English Language

28 Feb 2013

In his policy address last month, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced a "one-off grant" of HK$100 million for each district in Hong Kong, or HK$1.8 billion in total for all districts, to be...

English-only rule lacks flexibility

27 Feb 2013

The arguments given by Dr Caldwell are echoed by my 24 years of English language teaching experiences in six different secondary schools in Hong Kong. They have been proved valid in teaching...

How Chinese words can aid in English learning

21 Feb 2013

The state of English in Hong Kong has improved steadily over the past decade, thanks to deliberate strategies. There is in progress, however, a more dynamic paradigm shift in language learning. It...

Hong Kong trails rival Singapore in students' English skills

3 Feb 2013

Many parents spare no efforts in brushing up their children's language skills - and not just in English. Demand for Putonghua teachers is soaring as China's clout in the global economy increases...

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Quality of local schools in doubt, Amcham says

9 Jan 2013

The recently reappointed chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong yesterday criticised the quality of the city's education system, urging officials to adopt long-term planning in...

Opinion

Wang Xiangwei

Super ministries may not be the right answer for mainland China

Alex Lo

Church developers remain unbowed by government rules

George Chen

A house is not a home until it becomes affordable

Why many students have trouble grasping abstract science concepts

My doctoral studies grew out of my frustrations as a science teacher. In 2002, I was required to teach Grade 6 students both mathematics and science at the Hong Kong International School.

Canada's United Steelworkers union warns Chinese miners pose safety risk

Canadian miners have lodged a demand that work be halted at a controversial Chinese-staffed mine in British Columbia. They say Chinese miners' inability to speak fluent English represents a safety...

'Omnishambles' Oxford University Press Word of the Year

Britain's media is in meltdown and its government is gaffe-prone, so Oxford Dictionaries has chosen an apt Word of the Year: "omnishambles".

LANGUAGE

America embraces English English

Mitt Romney is not the "bumbling toff" he's made out to be, wrote Daniel Gross, an American journalist, in a recent Daily Beast article. The latest iPad is a "lovely piece of kit," in the words of...

Simplicity the key to drafting laws

Clarity and simplicity are the ABC of good writing. But the basic rules are apparently not appreciated by law drafters around the world. For centuries, the statute book has been filled with acts...

Chinglish is truly 'geilivable'

Mangled English words or strange new ones made up by mainlanders are popular on the internet. An online dictionary of 'Chinglish' features such idioms as 'people hill people sea' and 'no money no...