The English Schools Foundation is developing a new international exam for Putonghua learners that could appeal to students worldwide.
With 70 per cent of its secondary pupils now learning Putonghua and English, and in some cases other languages, the ESF has taken the initiative to develop the IGCSE Chinese as a Second Language test for Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), aimed at Year 11 pupils. It has both oral and written components.
Samples of the oral tests conducted earlier have been sent to Cambridge for moderation, while the written test, focusing on daily use of the language, will be held next month.
ESF Chinese adviser Wang Xiaoping believes the new test, and a course specially developed for it, would fit the rising number of international school pupils with Chinese backgrounds, who he thinks lose out on the two current IGCSE Chinese exams - for those learning Putonghua as a first or foreign language.
'All our secondary school teachers, school management and parents believe there is something missing in the middle. We have a large number of students with Hong Kong or some Chinese background. For them Chinese is not really a foreign language but not a native language either, as everything in school is taught in English. They don't use Chinese that much, but the foreign language option is too easy for them.'
Wang believes the course ESF has developed leading to the new exam will be useful for pupils not just in Hong Kong, but also Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia. 'CIE decided to trial the test in our schools and probably next year they will offer it to the world. International schools in Taiwan, Singapore, not just Hong Kong are interested in the course.'