HKU Bulletin October 2004 (Vol. 6 No. 1)

3 2 Silent Night I f you are married to a heavy snorer a silent night might be at the top of your wish list. And our researchers, in the Department of Surgery, may be about to make your dreams come true. By insert ing smal l strips of woven yarn made from braided polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into the soft palate of snorers Professor William Wei and his colleagues may have salvaged more than a few Hong Kong marriages. Following a simply 15-minute operation the strips harden and control the vibrations of the soft palate which cause snoring. In the world’s first clinical trials of the device Wei, William Mong Chair of Otorhinolaryngology, said snoring was reduced by 50 per cent in most of the 12 volunteers. They also reported a drop in daytime sleepiness. But the biggest changes were recorded by the spouses who said snoring loudness had dropped from a rating of 79 out of 100 before the procedure to 48, three months later. More importantly they also reported sleeping in separate rooms less frequently. The procedure is expected to be available in Hong Kong by the end of the year at a cost of $10,000 to $12,000 – a snip compared to the price of a divorce lawyer. NEWS ROUND-UP Success of Learning a Language I f you want to learn Chinese or English your best option for success is to employ a teacher whose first language is either Chinese or English. That is the advice of researchers in our Department of Linguistics who have been studying how our brains process language. In developing a programme for education strategy on improving English standards in China, Dr Tan Li Hai, Associate Professor has discovered that Chinese pupils use the same part of their brain to learn both Chinese and English. But as alphabetical languages rely on the construction of words and sentences rather than learning visual symbols by rote, Chinese children often encounter difficulties in picking up English. “We have found that the teaching method is very important,” said Tan. “Western children, when learning English learn the sound of the whole alphabet and then construct words and sentences with the letter “ s C . hinese teachers use the ‘look and say’ approach. So they teach English in the same way they would Chinese. So the pupils use the same part of their brain.” What is needed said Tan is more native English teachers in China. “The government is aware of the problem. But, the only answer is to somehow employ more native Engl ish-speaking teachers,” he said. The project has been supported by grants from the Research Grants Council, the University Development Fund and the Chinese Government.