Visit III: Sacre Coeur

The third school visit.

In contrast to the previous school, Sacre Coeur is a Catholic girls' school. Sacre Coeur is French for "Sacred Heart", and has around 150 schools in 44 countries.



Unlike the previous visits, we were only able to observe one lesson instead of two. This time, My group and I observed what was supposed to be a Year 10 science class. However, the lesson became a self-study period because the girls had a test later that day. We weren't able to experience any teaching and learning approaches or methods in class, but we were able to have a chat with some of the girls about their school.

The girls were quite talkative and very helpful, possibly a result of the close teacher-student relationship the school boasts and the huge variety of extra-curricular activities the school provides.

According to our conversation with the girls, as far as language is concerned, because almost all the girls in the school have English as their first language, they usually study more literature and writing than traditional grammar. They said that they have done essays on literature such as selected plays by Shakespeare and selected movies. There are students from overseas, the girls mention, and there are ESL classes for those students. However, how English is taught or learnt in these classes are unknown. Another point of interest is that students who are not proficient enough in English are given translators to aid them during class.

For teacher-student interaction during class, the girls say that it varies from teacher to teacher. Some teachers encourage students to discuss about issues introduced in class, however some teachers prefer quiet classes, for example maths class where students are expected to listen to the teacher and then do exercises and drills. The girls also mention that as they near Year 12, the year when they need take the public examination, things in school will become more and more exam-oriented, for example teaching them how to approach certain examination questions and what type of maths notes to bring into the examination hall.

This school reminds me of the Diocesan Girls' School in Hong Kong, which also an elite girls' school which excels in academics while being able to provide a wide variety of extra-curricular activities for its students. A big difference is, again, the willingness of students to speak up. In general, Hong Kong students are much more reluctant in speaking out what they think.

From the experience in Sacre Coeur, perhaps a way to alleviate the above mentioned issue is to provide more opportunities to socialise in the target language as well as foster a closer teacher-student relationship so as to encourage students to make use of the target language.