IN a bid to rescue their children from slipping further down the black hole of poor English, parents are now spending more time and money to improve their oral and written skills in the language.
Spencer Wan Ping-pui, a father of two, says parents are encouraging their children to attend tutoring schools in order to improve and develop a solid English foundation.
Thousands of students, from primary one to form seven, are flocking to evening tutoring schools as soon as they finish day school. English courses are among the most popular.
Mr Wan, who spends one-third of his leisure time on his secondary school children's study, says he advises them to read articles, newspapers and useful material such as the Reader's Digest in an attempt to improve their English.
He believes students' exposure to English is essential when it comes to exercising their ability and he suggests schools provide more means for them to do so - organising English programmes in an effort to boost students' English standards, for instance.
Mr Wan admits the overall language standard of students has dropped because the present education system does not emphasise teaching methods.