids' English communication skills.

Even the school is imposing an English only policy, we, being a Cantonese speaking family, just couldn't stop our kids from speaking Cantonese anyway (they talk to their grand parents, their neighbors, other learning activities...etc.). If we want our kids to be a native English speaker within a couple of years, sending them to other IS may not be enough, we'd better send them abroad and avoid staying with the Chinese community.

iamfine

I don't understand why people would equate allowing non-English playground language to not providing English environment.

I know it's cliché to say different people have different needs. The fact is some people do feel the need to put their kids in an exclusively English environment to feel comfortable.  To them, for some very strange reasons, a prefect English accent matters. Also, this group of persons, of Chinese origin, not conversant with Western and Chinese cultures though, for some reasons that I don't understand always have high regard for English but not Chinese.  May someone who knows Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory better explain to me their bias for English?  Shall I have pity with them or simply call them nut?

[ 本帖最後由 iamfine 於 09-11-17 16:02 編輯 ]

oooray

原帖由 iamfine 於 09-11-17 15:58 發表


I know it's cliché to say different people have different needs. The fact is some people do feel the need to put their kids in an exclusively English environment to feel comfortable.  To them, for  ...

Don't call them nut.
They just defense their faith; just what we are doing.

iamfine

原帖由 oooray 於 09-11-17 16:14 發表

Don't call them nut.
They just defense their faith; just what we are doing.

Agree.  No problem from this end if you call it a faith. Life is so full of random coincidence.  I've just finished reading Karen Armstrong's the History of God as this question of faith arises. ;)

tingtingting

Point noted but no need to be sarcastic.

iamfine

I admit I'm being sarcastic (sometimes) but am absolutely gutted by those Mr and Mrs. Knowlittle who are too keen to worship English and belittle Chinese.  Me too favour international schools' way of teaching. Both of my children did not spend a single day in a local school but that does not give me the right to pretend that I'm the holder of absolute truth and condemn all the students in local schools and their parents to hell. It's just plain silly to think that there is only one way to heaven.  Hearing them call themselves open-minded and "Westernized" (whatever it means to them) makes me feel sick.

highfive

Very well said!

gentlemanhk

In many local EMI schools, although lessons are taught in English, the teachers are not necessarily native English speakers and indeed, most of them are not. The teaching approaches are also way different.

gentlemanhk

I respect your view on a total English environment. No offense but it's just that when you use local EMI schools to support your view and said that "it is exactly the reason...", you have ignored other critical factors, so making it an apple to non apple comparison in my opinion.

Just to share, one of my colleagues was from a local EMI school. She speaks both English and Cantonese at native level. She continued her education in UK though after finished her secondary school.

hhy2007

Every school has high performers and low performers.  

Yeung2212:  Based on your description, I'm afraid your son may just be one of those low performers in RC.  You may blame RC for not enforcing the English-only policy in school, however, does it ever occur to you that even if RC enforced such policy, you son might still have a slow progress if he is lack of his own initiatives to use English to communicate whenever possible.  In fact, you should feel lucky that your son was accepted by RC two years ago, considering the fact that it would be very hard for your son to be accepted by other IS if your son's English is below his year-level expectation.         

Please don't feel offended here.  I just feel that sometimes we parents want truth, but unfortunately, we actually can not handle the truth.  The truth we don’t want to face is that our kids are not outstanding but as normal as the kids next door.  Out kids need time to make a big progress.  Of course, we have right to ask the school to do something, however, it is our kids’ own initiatives that can make a real difference.

iamfine

Quiz of the night: who on earth would take English, a language so easy, so seriously?

iamfine

Quiz of the night no.2: How would you call a Japanese who looks down upon the Japanese language or culture, or a German who cares more about English than German?