English Activities
English Society 2021-2022
English Society committee [......]Lantern Guessing
Lantern riddles on display for students to pursue. [......]Hong Kong True Light College The 43rd Student Union Inauguration Ceremony
The 43rd Student Union Inauguration Ceremony
By 1A Eva Phagami, 1B Gigi Ng
The 43rd Student Union Inauguration Ceremony was held on 8 October 2021. The cabinet of the 43rd Student Union is named Petrichor, representing the cabinet’s commitment to listen to students’ voices. ‘Petrichor’, the first rain after a long period of dry weather, implies that the Students’ Union would like to bring joy to all students in our school during the pandemic by organising various events.
At the beginning of the ceremony, all members of Petrichor entered the school hall with a candle in their hands together with the Vice Principal, Mr. CHAN. Next, the student leaders sang the English version of the School song, The Glory of Chan Kwong, beautifully and harmonically together with the Secondary 1 students in the hall who have only started their journey in True Light for a month. Then, the former Chairperson (the 42nd Student Union, Polaris), Du Wen Hui, made a brief summary of the events held during last academic year. The short video with photos and footage of different activities last year like the Echo Bounce recalled many wonderful memories and admit the laughter of our fellow students.
The traditions of our school brought the event to its climax. The members of Petrichor received the lighting candles from the members of Polaris, symbolizing the handover of duties as a student union. Meanwhile, this also symbolized that Petrichor promised to be obligated to their duties and bring everyone the brightest stars on the darkest nights. It was quite a sight! Followed by the ceremony was the thank you speech from the chairperson of Petrichor, Yeung Tsz Yan. Our Vice Principal, Mr. Chan, gave a speech of encouragement for Petrichor, who also praised the sincere attitude of Petrichor and introduced the plans of the coming celebrations for the school’s 150th anniversary.
Finally, the ceremony was wrapped up perfectly with all students singing the Song of Student Union.
Petrichor pledged to do their best in the upcoming school year to serve their fellow students. Here is the full list of the cabinet of the 43rd Student Union, Petrichor:
|
Chairperson |
4A Yeung Tsz Yan |
|
Vice Chairperson |
4A Chan Sze Wai 5E Tam Tsz Ching |
|
Secretary |
4C Shen Yi 4C Li Wai Shan |
|
General Affairs |
5E Ng Lok Yiu 4C Ng Wing Ki |
|
Treasurer |
4D So Pui Ka 4A Fung Lai Sin |
|
Recreation Secretary |
3A Chan Lok Lam 2B Hu [......] |
Overall debating champions in HKSSDC Grand Finals
After a year long of fierce matches against different schools in Hong Kong, Hong Kong True Light College has reaped unprecedented success in 2020-21 Hong Kong Secondary Schools Debating Competition (HKSSDC) with both our Junior and Senior English debating teams becoming the Champions in the 2020-21 HKSSDC Grand Finals.
In their Grand Finals taken place in July on the motion “elderly are better taken care of in nursing homes than living with their children”, led by their team coach Mr. Hedley, our Junior Team comprising all S3 students (3B Pang Kong Wa Chiara, 3A Fung Hiu Yu Denise and 3A Wong Yuet Ching Phoebe) defeated Pentecostal School as the negative house and became the Champion of 2020-21 Hong Kong Secondary School Debating Competition Junior (Div II) (HKI & KLN) Grand Finals. Our first speaker, Chiara Pang, was named as the Best Speaker in the contest.
Following their success, our Senior Team (5E Lam Ka Yin Tasha, 4E Chiu Wing Tung Toby and 4A Chan Jour Yain Anna) had their victory over Fanling Rhenish Church Secondary School as the affirmative house and was the Champion of 2020-21 Hong Kong Secondary School Debating Competition Senior (Div II) (HKI & NT) Grand Finals. Our second speaker, Toby Chiu, was named as the Best Speaker in the contest.
This is a fantastic round-up of the year for our English debating teams. We look forward to another rewarding year ahead!
MI Young Writers Award 2021
MI Young Writers Award 2021 is an annual English writing competition that aims to foster and recognize excellence in English writing by providing students with the opportunity to develop their expressive talents and creativity. The topic of the senior section this year is a timely one that has affected all of us, “What is the impact of this global epidemic to you?” One of our S4 students, Coco Yuen Pui Pui, 4E, has her essay selected as Top 50 Merit Award in the competition (Senior) with her essay entitled “When one door shuts, another opens”. You can check out her winning essay in the link below: “When one door shuts, another opens” by Coco Yuen
When I received this topic and the relevant research articles from CNN magazine in the English lesson, I could immediately think of some bad impacts that the virus has brought to me, such as socially and academically. Then I reminded myself I should not only talk about the negative influences, as there is always a lesson to be taken in all experiences. So I tried to think about what the virus had taught me, like treasuring my time with family and friends. This competition is a chance for me to learn more because I have searched for some information about the virus on the Internet and articles. Finally, I feel grateful and surprised that I have won the Top 50 Merit Award.
Coco Yuen Pui Pui, 4E
Heading to the Grand Finals of HKSSDC
HKTLC Senior Debating Team I earned the ticket to HKSSDC Grand Finals after the victory in the Round 2 match. Team members include Nicole Chan, Anna Chan, Tina Cheung and Toby Chiu (from left to right) with their coaches Ms Tam (left) and Ms Yeung (right).
Despite the pandemic, our school Senior Debating Team I has had a busy year battling various schools in the territory over zoom debates. Our second round of debating competition in term 2 was on 13 May. Having participated in the debate as a speaker twice in term 1, this time, as the Chairperson, I earned the greatest spot to spectate the entire competition from an audience point of view. I can see our debaters making breakthroughs in their maturity and English proficiency, from being reticent in lessons to speaking confidently in the competition. Also, I was impressed by our well-trained debaters, who had done an exceptional job in anticipating opposition’s arguments and choosing rebuttals that were strongly supported by good research. Their solid research and evidence has impressed the adjudicator, who finally declared our team the winner against Pentecostal School on the motion about “Imposing carbon offset tax on the sales of airline tickets”. Their persuasion was just remarkable, and this victory has not only been rewarding to our team’s year-long effort, but also brought us to the first-ever HKSSDC Grand Finals, which we all look forward to. What’s more, our second speaker, Tina Cheung, was also named the best debater in the competition! This is surely a match to be remembered.
Nicole Chan Cheuk Yu, 4A
Anna Chan, Tina Cheung and Toby Chiu (from left to right) representing HKTLC Senior Debating Team I in HKSSDC Term 2 Round 2 Debating Competition
Debaters are trained with the proper use of camera, postures and gestures while debating online
Clashing the opposition with her successful rebuttals, Tina Cheung was named the best speaker of the competition
This was my second time joining the debating competition. As a more seasoned debater, I felt this certainly was a better experience compared to my first attempt. Being the second speaker, I had to rack my brains to select suitable rebuttals according to our team strategy in order to clash the opposition, which was the most challenging part in a debate, the part I had failed to do well before. Clenching my teeth, I listened intently with full attention. It was a fierce match but our team stood shoulder to shoulder. All of us put our heads together to come up with the best tactics at the spot. I am glad that our hard work didn’t go in vain and we won. To my greatest pride, I was also thrilled to be named the best speaker in the debating competition. It is a true honour to be a part of the debate team.
Tina Cheung Tin Nam, 4A
[......]
Paris, London, or Spain? Our VR tours around the world
By Anna Chan Jour Yain, 4A
As technology is getting more advanced nowadays, more electronic applications are used for teaching and learning. One of the examples is Virtual Reality, VR. VR can be used in lots of different ways. For example, VR tours can help students understand a topic in greater detail and depth without affording the cost, such as a surgery.
VR tours can also take students to explore places that might otherwise be impossible to reach in class, like an overseas trip amid COVID, so students can experience the local festival, cultures and spectacular scenery in the classroom.
Me, checking out the garden on the top deck of Eiffel Tower.
In our case, preparing our travelling journal writing, our class had a VR tour in English lessons to Paris and London to visit their landmarks. VR tours made me feel like I was really in Paris on the Eiffel Tower, more impressed by the Tower’s height and the panoramic view over the garden.
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend using VR tours in lessons. The immersive experience is very unique and students can learn more independently in different ways.
Students’ thoughts…
What did you experience?
I have experienced a Paris day tour by VR technology. Along the tour, there was a narrator serving as a tour guide to tell me about the landmarks. That was a new experience for me. In class, we often use iPads to play with Kahoot or to do other learning activities, but this was the first time for me to try a VR tour. I visited so many landmarks in Paris and enjoyed the view from the first-person perspective.
Nicole Chan, 4A
I had experienced Venice Carnival in the VR tours. The most forgettable scene is a character with her magnificent costume descending to the ground from the sky. It was really amazing.
Ada Wong, 4A
I ‘joined’ La Tomatina in the lesson, which is a festival held in Valencia in Spain. Thousands of festival-goers throw tomatoes at each other for fun. I am eager to join this festival that I want to throw tomatoes at others too.
Tiffany Chung, 4E
Are VR tours great for learning?
The introduction of VR has made it possible for us to experience learning in more immersive and engaging ways. It can transport us from our desks to the Roman ruins. Due to the Covid-19, all of us cannot travel overseas. Still, we can experience a virtual tour in London through VR tours.
Cherry Luo, 4A
Compared with learning from books, VR tours are a diverse way for learning. Students can explore different countries without regional restriction, so they broaden our vision. I would rec [......]
Webinar on use of dictionary
Is it your habit to ‘google’ it when you find unfamiliar words in English? While it is convenient, have you considered why it is good to use a proper electronic dictionary to learn English? On 30thMarch, a group of five S4 students joined an online interactive lecture organized by Oxford University Press called “playing with the dictionary with Vivek”. The webinar hosted by Vivek Mahbubani, a Hong Kong-bred bilingual stand-up comedian, did not only sweep the participants off their feet with fun and laughter, but provided valuable advice on English learning by the use of a proper learners’ dictionary. We learned about the differences between a dictionary and google and different things you can learn from a dictionary, like distinguishing confusing word pairs or pronunciations of different accents. I had a pleasant hour and acquired plenty of words and slang for my vocabulary like “second banana” which means a supporting role in a stand-up comedy.
Yolanda Lam Yu Kwan, 4E
I surely enjoyed the webinar. Vivek is a fantastic host who could use his humour to make the audience engrossed in his talk. I like how he introduced some unusual but interesting words. And I have also learned that a proper dictionary (both online or paper versions) should be used like our personal notebook in which we can save the vocabulary that we would like to remember. This is something google cannot do.
Nicole Chan Cheuk Yu, 4A
S4 Drama Workshop
Drama is an important part of language arts in English learning. In March, the school arranged a class-based drama workshop for all S4 students led by a professional native-speaking drama production crew. The workshop was based on the classic detective story students read in class, Sherlock Holmes’ The Speckled Band. Students acquired various drama techniques and learned about theatrical operation and vocabulary through immersing in a range of interactive activities in our newly renovated performing theatre. Through reviewing the plot and reliving the selected scenes, students learned more about the characterization, voice projection and use of non-verbal language in drama performance.
A drama workshop led by professional native-speaking drama instructors
Learning about characterization in the ‘frozen frame’ activity
SCOLAR Becoming a Detective workshop
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been the classical icon in detective stories. To learn about the literary elements in short stories, a group of ten selected S1 and S2 students participated in the SCOLAR “Becoming a Detective” workshop on 10 November 2020, in which they learned to appreciate this genre and engage in critical thinking by following the plot and deducing a theory.
