Jomcy Zhao (grade 12)
In our school, there’s an activity called Chit Chat. During Chit Chat time, all the students are only allowed to speak English at school, both in class and during break time. If you’re caught speaking Chinese by the teachers or other “enforcers”, you will lose points for your team. This semester, Chit Chat has already been held twice. Do you wonder how the students performed?
In the first Chit Chat, most students lost cards. Over half of the students lost 1 to 5 cards (62.5%). Some students even lost over 5 cards (8.3%). Only one-third (29.2%) of them didn’t lose any cards. It seems that many students were not used to this all English-speaking environment yet. Chinese sometimes popped up unconsciously. The good news is that when the second Chit Chat came, much more students performed perfectly and lost 0 cards (50.3%). The rest of the students only lost 1 to 5 cards (49.7%). Nobody lost more than 5 cards. The students realized the importance of speaking English and were getting better and better. This tendency shows that the more Chit Chat has been held, the better the students behaved. “Speaking English at school” may become students’ habit in the future.
In both Chit Chats, the number of lost cards of each grade is also different. In Grade 10, only a few students didn’t lose any cards (12.4%). The number of students who lost more than 5 cards is the highest among all grades (10.5%). The situation in Grade 11 was similar but better. More students lost 0 cards (23.9%) and less students lost over 5 cards (4.5%). And in Grade 12, almost half of students didn’t lose cards and no people lost over 5 cards (51.0% and 0% respectively). This shows that the students in higher grade are able to do better in Chit Chat and in communicating with others.
Basically, Chit Chat is used to improve students’ spoken English. It is approved of by almost everyone. Besides this obvious advantage, Arden from Grade 12 said, “Chit Chat is also very fun! Sometimes the teachers may hide behind the door or squat beneath the window just to catch students. It promotes the relationship between students and teachers.” A Grade 10 student George thought that Chit Chat “greatly increases his vocabulary.” But it is also undeniable that Chit Chat brought a lot of inconvenience. Yvonne from Grade 10 said, “Chatting with friends becomes more difficult. Sometimes we cannot understand each other. ‘Chinglish’ is being used much more often than before as well.” Elin from Grade 11 mentioned that when some students’ cards were taken by other students, they became upset and this harmed the relationship between classmates. Many students also complained that when they had lunch, they felt awkward and uncomfortable when they had to speak English in front of the domestic students.
Although Chit Chat may be a little annoying, the majority of students do admit that it brings more benefits than harms and are willing to have more Chit Chats in the future. Also, everyone can see the progress he/she has made so far. Since the students are putting effort into it, they will get a payback soon for sure!
