The failure of three native English-speaking teachers from the same school has been met with shock
Three native English teachers (NETs) from a private primary school in Kowloon Tong failed to reach the required level of language proficiency in this year's benchmark test, it was revealed this week.
The three were shocked to learn their language skills were not considered good enough to teach English in Hong Kong's primary schools, said one of the teachers, an American in his first year of teaching. They all failed the paper on writing skills, one of five in the test.
'It's so ridiculous,' he said. 'How do native English-speakers who have English language teaching certificates and have graduated from American, Canadian, and British universities all fail part of an English exam in Hong Kong?'
His colleague, a British woman with eight years' teaching experience, said: 'At first I thought I just fluffed it because I was tired or I misread the question. But when I found out two of my colleagues who are both native speakers had failed as well I thought something must be wrong with the test.' The teachers requested anonymity and declined to identify their school.
All three had CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) qualifications, a preliminary teaching credential awarded by the University of Cambridge.
Two of them were awarded B grades in that exam, putting them in the top 25 per cent of candidates taking the course worldwide, according to figures from the British Council. 'It's outrageous. I've never failed an exam in my life and I got straight As in English at school,' said the British teacher, who has a degree in psychology from the University of Nottingham.