Q Are the improved examination results related to the mother-tongue policy?
J. Garner called for parental involvement in the choice of teaching medium, 'Schools, parents should set mix of Chinese, English' (August 15), and let their children's education rely solely on the schools. With the relatively better overall performance by English-teaching-medium schools, largely due to the fact that they are the reputable ones and enrolling the cream of the crop, it's predictable that parents will decide on English as the teaching medium. And the whole problem is recycled again.
The crux of the issue is the school curriculum. Does a nine-year-old really need to know the structure of the government and a five-year-old need to write the Chinese character 'Tsim Sha Tsui'? The curriculum of Hong Kong schools from Primary One to Form Four is just too demanding.
I am an advocate of mother-tongue teaching medium. However, I believe using English as a teaching medium can be effective only if a chunk of the current school curriculum is shed. Languages cannot be stuffed into the heads of young minds.
Tony Yuen, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
For a student being taught in English, the difficulties in learning mostly come from the methods of teaching English, not the subjects taught. If students can overcome the language problems, then I believe students will learn in a more efficient way.
