14-15年度小一新生

Sportsscene

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free2bme

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free2bme

原帖由 Sportsscene 於 15-03-18 發表
本帖最後由 Sportsscene 於 15-3-18 18:36 編輯

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Sportsscene

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The message failed to post last time. Just wanted to say the English standard isn't as high as you think. Parents might say that this isn't an international school, but the school is promoted as an English school, which theoretically implies that the English should be of a rather high standard. Of course you can't compare Gigamind to international schools, but at the same time saying Gigamind's English is better than most local schools follows that logic as well.

Back to your claims that the English skills of the teachers are very good, I cannot agree entirely with you here. The 3 NETs that are there, the 2 male teachers come from English speaking countries, so of course they have no problem using the language. The lady NET from Italy however is another story. I cannot understand how she manages to claim to be fluent in English. But many people fall into the trap of assuming a White person means being a native-English speaking person.

The previous English co-ordinator had very poor English, as she cannot even spot grammatical mistakes in her own work, as well as having a rather limited range of vocabulary whenever she spoke in English. The current co-ordinator has a very British accent, but the actual language standard doesn't match up with the accent she uses.

Of course it is much better than the average person, but are they employed in a place which prides itself on its English standard?

I'm not doubting the fact that they are very passionate and dedicated teachers, and I'm sure the majority are. I'm just saying things  may not be what they seem to be.

Hilarymother

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I agree with both you and free2bme. I think the only difference is the perspective you look at it from. The teachers' level of English is high compared to most schools in HK, which means local schools. I'd love to send my kid(s) off to an international school - I went to one when fees were much more reasonable. For many of us parents who are not able to afford international secondary places at $12k+ nowadays (even worse for parents of multiple children), we need to stay more "local" in our primary/secondary school selection. I haven't spoken to the coordinators, but I did/do speak with the current P1 English teachers (both local and  NET). The P1-P3 English NET is great and the way she teaches English is simply wonderful. Some of us parents compared English folders and it's a black and white difference between the classes of the same year. I'd encourage you to do the same. Besides, to judge someone based on their race and nationality is unfair. My English is fine and I'm from HK, I assume you are in the same boat. On the other hand, being a NET is no guarantee of excellence. Many of my teachers in international schools were European, Indian etc and they had accents, sometimes strong. It didn't affect learning and, to be frank, accents are a part of the real world. The local teacher who taught/teaches lower years focused a lot on grammar and wasn't as interesting as the NET. Except for a few teachers here and there, I'd say English is fine. The problem I find is the current principal has become very relaxed in enforcing "English & PTH only" as I was promised (by the former principal during interviews) would be the case and the kids are speaking Cantonese ever more often. On that account it seems only the NETs care to enforce the rule. Hopefully the new principal will be more diligent on this matter.

free2bme

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1. Parents choose this school not just for English. We may choose it for - small class size, English, relaxed, close, private, less strict or some other reason. 2. Yes, White  doesn't mean perfect English, and also perfect English doesn't mean perfect English teacher. There are lots of fluent native speaking "teachers" in HK that are absolute rubbish and waste time and money of parents. THey come to HK for a few years to travel and make some money. On the other hand, Western teachers bring a Western style.
3. The  NETs that teach English at Gigamind not only have good English but have   a more open, fun and interesting teaching style. That makes student learning more enjoyable. This is a major reason why parents will choose this school! This is my highest concern. English can be taught on the side by the parent and tutor, BUT I don't want my kid to HATE life for 8 hours a day. My kid enjoys learning with all 3 NETs (over the past few years). It doesn't matter where they are from, Western teachers will bring Western style - that's something valuable too. I'd look at the quality of education, not perceived language ability.
4. You said people think this school is 'international'. With 3 NETS, a couple overseas/"Western" Chinese teachers and local teachers, you may say Gigamind is "international" in this way. Besides, when people say "international" thats really another way of saying "not local"  which means not alll about exams, exams, exams, dictations, dictation, dictation, homework, homework and lots of shouting. So yes and no - Gigamind is not a proper international school, and I and other parents always knew this, but it has many qualities of international schools that are attractive. It also is a sort of feeder school for YCIS, which is international.
5. I didn't like the old English head either, especially for the fact that she left suddenly.  I have never spoken to the new one.