TNAG-1801-FCO40-2561-Hong-Kong-Vietnamese-refugees-resettlement-in-the-UK-1988 — Page 35

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HKD 243/12

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SFGISTRY

1 1 JUL 1988

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-TR

Taken

TUP COPY DIST ?

035541

MDLIAN 1265

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 2633

INL

OF 081315Z JULY 88

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YOUR TELNO 1685: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE IN HONG KONG

RESETTLEMENT

LEVELS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ATTAINMENT FOR THE REFUGEES IN THE SAME AGE GROUPS IN THE CAMPS VARY CONSIDERABLY DEPENDING ON THEIR SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC BACKGROUND AND THE AGE THEY BEGAN CLASSES IN THE CAMPS. WE HAVE NO DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING COMPETENCE LEVEL SINCE NO SURVEY ON THIS HAS BEEN CONDUCTED SO FAR.

2. PRIOR TO THE RECENT MASSIVE INFLUX AND THE TRANSFER OF REFUGEES FROM ESTABLISHED CLOSED CENTRES TO TEMPORARY CENTRES WITH GREATLY REDUCED SPACE FOR FACILITIES, ENGLISH CLASSES WERE DIVIDED INTO ADULT LANGUAGE CLASSES AND SCHOOL LANGUAGE CLASSES. ADULT LANGUAGE TRAINING WAS DIVIDED INTO 4 GRADES : THE ELEMENTARY THE INTER- MEDIATE, THE LOWER ADVANCED AND UPPER ADVANCED. THESE GRADES CORRESPONDED ROUGHLY TO BEGINNERS, ELEMENTARY LOWER INTERMEDIATE AND UPPER INTERMEDIATE FOR ADULT LANGUAGE TRAINING IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OUTSIDE THE CAMPS. ENGLISH TEACHING FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13 WAS PROVIDED UPTO THE PRIMARY 6 LEVEL. FOR CHILDREN AGE 14 TO 16 YEARS, BEGINNERS AND ELEMENTARY LEVELS OF ENGLISH TEACHING WERE PROVIDED.

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE (WITH TAPE RECORDERS

3. TRAINING FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO IMPROVE CAPABILITIES INCLUDED LANGUAGE LABORATORIES AND HEAD PHONES) AND LIBRARIES WITH ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS AND STORY BOOKS. THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH TO THE YOUNGER CHILDREN AND THE BEGINNERS WAS CARRIED OUT BY VIETNAMESE REFUGEE TEACHERS. MORE ADVANCED CLASSES WERE CONDUCTED BY EXPATRIATE VOLUNTARY WORKERS (SOME OF WHOM WERE QUALIFIED TEACHERS).

4. VOCATIONAL TRAINING-TYPE EDUCATION IN THE MORE ESTABLISHED CLOSED CENTRES COULD BE DIVIDED INTO THE INCOME GENERATING CATEGORY AND THE NON-INCOME GENERATING CATEGORY. THE FORMER CATEGORY INCLUDED

SHOES ASSEMBLY-LINE TYPE FACTORY WORK MANUFACTURING PLASTIC TOYS, AND ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS. THERE WERE ALSO COTTAGE INDUSTRIES SUCH AS EMBROIDERY, PURSE-MAKING, TAILORING AND METAL WORK. VOCATIONAL- TYPE TRAINING IN TAILORING, CARPENTRY AND TYPING WERE NON-INCOME GENERATING BECAUSE THE REFUGEES WERE USUALLY NOT SKILLED ENOUGH

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