About · 关于我们
About Hongwen: English for 11+ and 13+, taught for Mandarin-speaking children
关于 Hongwen:为说普通话的孩子量身定制的 11+ / 13+ 英语
Hongwen is an independent tutoring service that prepares children for independent-school English entrance exams, with every explanation in English and Simplified Chinese.
Hongwen 是一家独立的辅导机构,帮助孩子准备英国私立学校的英语入学考试,每一处讲解都中英对照。
The gap · 语言的鸿沟
The English that exam books take for granted
Most 11+ and 13+ English preparation assumes a feel for English that a child learning it as a second language has not had time to build: the humour, the metaphors, the idioms, even the rhythm of a sentence. Chinese builds sentences differently. A pupil can understand every word in a passage and still miss what it means, or what a question is really asking.
大多数 11+ 和 13+ 英语备考材料默认孩子已经有一种英语的语感:幽默、比喻、习语,甚至句子的节奏。而把英语当作第二语言学习的孩子,还没有来得及建立这种语感。中文的造句方式不同,所以孩子可能认识文章中的每一个词,却仍然读不懂文章的意思,或题目真正想问什么。
PHOTO 1 · to be supplied
A calm, well-lit portrait of you at a desk with an open notebook and a pencil, looking towards the camera or at a pupil off-frame. Warm natural light, no logos or school uniforms, no pupil's face. Landscape, at least 1600 pixels wide.
What Hongwen does · 我们怎么做
We teach that gap directly
Every new word is learnt through use, because a word counts as known only when your child writes it correctly in a sentence of their own. Grammar is shown against the way the same idea is said in Chinese. Practice passages begin with support, and the support is taken away step by step, until your child can work as they will in the exam.
每一个新词都通过运用来学习:只有孩子在自己写的句子里正确用出这个词,它才算真正掌握。语法会与中文的表达方式对照。练习文章从有辅助开始,再一步步撤掉辅助,直到孩子能像真正考试一样独立完成。
Background · 背景
Why law is good training for exam English
I was a scholarship pupil at King's College School, Wimbledon, and studied law at the University of London. Law trains the habits that exam English rewards: reading closely, finding exactly what a text claims, and writing an answer that is precise. For years I have taught adults the same skills, helping people read complicated documents and set out a clear case in writing.
我曾以奖学金就读于温布尔登的 King's College School,并在伦敦大学学习法律。法律训练的正是英语考试看重的习惯:精读、找出文本的确切主张、写出精准的答案。多年来我也在教成年人同样的技能:读懂复杂文件,并用文字清晰地陈述自己的观点。
Where the method comes from · 方法的来源
Teaching that makes children think
My idea of good teaching comes from my father, an Oxford graduate who taught in the army during National Service and later became head of a university philosophy department. He taught in a way that made you think, even when he was not teaching. I learnt from him that the aim is not to hand a child the answer but to make them want to work it out. I used those methods to prepare a boy for entry to St Paul's School. Later I took on the challenge of preparing a child arriving from China for a good English school, found that the published books did not fit, and built my own tools to bridge the gap. Those tools became Hongwen.
我对好教学的理解来自我的父亲:他是牛津毕业生,服兵役(National Service)期间在军队中任教,后来成为大学哲学系系主任。即使不在授课,他也以让人思考的方式教学。我从他身上学到:目标不是把答案交给孩子,而是让孩子想自己去找答案。我用这些方法帮助一位男孩准备 St Paul's School 的入学。后来我要帮一位从中国来到英国的孩子进入好学校,发现市面上的教材都不合适,于是自己做了一套工具来弥补差距。这套工具就成了 Hongwen。
PHOTO 2 · to be supplied when the tools are ready
A laptop or tablet on a tidy desk showing a flashcard (the word 'meticulous') and a story page, with a notebook and pencil beside it. Screen readable but not branded. Natural daylight.
Safeguarding · 安全
Checks and independence
- Standard DBS check.
- Hongwen is an independent tutoring service. It is not affiliated with ISEB, Quest, GL Assessment, CEM or any school, and cannot promise any exam outcome.
Talk to us about your child
Tell us your child's age and the schools you are considering and we will explain how Hongwen can help.
Hongwen is an independent tutoring service and cannot promise any exam outcome.