Letters | Handle integration of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority children with care

When I was teaching ethnic minority children Chinese, I observed that the individual difference in the linguistic background of the children’s parents played a paramount role in determining whether they could fit into a local school. Some children grew up with parents having a satisfactory command of Chinese while others were raised in families where the parents could barely speak Chinese. The former had more opportunities to practise Chinese at home and could eventually become proficient in the language. For the latter, unfortunately, school was the only place for them to learn and speak Chinese.

The letter, “Chinese learning must begin in kindergarten”, on the same day correctly pointed out that children are gifted with an innate ability to pick up languages swiftly. I concur that the earlier children receive the relevant linguistic inputs, the better they can master the language. Yet, before formal schooling, children spend most of their time with their parents in a family setting. If the family can provide frequent language inputs at this early stage, the children will definitely pick up the language easily.

Our ethnic minority children are facing a more arduous linguistic challenge than their counterparts in many multilingual societies around the world. In Singapore, for example, Indian Singaporeans live in a community dominated by an English-speaking population. It suffices for them to learn only one additional language – English – to mingle with mainstream society.

In Hong Kong, however, ethnic minority children are dealing with two additional languages: Cantonese for daily communication with locals and English for professional and academic communication. With the increasing immigrant population from the mainland, these ethnic minority children could face yet another daunting challenge of having to learn to speak Mandarin fluently. These different linguistic challenges specific to Hong Kong invite scepticism as to whether the answer is as simple as putting all ethnic minority children in local schools.

Last but not least, how do we guarantee the successful acquisition of Chinese (and English) while retaining the native language and culture of ethnic minority children? In the United States, many Chinese-Americans who speak English as their native language have already lost their heritage language because their parents would like them to integrate into American society. Is this cost acceptable? Can it be avoided?