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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1994
LANGUAGE SKILLS OF STUDENTS
FOLLOWING IS A QUESTION BY DR THE HON DAVID LI KWOK-PO AND A WRITTEN REPLY BY THE ACTING SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER, MR LAM WOON-KWONG, IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY):
QUESTION: IS THE GOVERNMENT AWARE THAT DESPITE THE GREATER EMPHASIS GIVEN BY MANY SCHOOLS IN THE TERRITORY TO THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH AT THE EXPENSE OF LEARNING CHINESE, MANY STUDENTS STILL FAIL TO LEARN EITHER ENGLISH OR CHINESE WELL? IF SO, WILL THE GOVERNMENT INFORM THIS COUNCIL WHETHER THE ADMINISTRATION HAS CONSIDERED FORMULATING A LANGUAGE POLICY WHICH REFLECTED THE FINE BALANCE BETWEEN HONG KONG AS A PREDOMINANTLY CHINESE SOCIETY AS WELL AS AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CENTRE WHERE THE USE OF ENGLISH IS CRUCIAL TO ITS SUCCESS?
REPLY:
MR PRESIDENT,
GOVERNMENT IS AWARE OF THE CONCERN ON THE PROFICIENCY OF CHINESE AND ENGLISH AMONG OUR STUDENTS. DESPITE THE PERCEPTION THAT THEIR LANGUAGE STANDARDS ARE FALLING, THERE IS NO OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS THE CASE. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF "TEST MONITORING THE STANDARDS OF THE HONG KONG CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATION REFERENCE GROUP". THE HONG KONG EXAMINATIONS AUTHORITY HAS OBSERVED THAT "THERE ARE NO INDICATIONS TO SUGGEST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE OVERALL STANDARD IN THESE TWO LANGUAGES IN RECENT YEARS" THE PERCEPTION MAY THEREFORE BE DUE TO HIGHER EXPECTATION IN THE EMPLOYMENT MARKET, ESPECIALLY THE SERVICE SECTOR, RATHER THAN LOWERING IN ABSOLUTE STANDARDS.
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NEVERTHELESS, GOVERNMENT ACCEPTS THE NEED FOR HONG KONG TO TRAIN MORE PEOPLE PROFICIENT IN BOTH CHINESE AND ENGLISH. IN OUR 1993 STATEMENT OF AIMS FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION, SCHOOLS ARE ASKED TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS FOR COMPETENCE IN CHINESE AND ENGLISH
IN DEVELOPING THE LANGUAGE SKILLS OF THEIR STUDENTS.
FOR MORE EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING, IT IS GOVERNMENT'S POLICY TO ENCOURAGE SECONDARY SCHOOLS TO ADOPT CHINESE AS THE TEACHING MEDIUM. HOWEVER, THOSE SCHOOLS WHOSE STUDENTS HAVE THE PROVEN ABILITY ΤΟ LEARN EFFECTIVELY IN ENGLISH MAY USE ENGLISH AS THE TEACHING MEDIUM. IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE SCHOOLS TO USE CHINESE AS THE TEACHING MEDIUM, WHILST AT THE SAME TIME ENSURING THAT STUDENTS CAN ATTAIN A REASONABLE STANDARD OF COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH, A SERIES OF POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION MEASURES HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED SINCE
1987. THESE INCLUDE THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND LEARNING FACILITIES, AND MORE INTENSIVE ENGLISH LEARNING PROGRAMMES.
/AS AN
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