Language Policy in Hong Kong: A Review

Alan Cheung
T
here has been considerable debate in
Hong Kong concerning language
policy in teaching. The new language
policy, implemented in 1998, requires all
English secondary schools to switch their
teaching medium from English to Chinese.
Those schools that want to continue to use
English as their medium of instruction have
to appeal to the Chinese Education
Department. Permission would be granted to
a school under two conditions: (1) 85% of the
students are able to demonstrate enough skill
to handle English lessons, and (2) the
teachers must be certified as capable of
teaching in English. After assessments and
evaluations, only 100 schools out of the 400
that applied were allowed to continue to use
English as a medium of instruction. The
other secondary schools must use Chinese as
the main teaching medium.
The new language policy has unleashed
criticism and sparked an educational debate
in Hong Kong. Most parents, many of the
business sectors, and some schools oppose
the change, fearing that the switch will cause
a decline in English proficiency in Hong
Kong. The Education Department and some
educators argue otherwise. They believe that
the new language policy will help students
learn more effectively in all subjects, includ-
ing English.
In examining the language policy in
Hong Kong, one has to look at not only the
linguistic conditions in the school setting but
also at those in the wider social environment.
DLLS 2000
This paper analyzes how the social and eco-
nomic factors of a society may affect the
successful implementation of a language
policy.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE
HONG KONG EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Before the hand over, 350 of the 400
secondary schools in Hong Kong were
English-medium schools. Chinese-medium
schools were often perceived as second-class
schools. Prior to the 1960s, Chinese schools
enjoyed a more prestigious status. Yau (1989,
281) stated, "In the face of the fierce competi-
tion from English schools, Chinese medium
education had been able to hold its own for
nearly a hundred years. In fact, it was only in
the latter half of this century that English-
medium education began to catch on."
Ever since Britain took over Hong Kong
in the early 1840s, the British government
spent most of their educational resources in
English-medium schools. Although Chinese-
medium schools did not receive any sub-
sidies from the colonial government, they
did well in enrollment. In 1954, over 40% of
the candidates entering the School Certificate
Examination were educated in Chinese-
medium schools (Yau 1989, 281). However,
the student enrollment in these Chinese
schools has dropped significantly since the
early 1960s. So (1984) suggested that two rea-
sons exist for English schools' dominance in
education in the latter half of this century,
namely, education and employment.
38 ALAN CHEUNG
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
When the Communist Party came to
power in 1949, China gradually adopted
a radical policy that made opportunities
for higher education in China almost dis-
appear. The only opportunity for higher
education in China then was the English-
medium Hong Kong University. In order
to gain entrance to and survive in this
English-medium university, a good com-
mand of English was required. As a
result, English schools became more
attractive than Chinese schools because
the language advantages of the former
gave students a better chance to enter
Hong Kong University.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Employment opportunities also
played an important role in favoring
English-medium schools in Hong Kong.
Under colonial rule, proficiency in
English was the key to a successful career
in the government because English was
the language of law, commerce, and
administration. Furthermore, in the
1950s, Hong Kong became an inter-
national port, and business with English-
speaking countries increased dramatically.
In order to trade and do business with
these countries, Hong Kong needed to
educate people to speak and write
English. As a result, the need for English-
speaking workers grew substantially.
Hence, English has played a major role in
Hong Kong society since the early 1960s,
and English-medium schools have
become increasingly dominant. For
example, the percentage of English
schools grew from 57.9% to 91.7% from
1960 to 1990. On the other hand, the per-
centage of Chinese middle schools dwin-
dled significantly during the same peri-
od, dropping from 42.1 % to only 8.3%
(see table 1).
In her article, "The controversy over
teaching medium in Hong Kong-an
analysis of a language policy," Yau (1989)
Table 1. Day pupils in Hong Kong sec-
onda!r, schools
Chinese
Year
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
schools
42.1 %
29.0%
23.2 %
21.3 %
12.3 %
9.5%
8.3%
English
schools
57.9%
71.0 %
76.7%
78.7%
87.7%
90.5 %
91.7 %
Source: Lee 1993, 206
also reported similar trends in these two
types of schools. For example, the
percentage of students enrolled in Anglo-
Chinese schools jumped from 67% to 90%
from 1960 to 1985. During the same peri-
od, enrollment in Chinese middle schools
dropped from 33% to only 10%.
REASONS FOR PROMOTING THE
CHINESE LANGUAGE
The Hong Kong government has
been pushing mother-tongue education
for the past two decades. During the
1980s, the government proposed a "lan-
guage package" worth over HK$600
million to encourage schools to use
Table 2. Enrollment in Hong Kong
SecondarY Schools
Anglo-
Chinese Chinese
Year students
% students
%
1960 55,510 67 27,778 33
1965 109,133 71 45,334 29
1970 167,642 79 45,834 21
1975 267,979 81 61,884 19
1980 382,979 88 52,631 12
1985 358,928 90 37,556 10
Source: Yau 1989, 280
LANGUAGE POLICY IN HONG KONG: A REVIEW
Chinese as the medium of instruction
(Yau 1989, 280). The government adopted
a scheme of "positive discrimination" in
favor of Chinese schools. This scheme
would provide more resources and mon-
etary support to these Chinese schools.
Various education reports produced by
the Education Department also support-
ed the move. For instance, in the
Education Commission Report No.1
(1984), the government stated clearly its
support for mother-tongue education:
On the assumption that ... research
efforts would substantiate the two popu-
lar beliefs, namely: that all other things
being equal, teaching and learning would
be generally more effective if the medium
of instruction were the mother tongue ...
we RECOMMEND that individual sec-
ondary school authorities should be
encouraged to adopt Chinese as the
medium of teaching. (par 3.18)
In 1986, the Education Commission's
Report No.2 confirmed its original posi-
tion regarding mother-tongue language.
The report stated that according to
research findings "the majority of the
pupils would benefit if Chinese were
used as the medium of instruction in
lower forms." In 1990 and 1996, mother-
tongue education was again emphasized
in Reports No.4 and No.6 in which the
Education Commission stressed that
Chinese as a medium of instruction was
undervalued. The reports proposed that
schools should employ Cantonese as the
teaching medium. The government
pushed for mother-tongue education for
two reasons: educational and cultural.
Because most of the primary schools in
Hong Kong use Chinese as the teaching
medium, one of the problems students
face when they get into English sec-
ondary schools is linguistic shock. Most
students do not know how to deal with
the change of language instruction. One
student described her strategy to cope
with the situation:
At first I could not understand fully
the lessons taught in English. But some-
how I managed to memorize all of them
by heart: grammar, reading, bible,
hygiene, history, etc. After getting good
marks for the first test without knowing
how, I was always referred to when my
class teacher scolded somebody for lazi-
ness. In order not to lose face, I had to
keep on memorizing even harder.
Fortunately, I could gradually under-
stand more and more of the lessons I
tried to learn by heart. Before long I had
formed the habit of memorizing every
lesson in every subject, including
Arithmetic. (Fu 1987, 31)
Various researchers (Education
Department 1994; Siu et aL 1979; Yu and
Atkinson 1988) have shown that students
learn better through their mother tongue.
These studies have included various
educational benefits of mother-tongue
teaching, including:
1. Mother-tongue teaching has positive
effects on students' learning.
2. Most students prefer learning in the
mother tongue.
3. Students learning in the mother
tongue generally perform better than
their counterparts using English as
the medium of instruction.
4. Students of traditional Chinese-
medium schools consistently achieve
a higher pass percentage than the
territory-wide average in both the
Chinese Language and English
Language sections of the Hong Kong
Certificate of Education Examination.
This shows the positive impact of
mother-tongue teaching on the learning
of Chinese and English as a subject
(Education Commission Report No.4
1990).
In addition to educational reasons,
the cultural factor is another reason for
supporting mother-tongue teaching. In
his 1982 report, Llewellyn stated that
mother-tongue education should be
emphasized in all schools because
39
40 ALAN CHEUNG
"language reflects the soul and culture of
a people. Each language has its own
images, proverbs, sense of humour, and
different thought structures expressing
various facets of civilization" (25). Kwok
also shared the same view as Llewellyn:
"to preserve the tradition and dignity of
Chinese culture, it is necessary to save
the deteriorating Chinese education in
Hong Kong" (Lee 1993, 209).
In the late 1970s, thirty-two cultural
and educational organizations organized
a "Second Chinese Language Campaign."
The purposes of the campaign were (1) to
strive for the use of the mother tongue as
a medium of instruction in secondary
school teaching, (2) to increase the social
status of the Chinese language, and (3) to
improve the quality of Chinese-English
education (cited in Lee 1993, 209).
Although there is little dispute on the
advantages of mother-tongue teaching,
most parents and schools prefer English-
medium teaching. Lee identified three
major reasons why many students and
parents prefer English schools:
PRACTICAL REASONS
Hong Kong is an international port
and, in order to compete in the inter-
national market, it will continue to need
people at all levels in commerce, indus-
try, and the professions who are fluent in
English as well as Chinese. Yau (1987)
surveyed 186 students as to why they
chose English schools as their first choice.
The students were asked to respond on a
6-point scale (0-5), with 5 being the most
important, as shown in table 3. It is clear
that the majority of students chose to
learn English for practical reasons, such
as employment and examination.
The attendance at various English
language classes organized by the British
Council and others also reflects the
importance of English in Hong Kong
society. In 1983, 35,000 people enrolled in
the language classes. To many people, the
Table 3. Mean rating of reasons for
attending English courses.
Reasons
For future job needs
For examination purpose
For present job needs
For traveling purpose
For interests
Others
Mean Rating
3.462
2.364
2.227
1.271
1.271
0.169
more English you learn, the better you
are both in terms of education and career.
Chau stated that "In Hong Kong, money
talks English, especially in education"
(cited in Fu 1987, 31).
Economic Reasons
The economic reason was perhaps the
most clearly stated in the 1965 White
Paper on Education Policy (Hong Kong
Government 1965, 83). While acknowl-
edging the educational and cultural
advantage of learning through the
mother tongue, the White Paper stated
that "we are reluctant to endorse this
recommendation in the fact of the
parental preference for Anglo-Chinese
secondary education, the fact that the
English language is an important medi-
um of international communication and
that a knowledge of it has undoubted
commercial value in Hong Kong" (cited
in Lee, 1993,212). Lin stated:
Hong Kong people are afraid of los-
ing their "economic stability and prosper-
ity" (a recurrent phrase in the public
discourses in Hong Kong). The govern-
ment, academic and media discourses
repeatedly assert that Hong Kong's eco-
nomic prosperity depends on attracting
foreign investors, which in turn depends
on providing them with an English-
conversant labour force. This saturation
of consciousness by the "economic argu-
ment" has legitimised the subordination
of all sociocultural and educational goals
to the single goal of mastering a socially,
LANGUAGE POLICY IN HONG KONG: A REVIEW
culturally, and linguistically distant lan-
guage for the majority of children in
Hong Kong. (cited in Adamson, 1997,91)
Social Mobility Reasons
Parents and students perceive English
as a means of climbing the social ladder.
In an Urban Family Life survey, students
were asked to see how they felt about the
importance of the English language.
Downey recorded the findings:
1. Pupils with a greater knowledge of
the English language are from higher
class backgrounds, have higher
expectations of attending universities,
and are more confident about their
career success.
2. Pupils with the most knowledge of
English are more optimistic about the
future.
3. Pupils in Chinese middle schools, as
well as in Anglo-Chinese schools, are
most optimistic about their future if they
have a good knowledge of the English
language (cited in Lee 1993, 213).
OPPOSITIONS AGAINST MOTHER-
TONGUE TEACHING
Despite the genuine efforts of the
Education Department, mother-tongue
teaching has met with little success.
People either ignore or reject it, not
because of educational reasons but basi-
cally on socio-economic grounds.
Parental Attitudes
For most parents, Chinese-medium
schools are not preferred alternatives for
their children. From a 1989 study, Yau
concluded that among the students
presently enrolled in Chinese middle
schools, some would have preferred
going to Anglo-Chinese schools if there
had been a place for them.
Like students, parents also perceive
English as an important tool to help their
children in their future careers. In 1989,
the Education Commission formed a
working group to review the current sta-
tus of the medium of instruction. The
Report of the Working Group on the
Review of Language Improvement
Measures states the following:
Most parents know that English has a
utilitarian value as a gateway to better
prospects in life for their children within
Hong Kong or outside of it, and they
therefore exert a great deal of pressure on
schools in favour of English as a medium
of instruction. (cited in Lee 1993, 213)
Business Attitudes
The termination of British colonial
rule has not reduced the importance of
English in Hong Kong because English is
still the lingua franca of the world. As
Lord (1987, 11) stated:
In Hong Kong, over the past two
decades, English has changed from being
a purely colonial language whose use
was largely restricted to government cir-
cles, the law, high-level business, and a
few other sectors, to becoming an indis-
pensable language of wider communica-
tion, for a growingly large range of peo-
ple, all the way down from top brass to
clerks, from taipans to secretaries.
The business community opposes the
change of teaching medium in schools
and argues that English is essential to the
success of Hong Kong's future economy,
as well as to society as a whole. In
response to the new language policy, the
business sectors launched a "Hong Kong
Language Campaign" between 1989 and
1990 to improve the English language
ability of Hong Kong students and to raise
the public awareness of the importance of
English through various symposia and
community activities. As a member of the
Language Campaign stated, "The
Language Campaign has helped to raise
the consciousness of the community at
41
42 ALAN CHEUNG
large about the threat of a declining level
of English to the continuing success of
Hong Kong as an international business
community" (cited in Pun 1997, 94).
Schools' Attitudes
One of the problems facing Chinese
schools is that most parents and children
view Chinese schools as inferior to
English schools. Most believe that stu-
dents from the Chinese schools are less
likely to succeed in higher education and
future careers. Some schools have tried to
switch their medium of instruction from
English to Chinese. Despite their genuine
efforts, some of them failed miserably.
The Carmel Secondary School was the
salient example. In 1987, the school
decided to switch their instructional lan-
guage from English to Chinese. However
after three years of experimentation, the
school switched back to English based on
the following reasons:
1. After the school announced its new
language policy, it no longer could
attract as many good students. The
drop of the quality of students had a
demoralizing effect on their teachers.
2. Pressure from parents was another
main factor for the failure. Most par-
ents opposed the switch, believing
that the new system could not help
their students compete with others in
the future.
3. Even teachers feared that their
students would not be able to catch
up with others once they switched to
other English schools and tertiary
education.
David Cheung, the principal of
Carmel Secondary School and an advo-
cate of mother-tongue education,
resigned after the incident (Interview,
1998). Because most students and their
parents prefer English schools, Chinese
middle schools become their second
choice. As a result, Chinese-medium
schools have to accept that most students
who come to their schools are of much
lower academic caliber. Although many
school principals realized that using
Chinese as the teaching medium could be
good for students, they also feared that
once they switched the instruction lan-
guage to Chinese, they would not be able
to attract students of the same quality.
The nine-year compulsory education
review committee interviewed twenty-
one principals. Twelve expressed the fear
that the adoption of Chinese-medium
education would adversely affect the
standard and image of their schools
(cited in Yau 1989, 293).
In order to minimize such fears, the
Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union
(HKPTU) conducted a survey in July
1993.The schools were asked whether
they were willing to change to mother-
tongue education if such a change would
not affect their competitiveness and if all
the schools were going to switch their
medium of instruction at the same time.
Of the schools surveyed, 210 secondary
schools (over 50%) indicated that they
would support such a change. However,
when the HKPTU initiated the "Mother
Tongue Charter" and asked school spon-
soring bodies in 1996 to sign it as a
pledge in support of mother-tongue
education, the response rates were
extremely low. According to Au Pak-kuen,
vice president of HKPTU, "only 29 schools
signed the 'Mother Tongue Charter.'" As
one principal stated, "Many schools only
paid lip-service to mother tongue educa-
tion and not many schools really want to
take the lead because of the Carmel sec-
ondary school's effect. It is quite a sad
thing." (Personal interview 1997)
CONCLUSION
Few dispute the fact that mother-
tongue education is effective and bene-
ficial for the majority of Hong Kong
students. As has already been pointed
out, mother-tongue education gives stu-
dents a better understanding of what is
being taught and fosters their interest in
LANGUAGE POLICY I N HONG KONG: A REVIEW
their subjects. However, despite all these
merits, most parents have negative atti-
tudes toward the new language policy
and insist that their children be enrolled
in English-medium schools. This paper
has noted that the medium of instruction
is not primarily an educational issue in
Hong Kong. Rather, social and economic
factors have played important roles in
affecting the successful implementation
of the language policy.
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