English Articles — Are You Using Them Correctly?

<h2>Are You Using English Articles Correctly?</h2>Do you remember when you first learned about 'A' and 'An'? Since kindergarten or primary one, English teachers have been instilling the idea that a countable singular noun should be preceded by the article 'A' or 'An'. I believe many are familiar with this grammar rule, and most people assume that if a noun begins with a, e, i, o, or u, we must use 'an', such as 'an apple', while other nouns not starting with a vowel sound use 'a'.A few years ago, a colleague with a master's degree wanted to switch jobs to teach mathematics at an English-medium secondary school, so she asked me how she could assess her English proficiency. I prepared 20 questions asking to fill in either 'a' or 'an' to test whether her foundational English learning was correct. (Interested readers can scan the QR code on the left to challenge themselves.)Initially, when she heard the test was about 'a' or 'an', she skeptically remarked, 'Seriously? It's that easy!' I told her to finish it first. After she confidently hit the submit button on the Google Form, the brutal score completely shattered the habitual concepts about English learning she had built over decades. A single person's score doesn't mean much, but I wondered, since I had these 20 online questions, why not find more colleagues and friends to try them, and perhaps catch a glimpse of the state of English proficiency in Hong Kong? I sent out invitations, and the invitees eagerly participated, not suspecting a thing. Among the dozens who answered, there were many highly educated individuals, including teachers and principals, yet the results were not as ideal as one might imagine.What struck me most was that a colleague forwarded the questions to her niece studying high school in Singapore, and she was the very first person to get a perfect score! Although one Singaporean getting a perfect score doesn't necessarily mean their overall English level is better than Hong Kong's, it at least demonstrates that this Singaporean secondary student learned the correct way to use English articles.Where does the problem lie? To be continued in the next issue.<h3>Teacher Rowena</h3>With 25 years of experience teaching English, I have witnessed many students facing varying degrees of fear and difficulty in learning the language. To improve students' interest and quality in learning English, I have published books and developed a method suitable for Chinese speakers called the 'Double R Amalgam' (details at www.doubleramalgam.com), allowing students to learn English more effectively and systematically.<h3>Double R Amalgam (A or AN) Assessment</h3>Please choose either "a" or "an" to complement the following nouns or noun phrases.1............SBA presentation (5 points) ○ a ○ an2............hero (5 points) ○ a ○ an3............underdress (5 points) ○ a ○ an4............unique person (5 points) ○ a ○ an5............honest boy (5 points) ○ a ○ an6............Italian flag (5 points) ○ a ○ an