Peta Ho and Rem Ho, the winners of an open English contest, have emphasized the importance of an appropriate environment so that language learning can be effective.
The Ho duo recently won the Open Category of the 3rd Macao Occupational English Competition hosted by the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Centre (CPTTM).
When questioned about their opinions on improving English education in Macau, Peta Ho opined the city should start with nurturing teachers with even better English proficiency.
His teammate, Rem Ho, said that students should have greater opportunities to practice what they have learnt through more frequent communications with foreigners. He thinks that Macau people generally feel shy about using English.
His opinion is that watching YouTube videos and English broadcasters will help a lot in building up an effective learning environment. Adding to that, Peta Ho stressed that learning a language within and outside of a classroom environment are very distinct experiences. No matter how well a person can think in the language in a classroom setting, using the language requires speaking and listening to the language, he said.
The representative of the winning team in the Student Category of the same competition, Rachel Deng, told the Times that she considers having good English to be important in Macau.
She said that, as the city is international and has a diverse culture, with people from many places coming and working here, being fluent in English will give people better opportunities. AL
