Perspectives: constant practice the key to learning languages
Coaches and sportsmen and women will tell you about the value of practice for honing important skills. Top performers spend hours working on areas of their game, and so it is with academic pursuits. Language skills need to be practised to develop fluency and confidence.
While students bemoan homework, and are often reluctant to speak in a language that's a challenge, both are viewed by educators as essential practice and preparation for the successful student.
Students of the English language in Hong Kong should actively use every opportunity they can to speak and interact in English. Even basic greetings and everyday classroom expressions can move students towards language competence. Functional practice is supported by theorists, including cognitive neuroscientist Ellen Bialystok (1981), who consider it a conscious strategy that supports language acquisition.
Many NETs feel they have to compensate for the lack of English-language practice
NETs (native-speaking English teachers) working in local schools try to create more opportunities for students to practise speaking skills.
Many employ the teaching approach that emphasises interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of study. Linguist David Nunan (1991) linked classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom as a feature of the communicative approach.
The approach has been around for more than 40 years. However, some teachers here remain reluctant to depart from their grammar textbooks. NETs aim to use interactive and integrated teaching approaches in classrooms that can be lively and demand student attention, concentration and thought.
While introducing and reinforcing target vocabulary, students gain confidence and knowledge of the features and forms of English language.
Many NETs feel they have to compensate for the lack of English-language practice beyond the school gates. Some schools, for example, use drama and role play as vehicles for speaking practice. However, there is a wide variation in the manner in which teachers are deployed in different schools.