PARENTS reacted with emotion to the announcement of a new language policy by St Joseph's Secondary School, bringing into focus, once again, the thorny issue of adoption of a mother-tongue medium of education.
Some parents react angrily to a school's decision to adopt mother tongue and they are often condemned as showing discrimination. However, I think they just misunderstand why such a decision has been made.
Nowadays, everyone emphasises the importance of English, since Hong Kong is still an important international trading centre. If you want to succeed in this society and gain respect, you must have a high standard of English. Look at the large number of professional people and people in public life, who are proficient in English. For example, Legislative Councillor Christine Loh is fluent.
When they see such people parents feel that if their children have a good command of English, this will guarantee them a bright future.
Many parents spend a great deal of money trying to help their children improve their standard of English, sometimes forcing them to attend tutorial classes, or even getting a tutor to come to the family home.
In fact, the adoption of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction does not mean English will be neglected, nor does it suggest a decline in the standard of the language. On the contrary, extra resources will be allocated to schools to upgrade the learning of English. The use of the mother tongue is better for some students who can learn more effectively.
