AS an old boy of St Joseph's Anglo-Chinese School, the decision of my alma mater to progressively teach more subjects in Chinese concerned me as much as it does those parents of the children from the primary section. At first glance, it did appear to be a bad move. But, on second thoughts, I found myself concurring with the decision.
At the beginning of the article headlined, ''Language matters'' (South China Morning Post, April 9), C. K. Lau raised a question that parents seldom ask themselves - are our children capable of learning in English? What parents have not realised is that English as a medium of instruction could become the stumbling block to secondary education for their children. The constant torture of the English-written textbooks which the students barely understand could lead tothem losing interest in learning English.
It is a fallacy to assume that learning in English ''always'' results in a good command of English.
Perhaps we should ask why so many fifth formers from English-medium schools in Hong Kong still cannot speak English with a reasonable fluency, while their German and Swedish counterparts can. Keep in mind that these children are only learning English in their English lessons! The parents' fears that their children may encounter problems when studying abroad or looking for a job are understandable. Nevertheless, my college life in a major university in the US has proved to me that their worry is uncalled-for. If you have mastered a foreign language well, you will have little or no problem engaging in a highly intellectual discussion of a subject that you were only taught previously in your mother-tongue.
On the other hand, the mere knowledge of the nomenclature does not do you any good, if you cannot even say something in complete sentences.
I hope all concerned parents will keep an open mind. What we should press for is a higher standard of language education in both Chinese and English, but definitely not a rotten, pseudo-English-medium style of education.