School Visit: Springvale Primary School & English Language Centre

This school contains students from different cultural backgrounds. I asked the teachers there about the teaching methodologies and strategies they adopt and I found that there are certain similarities and differences. To me, some of the approaches used are good and should be kept adopting while others should be improved.

There are a few approaches which are taken successfully, with small-group learning being the first one. This type of learning facilitates the learning process because teachers are able to cater to individual needs effectively. Compared to Hong Kong, in which large classes are very common, normally a teacher is unable to answer many questions from students. Though Hong Kong is now adopting small-class teaching, the class size is still a bit large, on average 20-30 students in a class. However, in this school, there are only 6-7 students in a class, which means more resources and time will be allocated to students and this helps their studies.

Another successful approach is the use of authentic materials. It is wise for teachers to make good use of visual aids to assist students in learning since the students will gain deeper impression towards a variety of subjects. For example, in a Mathematics class I observed, the teacher used beads of different colors to illustrate the concepts of counting numbers. This facilitated students' learning since numbers are abstract and the use of visual materials helps concretize the concepts. This approach is widely adopted in Australia compared to that in Hong Kong. I would suggest using more authentic materials in teaching in Hong Kong.

The third approach used appropriately is the activity-based learning (ABL). Learning through participating in activities fosters the learning process since students will not get bored and lose interest in studying. They will enjoy the activities, for instance, games, which are not merely games but helps students learn. This approach is far better than the traditional approach, which is drilling, because the participation of students in drilling is too low and they solely absorb the information, which means they may not be able to apply the knowledge to real-life situations. Unfortunately, this approach is very common in Hong Kong, mainly because of the large number of students. It is hoped that ABL will be widely adopted in Hong Kong schools.

On the other hand, the interaction between teachers and students was not facilitated properly. In the two classes I observed, one teacher did not have interaction with students at all, she just stood beside and helped students when they came to her for help. Another teacher taught too much and she adopted one-way teaching approach, which minimizes students' participation. This is similar to the situation in Hong Kong. However, this approach is definitely not encouraged since students should be the active learners, they should involve the most in their learning. To improve the occasion, I recommend teachers ask students more questions and elicit more responses from them so as to increase the opportunities for them to speak up.

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Impression of Melbourne and Australia

In Australia, the environment is generally quiet. It is not uncommon that there is not much noise from vehicles and people. This is superb because noise will annoy me and make me uncomfortable.

In Melbourne, the weather fluctuates a lot. At midnight and in the morning, the temperature is so low that I do not want to wake up. At noon and in the afternoon, the weather is so great and the temperature is usually 16-18 Degree Celsius. This is just like Autumn and I like it. As described above, it can be realized that the weather changes much in a day, therefore I have to protect myself from getting ill.

Besides, people in Melbourne are very warm, as evidenced by their hospitality towards foreigners. Take my case as an example, my host treats me so well, they always ask for my favorites and try their best to satisfy my needs, for instance, when they understand that I like to try different types of food, they purchase the food in the supermarket and prepare for them in the afternoon. I am glad that I live in this Australian family.

On the other hand, I think the transportation is quite inconvenient in terms of time. For each type of transport, the time for waiting is quite long, such as the campus buses, which will be available every 30 minutes. It is time-consuming for students to wait for the transport to get to home. I hope the transportation timetable will be modified so that people need not waste their time standing near the bus stations.