ホンコンの教育問題

The problems of education in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is deemed an international city. Therefore, a well-established education system is required for nurturing children to maintain Hong Kong’s competitiveness in the global market. Certainly, Hong Kong government provides nine years of free compulsory education for children, which can ensure that every child has the chance to have basic education. However, it is undeniable that there are some problems in Hong Kong’s education system. Firstly, over-emphasizing English lead to polarization between EMI (English as Medium of Instruction School) and CMI (Chinese as Medium of Instruction School). Second, exam-oriented education make students suffer from tremendous stress. Finally, insufficient university places cause intense competition for entering university. In the following paragraphs, the problems of education system in Hong Kong will be discussed in more detail, and some suggestions would be given for solving those problems.

As an international city, it is clear that English is an important language in Hong Kong. Therefore, Hong Kong government makes a lot of effort to maintain high standard of English of its citizens. In education, secondary schools are divided into EMI and CMI. The aim is to improve standard of English of students, and at the same time to stress Hong Kong is a part of China. However, it is believed that students studying at EMI have better academic results than those studying at CMI. This kind of labeling causes a conflict between EMI and CMI, and a dispute about whether good or not using mother tongue as medium of instruction and teaching. Consequently, EMI seems to be more superior to CMI in people’s mind. Over-emphasizing English results in polarization between EMI (English as Medium of Instruction School) and CMI. To deal with this problem, Hong Kong government should draw citizen’s attention to the benefit of studying at CMI and avoid their misunderstanding.

Like many countries, Hong Kong also uses examination result to assess the ability of a student. Admittedly, academic result could be a good assessment of someone’s ability. However, education in Hong Kong is too exam-oriented, and people pay too much attention to academic result. Many students are under enormous stress in this education system. They believe that future will be without hope if they fail in public examination. Therefore, most of Hong Kong students would prefer to attend tutorial class to learn examination skills after school. Obviously, there is a general belief that academic result is important than the learning process. Fortunately, it seems that Hong Kong government tries to solve this problem by implementing 334 education reform. Under this new academic reform, how students think will also be assessed in the public examination. However, there is still a need to motivate students through active learning.

Last but not least, the university places are not sufficient enough to meet the current demand. There is no doubt that the number of university is limited in Hong Kong, but the demand for entering university is very high. As a result, only a small portion of students have the chance to complete a degree program in the university. So, it is necessary to increase the university places. Some people would argue that increasing the university places will lower the standard of education and weaken Hong Kong competitiveness. However, I would argue that it would only provide more opportunity for students to study in the university. The curricula of courses in the university would not be changed and hence there is no need to worry about standard of education. Recently, Hong Kong government has announced that the university places will be increased in the future. I hope that this can help to resolve current situation.

To conclude, although there are a lot of education problems in Hong Kong, Hong Kong government seems to put a lot of efforts into solving those problems. I am looking forward to the education reforms.

反省会。あっれ？

Items I have learnt in this project regarding Japanese culture and research method

I have been more familiar with the ordinance about ACG and how do the Japanese think of that ordinance. Although ACG industry occupies the majority of Japanese economy, only a small group of people pay attention to the ordinance about ACG in Japan. It seems that ACG is still regarded as a kind of subculture in Japan.

From the survey projects of my classmates, I have learnt how the Japanese think of animations and comics, Hong Kong and marriage. Also, I have known more about the living habits and interests towards travelling of the Japanese.

With regard to research method, I have learnt how to make a well-designed questionnaire. Firstly, we should limit the number of questions as less as possible because of restriction placed by the website. Secondly, we should give a brief introduction of our topic to the respondents. Thirdly, we should avoid using any specific or technical terms (try to give some explanations when those terms are used). Also, we should add comment columns to allow respondents to give feedback. Besides, we should ask the questions as specific as possible for accuracy. Finally, we should be objective when asking questions.

Changes I would like to make in the future project

-          To translate all Japanese comments into English or paraphrase those comments

-          To post our survey on other websites visited by more people for collecting more data

Things I have found out concerning our expected results

The followings are the differences between the results and our expectation:

-          Only a few Japanese know about the ordinance

-          The respondents do not think that the ordinance would affect the Japanese economy

-          The respondents do not agree that the ordinance would affect the industry of animation and comics

Although most of the Japanese are opposed to the ordinance as we expected, they think that the ordinance will make small impact on Japan, which is different from our expectation.

Suggestions I can make for this project

We can make a website to introduce the ordinance for those who are not familiar with it and post it on our online survey. We should also introduce Ishihara Shintarou, the producer, to the respondents. Otherwise, they cannot answer the question about him.

Other project’s activities I can think of

Self-reflection

To talk about what we have learnt from the project as well as the whole course.

Cosplay

It seems that many students in HKU SPACE are interested in ACG; cosplay may provide an opportunity for them to understand that culture more.

米（コメ）の続き

Comments / feedback giving to other groups

Group 4

Their topic is about marriage. This group can really state the reasons why some Japanese people prefer to be single, such as the problem of child rearing after marriage. They have also brought about some issues related to Otaku and homosexuality. I wonder that some Japanese want to get married with foreigners because homosexual marriage is illegally allowed there. With regard to child rearing, they have talked about DINK (double income no kids), which can explain the phenomenon of low birth rate in Japan. Therefore, their presentation is very inspirational.

-          Clear explanation

-          In-depth analysis

Group 5

This group mentioned the living habits of the Japanese people, and I think this topic is interesting. Their survey’s results showed that most of the Japanese do not drink miso every day, which is different from our expectation. I think it is due to the influence of Western culture. As a result, the Japanese try to drink other soups and reduce the frequency of drinking miso. Besides, I wonder the Japanese do not see cherry blossom every year because a lot of Japanese animations and TV dramas stress how beautiful cherry blossom is. Also, the PowerPoint is well-designed and the illustrations are interesting, showing their outstanding observation. The only thing needed to be improved is that they should use the neutral words to ask questions. As Seo sensei mentioned, it had better use feeling, rather than tired (refer to Q8).

-          Interesting topic

-          Well-designed PowerPoint

Group 6

Their presentation is about the interests of Japanese people towards travelling. From the results, it is showed that most of the Japanese prefer travelling inside their country and the most popular places are Hokkaido and Kanto. Although I have never been to Japan, I understand why the Japanese prefer visiting those two places. Hokkaido is famous for natural beauty while Kanto is famous for modern city life. If I were the Japanese, I would also visit those two places. Besides, most of the Japanese enjoy eating and sightseeing during the trip. I think they can do these two things in their country already and therefore they do not need to travel outside Japan. As they mentioned, one thing needed to be improved is that they should ask the travelling type at the beginning, which can affect the final results totally.

-          Well-organised structure

-          Clear presentation

-          Good job

米（コメ）

What I have learnt from the survey project

After finishing the survey project, I have learnt how to design a comprehensive questionnaire for collecting date and how to interpret those data in a logical way. Since most of the questions asked in the questionnaire are closed questions, the respondents find it difficult to give further opinions on something based on their answers. To solve this problem, we have tried to allow the respondents to give their comments by adding opinion columns in our survey. In addition, I have learnt we should not assume the respondents know everything. We have to give a brief introduction of our survey project’s topic, especially those special and technical terms. Also, the way of interpreting the collected data might affect our understanding. For example, in our survey project, it is showed that most of the comic and animation lovers are opposed to the new ordinance while others might have no opinions on this matter. Therefore, I conclude that people who love comics and animations are opposed to have any restrictions on ACG because they are the main group of people affected by the new ordinance. Hence, identifying the cause and result can help to interpret those data in a logical way, which I have learnt from this project.

Comments / feedback giving to other groups

Group 1

I strongly agree that Japanese animations and comics has become global culture. It seems that many foreigners appreciate this culture, but how do the Japanese think of this culture? Therefore, group 1’s survey project is interesting and inspiring. They pointed out that most of the Japanese people have negative comments on animations and comics, which is different from our expectation. I believe that this perception may be due to the media. The media always reports the correlation between ACG and crime, leading to misunderstanding about ACG.

- The interpretation of the survey results is detailed

- Good comparison between the Japanese and our expectation

- I agree that HKU SPACE students is proud of ACG, one more point I want to add is that western people regards Otaku as a kind of professional and respect for them

Group 3

I like the topic of group 3 because it is interesting and worth studying it. Studying the perception of the Japanese towards Hong Kong not only provides an opportunity to understand the Japanese more, but also gives chance to reflect ourselves. For example, majority of the Japanese think that Hong Kong people are rude. Therefore, there is a need to improve Hong Kong people’s attitude towards tourists. Of course, we may try to promote the things that the Japanese want to know more, such as the night view in Victoria Harbour. I hope the Japanese can be more familiar with Hong Kong from group 3’s survey project =]

- Good presentation skill

- In-depth analysis of the survey results
- I also wonder that most of the Japanese go to HK because of night view

僕は君、君は僕（宿題③）

コミック・けいおん！

うち

私

 

Personal pronoun: 私 (watashi) andうち (uchi)

Speaker: 平沢 唯 (ひらさわ ゆい・Hirasawa Yui)

Age: young (高校生)

Charater:

Easy-going, energetic, and optimistic, etc

「おっちょこちょいな天然ドジっ娘で子供っぽい」

私

Speaker: 秋山 澪 (あきやま みお・Akiyama Mio)

Age: young (高校生)

Charater:

Shy, delicate, polite, well-behaved, and intelligent, etc

(Adorable, mature, thoughtful, charming and hard-working) ← To me XD

「大人びたルックスや姉御口調とは裏腹に、人見知りが激しく寂しがり屋で、痛い話題や怖い話題が苦手な繊細な性格」

私

Speaker: 山中 さわ子 (やまなか さわこ・Yamanaka Sawako)

Age:おばさんになった (has became an aunt)

Character:

律の言った通り、エロ親夫…じゃなくXD

[As Ritsu mentioned, (Sawako) is an erotic father …not XD]

Easy-going, passionate, reliable (may be XD)

コミック・君に届け

俺

Speaker: 風早翔太（かぜはや しょうた・Kazehaya Shouta）
Age: young (高校生)
Charater:
Outgoing, energectic, sociable, gentle, sympathetic, etc

ゲーム・ポケットモンスターブラック・ホワイト・二次創作

ボク (僕)

 

Speaker: N (エヌ)

Introduction:

「ポケモンを「トモダチ」と呼びとても大切にしているが、その反面人間とポケモンが共存する事はありえないと考えており、ポケモンと人間が共存する今の世界 を「灰色」だと憂い、それらを「白黒」はっきり別ける事がポケモンの幸せに結びつくと考えている。その理想の実現の為にチャンピオンを打倒し、トレーナー の頂点に君臨する事で全世界のトレーナーからポケモンを解放させようとする。」

Age: young (pokemon trainer)

Character:

Sympathetic, warm-hearted, thoughtful, courageous, charming, organized, etc

Overall, “boku” is mainly used by boys or males who are modest and well-behaved. In addition, “boku” is more or less causal (or informal) personal pronoun, which is usually used during the conversation with friend. Compared with "boku", "ore" seems to be much more masculine and the tone is more stronger. On the other hand, “watashi” can be used by both male and female who are polite and easy-going, like Mio and Yui in the examples. “Watashi” is more formal than “boku”, but not as formal as “watakushi”, so it can be used in conversation with both friend and stranger, and showing your politeness (may be XD). For instance, Yui also say “uchi” when talking about her parents. I guess that when we refer to our family (for female), we can use “uchi” and have the same meaning with “watashi”, but "uchi" seems to be more feminine.

I would like to use “boku” because it sounds more masculine, but also rather polite.
However, I will choose to use "ore" when I have strong intention or desire on something.

Further study (or useful information):

うち

［代］一人称の人代名詞。わたし。わたくし。自分。関西地方で、多く女性が用いる。

わたし

［代］《「わたくし」の音変化》一人称の人代名詞。「わたくし」のくだけた言い方。現代では自分のことをさす最も一般的な語で、男女とも用いる。近世では主に女性が用いた。

俺 (おれ)
［代］一人称の人代名詞。元来、男女の別なく用いたが、現代では、男子が同輩または目下に対して用いる。

僕 (ぼく)

一人称の人代名詞。男性が自分のことをさしていう語。対等またはそれ以下の人に対して用いる。

Reference:

Wikipedia

けいおん!の登場人物

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%91%E3%81%84%E3%81%8A%E3%82%93!%E3%81%AE%E7%99%BB%E5%A0%B4%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9

ポケットモンスターブラック・ホワイトの登場人物

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9D%E3%82%B1%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%83%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9B%E3%83%AF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88%E3%81%AE%E7%99%BB%E5%A0%B4%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9

goo辞書

http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/

Wa-pedia

http://www.wa-pedia.com/language/japanese_personal_pronouns.shtml

 

京都（宿題②）

I have never been to Japan. However, I would like to visit Kyoto if I can go to Japan. Kyoto was the centre of economics and culture in Japan in the past. Due to the long history of Kyoto, much cultural heritage can be found in there, especially shrines. Unlike Tokyo, traditional cultures of Japan can still be found in Kyoto. I am interested in those traditional cultures, which is very different from the pop-cultures nowadays. Although both Tokyo and Kyoto are situated in Japan, their cultures are rather different from each other.

The following is a place I want to visit when I have been to Kyoto:

Kinkaku-ji (shrine) :

Brief Introduction:

Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺 Temple of the Golden Pavilion), also known as Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺 Deer Garden Temple), is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The garden complex is an excellent example of Muromachi period garden design. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, and it is one of 17 World Cultural Heritage sites in Kyoto. It is also one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large number of visitors annually.

(reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinkaku-ji)

My Comments:

Kinkaku-ji is golden pavilion temple. I am fascinated by its majestically impressive appearance. Also, I am interested in the design of shrines (temples) in Japan by comparing with that in China. The interesting point I found is that although Buddhism emphasizes the life should be simple and plain (without any desires), Kinkaku-ji was coated with gold-leaf. In addition, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満) use Kinkaku-ji as a place for meditation (in Chinese 禪修的地方). Is it a contradiction? Does this mean the Japanese nobles (or high social status people) was affected by the Chinese novels in that period? (because Chinese nobles consider gold as a symbol of wealth)

I think that most of the classmates are interested in the festivals (祭事) in Japan. Therefore, I would like to introduce a famous festival in Kyoto to other classmates. The festivals celebrated in Kyoto include Gion Matsuri (祇園祭), Aoi Matsuri (葵祭), Jidai Matsuri (時代祭), Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火), but I would only introduce Gozan no Okuribi in this writing project.

Gozan no Okuribi:

Brief Introduction:

Gozan no Okuribi (五山送り火), more commonly known as Daimonji (大文字), is one of the iconic festivals of Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the O-Bon festival on August 16th, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased family members, who are said to visit this world during O-Bon, are believed to be returning to the spirit world—thus the name Okuribi (送り火) (roughly, "send-off fire").

The giant bonfires are lit and form giant Chinese characters, including Daimonji (大文字), Myō/Hō (妙・法), Funagata (舟形), Hidari Daimonji (左大文字) and Toriigata (鳥居形).

大

法

妙

舟形

(reference:: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gozan_no_Okuribi)

My Comments:

Gozan no Okuribi is a famous and special festival in Kyoto. I am very impressed by the name of the festival, Daimonji because a pokemon called ブーバー (in Chinese 鴨嘴火龍) is able to use a skill called Daimonji (in Chinese 大字燒), the name of which is the same XD. Besides, I observe that Japanese also respects their ancestors very much. However, the attitude towards phantoms of Japanese is a bit different from that of Chinese (Chinese believe that we should respect phantom, but keep a distance with them 敬而遠之). Is it the cultural difference between Japanese and Chinese?

ブーバー

source: http://pokemon.aucy.com/nds/pokemon.php?gamever[]=2&in=%E3%83%96%E3%83%BC%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC

Additional Information:

有些地域在「送火」時會將供品裝在盆舟或燈籠，點上蠟燭，放入河川大海，這叫「灯籠流し」 (To-ro-nagashi)，相當於中國的放水燈民族活動。鬼節期間，也有人在玄關裝飾「精霊馬」(Sho-ryo-uma)，用牙或竹子當四肢插在黃瓜和茄子比擬為牛、馬，黃瓜是馬，讓陰魂快快回來之意；茄子是牛，讓陰魂慢慢回來之意。

(reference: Miya 字解日本 十二歲時 茂呂美耶著 麥田出版)

Remark: This book is written in Chinese and for easy understanding, I type in Chinese only XD)

精霊馬

ちょっと気になるTVドラマ

LADY～最後の犯罪プロファイル～
http://www.tbs.co.jp/LADY_cps/

大切なことはすべて君が教えてくれた
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/kimigaoshietekureta/index.html