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10 Appendices Writing Tasks The fact that this book is aimed at helping you learn and understand more about English grammar does not mean that we are neglecting the importance of language use. In fact, as a language learner, it is important for you to realize that acquiring a language comes more from using it (in writing, speaking, etc.) than from just learning about it — but with proper guidance as to what is correct and appropriate in the language. This book provides some guidance to help you learn what is grammatically correct in English, but you will need to put this knowledge to use whenever you can. As an English user and learner, you will no doubt be carrying out a lot of tasks and communicative activities in English both in your study and your everyday life — writing assignments, reports, letters, e-mail, etc. We will not try to duplicate all those tasks in the context of this little book. But just in case you would like to do some more writing, we suggest a number of topics below which might be of interest to you. Instructions Write two or three paragraphs, totalling 150–200 words, on any of the following topics. Please note that this is not a full essay or a ‘research’ topic, so there is no need for you to spend time reading up on it. Just draw on your own thoughts and ideas, and try to express yourself as clearly and coherently as you can. 1. Many people have been saying that the standard of English among Hong Kong students has been declining, and that it is not good enough for a world-class city. Do you agree? If so, can you think of any reasons why Hong Kong students’ English should be so poor, even after so many years of study in school? 222 Appendices 2. What kind of learning activities do you think can best help you to improve your English? Please explain the reasons for your suggestions. 3. Recently, the Hong Kong government decided to introduce an optional (noncompulsory ) Common English Exit Test for graduating students in all Hong Kong universities. The IELTS test (originating from Cambridge University and the British Council) was chosen for this purpose. What are your views on the positive or negative effects of such a test? 4. First there was September 11 in New York, and then there was October 12 in Bali. What (if anything) can the world do about terrorism? 5. University authorities today are increasingly concerned about falling standards in student behaviour. Many professors, as well as students, have complained about the chatting, late arrivals, mobile phone use, and other undesirable types of behaviour which go on during lectures, and which distract the attention of everyone, especially those who are serious about studying. Why do you think some students behave like that? What can be done about this problem? 6. One of the more popular ways of learning English is by joining an ‘English immersion camp’, where students are ‘immersed’ for a week or two in an environment where English is spoken exclusively, and where they stay together and mix freely with Englishspeaking tutors and counsellors. Would you like to join such a camp, and what sort of activities would you like to be included there? Proof-reading Exercises A ‘proof-reading’ exercise is one where you are given a text with mistakes, and asked to correct them. It is a useful way of applying your knowledge of English grammar, and testing whether you’ve got it right yourself. Read the following texts carefully, and correct all the errors. Then check your answers against the answer key provided at the end of this section. Text 1 Recently, there is a great debate about whether English exit test should be introduced to test English standard of the university graduates. In fact, the reason for setting English exit test is that the English standard of Hong Kong university student are declining. The government wants to set a test to motivate the undergraduate students to improve English in the university. However, the government seem to have ignored the drawbacks of the test. In fact, the students do not like exams. What the students would do is to drill the examination skills and forget the goal of learning English. As a result, the English standard of university student will not be raised by the test. Secondly, they seem to have ignored that the workload of the university students are...

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