I came to Hong Kong as a NET in August 2000. I was heartily welcomed by colleagues and students and am, on the whole, thoroughly enjoying myself. But soon after I arrived I became aware of the concern about the standard of English spoken in Hong Kong. I feel that two points are too rarely considered. First, a major impediment to effective English teaching in Hong Kong is class size. You cannot teach a language across the ability range to classes of 40 to 45 students. For proof, visit any organisation teaching languages as a business: you will rarely find more than 12 to 16 students in a class. Secondly, English is a foreign, not a second language in Hong Kong. The majority of students live in homogeneous Chinese neighbourhoods and have as good as no contact with English outside their schools. Expectations need to take this fact into account. I accept that, as professionals, we need to take our share of responsibility for the results of our practice. Unfortunately, the present discussion is characterised and trivialised by a reluctance to examine honestly all the factors influencing the teaching and learning of English here. NIGEL HUCKSTEP Central
