French at HKU
Introducing French culture to secondary school students
Sharing knowledge for the greater good
Fostering a knowledge sharing culture among students is a great way to enrich the learner’s experience as well as to empower students to share the knowledge and skills they have acquired in class. Students of the French programme were given the opportunity to do this for a good cause.
In the first semester of 2018-2019, a group of four students were invited to give a series of lectures to introduce French culture to secondary school students living under poverty. The program organized by The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council (NACC) took place in a secondary school in Causeway Bay between November and December. HKU students were in charge of choosing the topics, designing the lectures and activities and delivering the course content they created to a class of F.4-F.6, secondary school students. The lectures delivered in Cantonese aimed at giving a broad introduction on important aspects of the French culture such as famous places in France and French cuisine.
For students of the French programme, it was a challenging yet inspiring experience which gave them the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned and on how to convey it to others., As it was their first time to assume a teaching role, they experienced first-hand the challenge of grasping an audience’s attention and arousing its interest. According to one of the HKU students: “This project really inspired me. It gave me the chance to apply the knowledge I acquired in class and to collaborate with other students”.