Teaching policy gets tongues wagging

In September 1998, 223 secondary schools switched to using Chinese medium of instruction (CMI) under the Government's mother-tongue teaching policy. The remaining 114 secondary schools were allowed to maintain their English-medium status until 2003 on the grounds that 85 per cent of their students intake were able to learn in English, their staff were competent to teach in English and the schools had the necessary logistical support to maintain an English environment. The controversial policy of exempting a handful of schools from using Chinese as the teaching medium sparked a heated debate among educationalists. And most students are ambivalent about the policy. Tam Wai-yeung, a fifth form science student from Chong Gene Hang College, a CMI school, said the policy simply penalised schools with relatively low levels of English proficiency. 'Even though I wasn't affected because it was Form One students who were subjected to the changes, I still think the policy is unfair because no school should enjoy special privileges. If the Government is earnestly determined to push ahead with its mother-tongue policy, then it shouldn't have exempted some schools. Schools like mine shouldn't have been deprived of its freedom to choose its teaching medium.' Wai-yeung said although his school could not use English medium of instruction (EMI), it did not mean his school was inferior to EMI schools. He does not think graduates from EMI school have an advantage over others in getting a job. Cheng Wai-ho, a fourth form arts student from Pui Ching Middle School, which has used CMI for decades, said the status of Cantonese had been on the rise since the handover. 'Using Chinese to teach students can facilitate their learning and can make lessons much more enjoyable. I know many of my schoolmates refrain from asking questions during their English lessons because they just cannot put their questions in English,' he said. 'My parents chose this school. They told me that it is well-known for its high standards of student discipline and that they have no problem with CMI. And neither do I. I'm not trying to deny the importance of English. But using Chinese doesn't mean our English proficiency is necessarily lower than our counterparts of comparable ability at EMI schools.' Queen's College has one of the highest academic rankings among EMI schools. Leung Hoi- kei, a seventh form science student there, said he supported the Government's policy of allowing some schools to teach in English because it provided more choices for parents and students. 'It is not unfair because there is likely to be chaos and discontent if all schools were forced to switch to Chinese all at once. While many students enjoy using their mother tongue in class, there must also be others who prefer to be educated in English. Just to give you a practical example, for subjects like physics and chemistry which were always taught in English, if we had to convert all the jargons into Chinese, it would cause enormous problems.' Leung Wai-yin, a third former from Chiu Lut Sau Memorial Secondary School, also shared the view that by exempting some schools from using CMI, students and parents had more choices. She believed that a con siderable number preferred to be taught in English. 'At one point I was worried that my school would be forced to use CMI, but luckily that didn't happen. If one day my school became a CMI school, I might consider moving to another school.' She said she enjoyed learning in English, which, she believes, will pay off as far as her career is concerned. 'My parents like me being educated in English because they believe that gives me an advantage over others in getting a job in the future. And I do share their opinion, to be honest,' she said. Tsang Ho-yin, 12, will start Form One in September at Fu kien Middle School, an EMI school. Ho-yin said: 'My parents like this option more than I do.' His parents told him that studying at an EMI school would be more prestigious and it would prepare him well for studying abroad in the future. However, he had reservations about studying at an EMI school. He said: 'I'm afraid of having difficulties in communicating and not knowing how to raise questions in English.' Nicky Lee Hiu-man from St Paul's Secondary School, an EMI school, also expressed a preference for studying at a CMI school. She said: 'It would give me more confidence to express myself more accurately in examinations. I would have to worry less about misspelling English words.' Hiu-man also thought stu dents could get the gist of textbooks more easily using CMI. Meanwhile, EMI Tang King Po School will shift to CMI for its Form One to Three students this September. A student from the school, Steve Chung Ka-ho, has just finished Form Three, the last academic year to use EMI. 'If we learn using CMI, we can absorb the knowledge faster and understand it better. I would also be more assertive in asking questions,' Ka-ho said. However, he concluded that it would be better for subjects such as economics and geography to be taught in English. 'It is easier for us to remember and understand the terms in English rather than in Chinese.' Olive is a summer intern from Hong Kong Baptist University Graphic: YPSPLLGLO