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<h1 itemprop="name headline" class="" id="page-title">Pragmatic education system should take bilingual approach</h1> </div>
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<div itemprop="dateCreated" content="2015-07-21T15:38:24+08:00" class="" datetime="2015-07-21T15:38:24+08:00">PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 21 July, 2015, 3:38pm</div><div itemprop="dateModified" content="2015-07-21T15:38:24+08:00" class="">UPDATED : Tuesday, 21 July, 2015, 3:38pm</div> </div>
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<a href="http://cdn1.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/2015/07/21/letjul2207.jpg?itok=qIcAKQZB" title="Education minister Eddie Ng has said the status quo in our language policy will not be changed. Photo: SCMP Pictures " class="" rel="gallery-[field_images-1842442]"><img src="http://cdn1.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486x302/public/2015/07/21/letjul2207.jpg?itok=EupGNHsy" class="" alt="Education minister Eddie Ng has said the status quo in our language policy will not be changed. Photo: SCMP Pictures " title="Education minister Eddie Ng has said the status quo in our language policy will not be changed. Photo: SCMP Pictures " height="302" width="486"></a> </li></ul>
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<div class="">Education minister Eddie Ng has said the status quo in our language policy will not be changed. Photo: SCMP Pictures </div>
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<div class=""><p>I
am an ex-member of the Standing Committee on Language Education and
Research and refer to your report ("English-medium policy in schools
will continue, says education minister Eddie Ng", July 4).</p>
<p>Our education minister, Eddie Ng Hak-kim, has said the status quo of
our language policy will not be changed, which seems to favour
English-medium-of-instruction schools. Meanwhile, he takes the blame
from the Chinese-medium ones for breaking the government's previous
promise of allowing changes between the two systems. Before we are drawn
into the whirlpool of discussing our language policy, could we consider
the following issues?</p>
<p>Firstly, English-dominated teaching is feasible for only a minority of Hong Kong students.</p>
<p>There are always dropouts with poor English ability from
English-medium schools. Some of them cannot understand English at all,
and as a consequence they become depressed or develop other behavioural
problems. Parents and school administrators need to be more realistic.
Instead of squeezing their children into English-medium schools or
aiming for admitting top achievers only, could both consider the
children's real language ability first?</p>
<p>Secondly, teachers and students of Chinese-medium-of-instruction
schools are also suffering because of tremendous pressure from
principals and parents to upgrade students' English standards,
regardless of their actual ability and interest in doing so.</p>
<p>I just wonder why we are bound by a monolingual mindset in education
when, in fact, the benefits of bilingualism have been supported by
academic studies and veteran teachers worldwide. It is proven that the
bilingual experience improves the brain's command system, favourable for
our problem-solving and performing various mentally demanding tasks.</p>
<p>If we look back to before the mid-1980s, bilingualism nurtured
generations of elites, the top leaders of Hong Kong. What has aggravated
the situation is our change-ridden language policy and the blind
pursuit of new language approaches by our education officials, a kind of
musical chairs. They keep imposing new language projects or educational
experiments on our children.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest our education officials recognise that students and teachers are suffering.</p>
<p>A more pragmatic language policy like bilingual education should be considered for the benefit of all parties.</p>
<p>It can ease the unnecessary tension between schools and the stress felt by parents and children.</p>
<p><i>Kendra Ip, Hung Hom</i></p>
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<div class="">This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Pragmatic education system should take bilingual approach</div> </div>
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<br></div><a href="http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1842442/pragmatic-education-system-should-take-bilingual-approach">http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1842442/pragmatic-education-system-should-take-bilingual-approach</a><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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