“The moment they knew I could understand them it made a big difference” - how Canto speaking teaching staff can help Hongkonger students
A motherly smile and twinkling eyes greet the students when they walk into the library at Comberton Village College in Cambridgeshire. Thanks to Mandy Siu, the Canto speaking librarian, this area of the school has become so much more than a place to read books or study.
Lily (left) and Mandy, Canto speaking teachers at Comberton Village College
The young people from Hong Kong who have joined the secondary school since arriving in the surrounding areas with their families on a BN(O) visa, have lots of new things to learn as they settle into their new lives here in the UK. Mandy knows that having a safe place where they can speak Cantonese, chat together and be themselves is vital for their wellbeing.
Mandy said: “It is a very different life here for them. Some children cope better than others with all the changes. I can’t help mothering them. Have you done your homework? where is your coat? why is your face sad? I want to help them. I do enjoy it. When they have something they are struggling with, it is so nice when I have helped and they come back with a smile saying ‘it’s a good day today.’
Mandy faced challenges herself when growing up in South London where she was the only Chinese student in her school. She understands that giving the Hong Kongers the chance to speak in Cantonese and be fully understood is key to building their confidence.
“I spoke Chinese to them and they opened up, the moment they knew I could understand them it made a big difference. They completely change in character, less yes miss, no miss, they are bubbly and animated. I am not here to judge, I’m here to help, to chat and also I learn [Cantonese] from them and shifting that balance for them does help.”
Sophia, a 14-year-old student who has been in the UK a year and half says Mrs Siu makes a big difference to her and her friends.
“On my first days at school my friends took me to the library, it is a habit now that we go to the library every break. Mrs Siu [Mandy] is very kind and helpful, caring to us. She really helps us a lot. When I was just coming to this school and I had so many things I was not sure about I could chat to her and she would share ideas and information with me. Things like where the classrooms are, I got lost. I speak to Mrs Siu in Cantonese, it helps me – she translates English for us into Cantonese. We speak to her in English as well.”
Outside the library the students also have the direct support of a Canto speaking maths teacher, Lily, an English as an Additional Language lead and Teaching Assistant Jennifer (herself originally from Shanghai, China) who runs a weekly Chinese lunchtime club.
Sophia said: “I go to the Chinese club. I’m in the advanced level, we do practise past papers and I can spend time with lots of other friends from Hong Kong.”
The club also provides an opportunity for the British children to learn Cantonese in the basic level sessions, which Sophia and her friends often help out with.
Teaching Assistant, Jennifer, who is herself originally from Shanghai, said: “Some of the Hong Kongers like Sophia also come to the more basic level classes as they like helping the British teenagers to learn the Chinese. They enjoy coming and then they help with the British native speakers. It also helps them to build their friendships.”
The school understands that it is important for the teenagers from Hong Kong to be given opportunities to embrace their own culture and heritage. Fiction and non-fiction books in Cantonese are being purchased for the library and the Chinese classes incorporate traditional cultural activities.
Jennifer explains; “I try to make the club very interesting, not just preparing for the exam but also to put in cultural elements. For example, for the Chinese New Year we did activities that you would do in Hong Kong if they were there. This year I gave them Chinese fans then they can write their name using Chinese calligraphy on the fan. So it is a personalised fan. Also I brought in Chinese red paper, traditionally we would write a lucky sign onto the paper and put it on a wall to leave for good luck. So the children did that and really enjoyed it.”
The support provided by the school for incoming Hong Kongers is being coordinated by Lily, a maths teacher who arrived in England aged 10 from Hong Kong and experienced tough times at school where there was no specific help provided. She is highly motivated to ease the transition for both the students and parents who are now arriving due to the BN(O) scheme.
She ensures all the students know they can come to her with any questions or help as soon as they arrive at Comberton and Lily also provides a direct support link to their parents. Last year Lily hosted a parents evening to which 65 parents attended, despite it being held on the hottest day of the year. They were given the opportunity to make links with other parents and discuss aspects of the English education system they don’t understand or have concerns about. She and Mandy talked parents through issues such as why our teaching methods are less reliant on textbooks and the smaller amounts of homework than the families are used to back in Hong Kong.
Whilst the numbers of Hong Kong arrivals at Comberton VC are currently in double digits (19 in the lower secondary with a few more in sixth form), Lily is also providing links and assistance to other schools in the Trust within their radius, some of which have an even greater influx of students enrolling. She says the support she and others in the school assisting the HongKongers get from the senior management team is vital and she is extremely grateful.
Further readings:
About the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers and the government’s Welcome Programme
The Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers has been set up in response to the BN(O) visa scheme. It brings together the ‘welcomers’ and the ‘welcomed’ and helps coordinate efforts across the UK’s nations and regions from civil society, communities, business, education and government to support Hong Kongers to settle in the UK. It also conducts research to inform policy, share best practice and support organisations to make their voices heard. The Welcoming Committee is hosted at independent think tank British Future, which works for a confident and inclusive Britain, welcoming and fair to all.
Through the Welcome Programme, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is providing funding to 42 locally based organisations around the UK to ensure that local grass roots community groups can meet the needs of the local Hong Kongers in the communities where they are based.