XN000022-1994-07-11 — Page 4

LANGUAGE GOALS AND RELATED AREAS

MONDAY, JULY 11, 1994

THE REPORT NOTES THAT LANGUAGE GOALS AND LANGUAGE NEEDS IN HONG KONG ARE NOT CLEARLY DEFINED AT PRESENT.

"WE NEED A CLEARER PICTURE OF THE LANGUAGE GOALS THAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS OUR SCHOOLS TO ACHIEVE," SAID MRS CHEUNG.

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"WE ALSO NEED MORE LOCAL RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. HONG KONG CHILDREN FACE PARTICULAR CHALLENGES IN MEFTING THE LANGUAGE NEEDS OF THE SOCIETY.

"OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES MUST BUILD ON A SOUND UNDERSTANDING OF CHILD LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AND THE ACQUISITION OF BI-LINGUAL SKILLS, IN THE LOCAL CONTEXT WHERE CHINESE AND ENGLISH ARE BOTH SO IMPORTANT.

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LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

THE REPORT PROPOSES THAT CHILDREN IN KINDERGARTEN AND THE EARLY YEARS

OF PRIMARY SCHOOL SHOULD ACQUIRE A SOUND FOUNDATION OF MOTHER- TONGUE SKILLS.

"AT PRESENT A LOT OF SCHOOL TIME IS TAKEN

UP WITH LANGUAGE LESSONS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND CHINESE," SAID MRS

SAID MRS CHEUNG, "BUT MANY CHILDREN FIND IT HARD TO COPE WITH BECOMING LITERATE IN THESE TWO VERY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AT THE SAME TIME.

"THE

OUTCOME AFTER SIX YEARS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL IS NOT ALWAYS IMPRESSIVE IN TERMS OF LANGUAGE SKILLS, AND SOME CHILDREN EXPERIENCE A SENSE OF FAILURE AND REJECTION BECAUSE OF LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES.

"THE WORKING GROUP FEELS THAT MORE ATTENTION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO MOTHER-TONGUE DEVELOPMENT AT THE UNDER-EIGHT STAGE,

THE COMMISSION CHAIRMAN, PROFESSOR ROSIE YOUNG, POINTED OUT THAT THE WORKING GROUP'S VIEWS TALL LED WITH THE FINDINGS OF SUCCESSFUL BI-LINGUAL EDUCATION PROJECTS IN EUROPE.

"DURING THE EDUCATION COMMISSION'S RECENT VISIT TO THE NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM, WE FOUND THAT THESE COUNTRIES ALSO EMPHASISE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MOTHER-TONGUE AS A FOUNDATION. FOR LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE, AND FOR EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS IN GENERAL, PROFESSOR YOUNG SAID.

THE

REPORT PROPOSES THAT DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY SHOULD KINDERGARTENS AND PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

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APPROACHES ΤΟ THE BE ENCOURAGED IN

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

"PARENTS COULD THEN CHOOSE FROM VARIOUS MODELS MRS CHELNG SAID. "THIS WOULD ALSO HELP IN IDENTIFYING MODELS MORE LIKELY TO LEAD TO DESIRED OUTCOMES IN TERMS OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS.

ON PUTONGHUA, THE REPORT RECOMMENDS THAT SECONDARY STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEVELOP THEIR SKILLS BY AIMING FOR AN OPTIONAL PLTONGHUA PAPER IN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE HONG KONG CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION (HKCE) EXAMINATION.

/"THE WORKING