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Revamped English course for JPOs
 Travel guides: These officers believe upgrading their English reinforces Hong Kong's cosmopolitan image |
A revamped English communication-training course for Junior Police Officers with a new focus on self-motivation and life-long learning was recently launched.
The five-day course combines self-learning and classroom teaching methods, consisting of pre-course preparation, on-course practise and application, and post-course continuous learning.
Trainees are given a studying kit two weeks before the course and are expected to finish learning all topics beforehand.
During the class, English-specialist instructors go through key points such as communication skills, intonation, body language, facial expressions and politeness.
Trainees will be helped to consolidate the skills through practical exercises, and a compact disc and additional reference material will be distributed after the course for self-study.
OffBeat attended one of the courses on October 13 and found trainees were given plenty of opportunity to practise the language. The instructor posed as the victim of different cases during the role-play section, and trainees had to deal with the situation using the skills they acquired through the course.
Course instructor Adrienne Watson said the key was to build officers' confidence to communicate in English, which she considered a major problem encountered by the JPOs.
 Practise makes perfect: Role play action during the course |
The course was well received by the officers. Ngau Tau Kok Divisional Investigation Team Four Sergeant Gary Lam Hon-ki said upgrading frontline officers' English could help reinforce Hong Kong's image as an international city. "I now feel confident with my English speaking skills and my interest in the subject has been further boosted by the course," he said. Kowloon East Emergency Unit Police Constable Daviz Leung Kwong-man said: "Our vocabulary has been enlarged and I now know how to make more polite responses in English."
JPOs interested in the course can contact their Training and Staff Relations Officers for details.
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