Let me now point out one significant implication of this observation.

It is inconceivable that one can teach a foreign language efficiently if one cannot communicate in the mother tongue of the learner. We could hardly entrust our English language education to ''experts'' from abroad who cannot understand written and spoken Chinese after working in Hong Kong for years.

Either they lack the enthusiasm to get to know their pupils, which makes them poor teachers, or learning Chinese is simply beyond their capacity, which calls into question their knowledge and skills in acquiring a foreign language.

It is no surprise that the expensive scheme of hiring expatriate English teachers in our schools fails to provide the kind of help that most of our students need. Once again, good money is wasted on false beliefs.

A competent teacher of a foreign language has to master both the target language and the mother tongue of his pupils. Not only must the teacher be aware of specific problems arising from ''mother tongue interference'', but he must be able to communicate efficiently with those he teaches.

Those who argue in favour of having a foreign language teacher who does not speak the pupils' mother tongue, to force pupils to communicate in the target language, know nothing about teaching. You cannot teach someone you do not understand.

It is ridiculous that while Chinese language teachers in our schools are required to pass English tests, English language teachers need not know any Chinese.

Probably as a result of the predominance of non-Chinese speakers among language educators, the mother tongue has no place at all in the orthodox approach to English teaching. Translation was banished from the English syllabus long ago, seen as an evil rather than a help in learning the language.

The Education Department sends English education experts to schools to warn teachers against the mortal sin of speaking or writing any Chinese in an English lesson. One such expert who visited my school looked as if she had swallowed a fly when she discovered that the students were using an English-Chinese dictionary.

The principles underlying the strategy of our English language educators are very simple: start early, and get a lot of exposure.

No doubt these are ways that led to their own success in learning English, and to the success of a small proportion of students in Hong Kong.

But to many of our children an early start just means an early tendency to give up, and ''exposure'' outside the classroom is simply unattainable.

It does not help to blame students for their lack of motivation. Our educators should realise the limited extent of the use of English in the local community, and come to terms with it.

Then we can start looking for efficient ways of teaching English as a foreign language. For one thing, in learning a foreign language, one's mother tongue should be used as a tool, not pushed aside as something in the way. It is essential that both teacher and student are able to make effective use of this tool.

Instead of trying to become bilingual at the start of schooling, it may be preferable to defer learning English as a foreign language until a later stage, when one has attained a basic level of proficiency in one's first language.

An adequate standard of Chinese should be required of all teachers of English to Chinese students. Training courses for English teachers should include communication skills in both languages.

Above all, the syllabus and teaching method should be designed by language education experts who are proficient in both English and Chinese.