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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1987
'CHINESE IS AT PRESENT THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN OUR PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND ENGLISH IS TAUGHT AS A SUBJECT.
"AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL, CHINESE AND ENGLISH ARE TAUGHT AS INDIVIDUAL SUBJECTS IN ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS AND CHINESE MIDDLR SCHOOLS, WHILE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL AUTHORITIES CAN DECIDE THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE OTHER SUBJECTS, MRS FÁN SAID.
RECALLING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 1984 EDUCATION COMMISSION REPORT THAT INDIVIDUAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO ADOPT CHINESE AS THE MEDIUM OF TEACHING AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES SHOULD BE GIVEN TO SCHOOLS TO AVERT ANY CONSEQUENTIAL DROP IN THE STANDARD OF ENGLISH BECAUSE OF REDUCED EXPOSURE, MRS FAN SAID THE COMMISSION HAD TAKEN SOCIAL FACTORS INTO ACCOUNT, TOGETHER WITH PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS SUCH AS THE LANGUAGE AND SUBJECT TEXTBOOKS USED IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, TIME-TABLING, THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT MODES OF MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION ON EDUCATION ATTAINMENT, THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF JUNIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS FROM ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOLS AND CHINESE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, THE IMPACT OF SMALL CLASS TEACHING ON PERFORMANCE, AND THE ENGLISH VOCABULARY USED IN JUNIOR SECONDARY TEXTBOOKS.
"SCHOOLS THAT HAVE DECIDED TO CHANGE THEIR MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN TO DO SO FROM SEPTEMBER NEXT YEAR, SHE SAID.
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"THE CHANGES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN THE HONG KONG EDUCATION SYSTEM AND IN PARTICULAR, IN THE DOMAIN OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING, ARE OF CONSIDERABLE SIGNIFICANCE. SHE SAID, ADDING THAT CHANGES OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE WERE UNDERWAY IN OTHER COUNTRIES.
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MRS FAN SAID SHE WAS QUITE SURE THAT DELIBERATIONS WOULD BR MOST USEFUL AND PRODUCTIVE IN THE SEMINAR WITH A LARGE GATHERING OF PARTICIPANTS FROM 15 OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AND HONG KONG ON THE THEME "LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION IN A BILINGUAL OR MULTI-LINGUAL SETTING".
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EARLIER, THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR Y.T. LI, SAID IN HIS WELCOMING ADDRESS THAT THE THEME OF TODAY'S SEMINAR WAS CERTAINLY AN IMPORTANT ONE AND HAD A PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONG KONG IN BILINGUAL EDUCATION.
"I BELIEVE WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED IN RECENT YEARS BY THE INTRODUCTION OF A VARIETY OF MEASURES ΤΟ STRENGTHEN
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INCLUDING ESTABLISHING THE INSTITUTE OF LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION (ILE), THE ORGANISER OF THIS SEMINAR," MR LI SAID.
"AMONG OTHER ACTIVITIES, THE ILE RUNS IN-SERVICE LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION COURSES FOR EXPERIENCED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OF CHINESE AND ENGLISH AND HAS BEGUN ΤΟ PUBLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS FOR USE IN SCHOOLS,
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HE ADDED.
THE INSTITUTE