Project Details
We live in a culturally diverse city with people of different races. Our non-Chinese population has grown over fourfold in the past 10 years, with many children born and raised in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, as their numbers grew, their opportunities did not increase proportionally. In 2016, 7 in 10 South Asians worked in elementary occupations. Limited Chinese language proficiency and racial discrimination remain two of the major hurdles for our non-Chinese community in obtaining equal opportunities.
As you prepare to be a teacher, we want to equip you with the skills to teach Cantonese and Chinese as a second language and to learn more about our non-Chinese neighbours. In this course, you will have the chance to (1) teach a P1-3 non-Chinese student individually or in small groups, (2) learn to plan, use, and modify activity-based teaching plans to fit your student’s needs, and (3) participate in activities where you can have cross-cultural conversations and appreciate different cultures.
Ultimately, you will be able to apply theory into practice and refine your professional skills, while understanding more about local issues and contributing to social immersion and racial integration in Hong Kong.
Date
- Teaching Practicum
Students shall attend ALL of the below Chinese tutorials, as well as all pre-tutorial briefing sessions and post-tutorial evaluation sessions. The exact dates and times are pending to be confirmed but will fall within this time frame:
• Semester 1 (10 lessons): Saturday mornings from mid-September 2022 to late November 2022
• Semester 2 (10 lessons): Saturday mornings from early February 2023 to late April 2023
* The Chinese tutorials will be held in-person subject to the teaching guidelines by the University of Hong Kong and advice from the EDB regarding tutorial support. Students will be regularly updated on the situation.
** If the tutorials are moved online, they will be conducted via Zoom.
- Multicultural Learning
Apart from the regular tutorials, CantoGather also organises activities for multicultural learning so as to promote mutual cultural understanding between us and ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. There are two categories of activities:
• Cultural Appreciation Activities: these activities will be held together with students and will be conducted during regular class-time.
• Get Real in Meals: these activities are held only with tutors and will be conducted after regular class-time.
THREE in-class Cultural Activities will be held during regular class-time.
Students are required to attend (i) ALL in-class Cultural Activities, (ii) at least ONE after-class activity as we believe understanding is the key to building a CommUnity.
- Teacher Training
Students shall attend ALL of the training workshops and learning sessions. The Teaching and Cultural Training Workshop will be held in person. The other five Training Sessions will be held either in person or online. For the online Training Sessions, a short form shall be completed at the end of each recorded session for proof of attendance.
Location
Multiple schools and community centres
Eligibility
- UG students from all disciplines (No. of places: 12 in each sub-class)
- Students need to be able to speak fluent Cantonese and read/write traditional Chinese as they will become tutors of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong.
Application
Register BBED6800 CantoGather: Teaching Lower Primary Chinese-as-a-Second-Language Learners Chinese via SIS (Students will earn 6 credits after successful completion of the course)
Application Deadline
Online course add/drop period in Semester 2, 2022-23
Remarks
Communication
1. Students are required to create an account on Slack, the official platform for instant and work communication of CantoGather and join the virtual workplace of CantoGather.
2. All the important announcements, reminders for activities and submission and feedback by NGO partners will be made and provided mainly via Slack.
3. Important attachment (except for links to our lesson plans and teaching materials) will be concurrently uploaded to Moodle.
Data and Privacy Collection, Declaration and Consent
1. As students participating in this course has much contact with young children, students are required to provide consent to a list of issues via a Volunteer Consent Form on Moodle
Attendance
1. Strict attendance in the Chinese tutorials and Cultural Activities will be required as it involves direct community work and recipients of service tasks.
2. Students are also required to be punctual for the Chinese tutorials and Cultural Activities as a matter of respect and responsibility to their tutees. To encourage punctuality, late students will be required to conduct quick research.
3. The default teaching mode for this course is f2f. Students should however be prepared to conduct online tutorials as per the tutee’s special needs. In which case, special arrangements will be made after discussion between the NGO partner and the student concerned.
COVID-19 Measures
1. The default teaching mode for this course is face-to-face. Tutorials may be moved online, however, according to the Education Bureau’s guidelines for COVID-19.
2. Cultural Activities may be modified or cancelled in light of the prevailing COVID-19 situation. In which case, special arrangement will be announced to the students in due course.
3. Students are required to follow the EDB’s latest guidelines on vaccination/self-test requirements (https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/sch-admin/admin/about-sch/diseases-prevention/Health%20Protection%20Measures%20for%20Schools%20(E).pdf).
Academic Honesty
Students should observe all applicable policies and regulations of the University of Hong Kong and its Faculty of Education against academic dishonesty. Students may visit the HKU Teaching and Learning website (https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/policies-and-regulations/) for further details about the University’s policies and regulations on academic conduct and student plagiarism. The Course Convenor may report any suspected academic dishonesty incidents to the relevant committees at the Faculty or University level for further action.
Enquiries
Dr Elizabeth Loh (Email: ekyloh@hku.hk)
