Bulletin Special Supplement Jun 1965

w i th the English or Chinese Department as part of their regular programme . C13. C o o r d i n a t i o n . One ought not to talk of lectures, tutorial groups, written work and so on as if the y were tools that could be used independently of each other. A good teacher w i ll use all of them for their own proper purposes. T h e ir use needs careful thought and dovetailing, so that one develops and strenghtens the work of another. T he great aim all th e time is the progress of the student. C14. E x a m i n a t i o n s . We suggested in section 9 ( a) and ( b) that our students, both at school an d in their four years at the university, are being subjected to too many examinations . Examinations, if they count for too mu ch i n an educational system, are liable to encourage an excessive reliance upon memorising the correct answer. I n our present wo r ld we regard examinations as a necessary evil since they give to students the final incentive to strive for rigorous standards in their studies. T he type of questions set, especially in the matriculation examination, needs revision so that they test the power to t h i nk rather than to memorize. D i v i d i ng the examination up into two stages, or more, has the advantage that students do not have to revise matter wh i ch they no longer need to know off by heart. But this is a complex and important problem wh i ch we have no time to go into thoroughly. We very much hope that the Senate w i ll regard it as one of its earliest tasks to conduct a thorough investigation of the whole examination system f r om matriculation to graduation. C15. L a c k of B o o k s . Mo st members of staff think that there are not enoug h books in the libraries and that many students are unable or u nw i l l i ng to buy the recommended textbooks (Appendix A, section 16). Th i s, of course, is a problem that affects the university's whole function. We make the following recommendations:— (a) T he provision of more money for the libraries to buy more books an d in particular several copies of important textbooks, (b) the mimeographing of extracts and articles, (c) the translation of foreign books and articles into Chinese, ( d) the encouragement of staff, through grants and through relieving them of duties , to produce textbooks and translations, (e) the provision of book grants to students, and ( f ) the establishment of a book-store. We also urge the university to appoint a university librarian and assistants as soon as possible to coordinate the services of the college libraries and to plan for the central library. C16. T e a c h i n g A i d s . T he language laboratories of the three colleges use up-to-dat e equipment w i th considerable success, and th e English departments are clearly giving mu ch though t to i mp r o v i ng the efficiency of their aids. But , otherwise, little is being done except for the occasiona l use of alms and tapes, of maps and models fo r geography and of the usual equipment in the Natural Scienc e laboratories. T he wo rk being done upon t h em in other countries suggests that they not only enliven teaching but also save the time of the teacher. We therefore recommend that a committee should be set up to consider the whole question of teaching aids (radio, tapes, films, television, etc.) and to explore th e possibility of help not only f r om local sources (e.g. , Un i t ed States Information Service and the British Council ) but also f r om abroad. I t should make a particula r point of encouraging local products. Since the librar y wou l d probably be the custodian of such aids, th e committee wou ld best be set up under the auspice s of the general library committee, but it should number a majority of teachers among its members. C17. L a n g u a g e D i f f i c u l t i e s . Our recommendations about the teaching of English are to be foun d in the part of our report dealing w i th General Education (section 27), Here we have in m i n d the problem of the speed of reading in Chinese as well as in English, whether studying in a virtually bi-lingual institution does not slow down the speed at which students read. Slow reading would obviousl y retard their studies generally. T h is is a question to which we have had conflicting replies, but we fee l it is important enough to be made the subjec t of study, and we therefore recommend that the university should carry out a survey into this matter. C18. I n s t r u c t i n g S t u d e n t s i n M e t h o d s of S t u d y . Each college has some f o rm of orientation programme and the individual department s regard it as part of their dut y to give new students advice on methods of study. Some department s give a great deal of time and thought to this matter and we feel that we cannot do more tha n recommend that all departments should carry out such instruction systematically and should follow it u p w i th occasional tests, especially i n the first year. T he following are some of the points wh i ch need attention:— (a) H ow t o use library, familiarity w i t h its procedure and classification of books, how to use reference books, etc. (b) H ow to take notes in lectures and tutorials ( c) H ow to read, when t o skip, how to take notes f r om books ( d) Use of mechanical aids, including, of course, the equipment in the languag e and natural science laboratories. ( e) H ow to develop proper habits of study, to work sensible hours and to giv e time for recreation. 13