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<h1 itemprop="name headline" class="" id="page-title">To stay competitive, Hong Kong must polish its skills in using the English language</h1></div></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class="">
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<a href="http://cdn1.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/2015/11/12/scmp_25mar13_ns_exam17_elmt7433a_34861431.jpg?itok=DbgZfQUa" title=" Almost 80 per cent of the 68,700 students passed the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) English language test, but students struggled with pronunciation and lacked exposure to authentic materials such as newspapers and magazines. Photo: May Tse" class="" rel="gallery-[field_images-1878007]"><img src="http://cdn3.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486x302/public/2015/11/12/scmp_25mar13_ns_exam17_elmt7433a_34861431.jpg?itok=4ROg1ZSN" class="" alt=" Almost 80 per cent of the 68,700 students passed the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) English language test, but students struggled with pronunciation and lacked exposure to authentic materials such as newspapers and magazines. Photo: May Tse" title=" Almost 80 per cent of the 68,700 students passed the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) English language test, but students struggled with pronunciation and lacked exposure to authentic materials such as newspapers and magazines. Photo: May Tse" height="302" width="486"></a> </li></ul>
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Almost 80 per cent of the 68,700 students passed the Diploma of
Secondary Education (DSE) English language test, but students struggled
with pronunciation and lacked exposure to authentic materials such as
newspapers and magazines. Photo: May Tse</div></div>
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<div class=""><p>The
standard of English in Hong Kong has been put under the spotlight again
after the city's ranking in a global language proficiency survey
plunged from 12th to 33rd over the past four years, trailing behind
places such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai.</p>
<p>Those who have direct experience with English speakers here and
elsewhere may take issue with the survey, which was based on scores of
online tests taken by more than 900,000 people across the globe.</p>
<p>Like many international surveys, the representativeness of this one
by EF Education First, an international language agency, is also open to
debate.</p>
<h4><em><strong><a href="http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1806457/appalling-english-standards-hong-kong-biggest-culprit?page=all">READ MORE: Appalling English standards in Hong Kong: the biggest culprit is ...</a></strong></em></h4>
<p>That, however, does not mean our English proficiency is not a cause
for concern. Take the results of the territory-wide Diploma of Secondary
Education (DSE) as an example.</p>
<p><span class="" style="display:inline-block;width:486px;float:none;clear:none"><img style="width: 486px; height: 302px;" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/2015/11/12/englishlesson-ky.jpg?itok=BstjrANl" alt="" class="" title="The common errors highlighted in the report issued by the examination authority are embarrassing. For instance, students mispronounced "daughter" as "doctor", "shower" as "sour", and "robot" as "Robert". Photo: K.Y. Cheng"><span style="display:block" class="">The
common errors highlighted in the report issued by the examination
authority are embarrassing. For instance, students mispronounced
"daughter" as "doctor", "shower" as "sour", and "robot" as "Robert".
Photo: K.Y. Cheng</span></span></p>
<p>Almost 80 per cent of the 68,700 students passed the English language test.</p>
<p>But a closer look at the students' performance reveals a different
picture. According to the report issued by the examination authority,
some students struggled with pronunciation and lacked exposure to
authentic materials such as newspapers and magazines.</p>
<h4><strong><em><a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1877222/my-doctor-sour-hong-kong-report-highlights-common">READ MORE: 'My doctor is in the sour': Hong Kong report highlights common mistakes by local pupils in English exam</a></em></strong></h4>
<p>The influence of the Chinese language is also noticeable, resulting
in students writing grammatically incorrect sentences and using
expressions resembling Cantonese ones. The common errors highlighted in
the report are embarrassing.</p>
<p>For instance, students mispronounced "daughter" as "doctor", "shower"
as "sour", and "robot" as "Robert". These kinds of mistakes should not
come from students who have reached higher secondary level.</p>
<p>For the sake of our business competitiveness, we must maintain our
ability to communicate effectively in English. This is recognised by the
government, which rightly makes trilingualism - English, Cantonese and
Putonghua - our language policy. But as the results of the DSE exam
show, the standard of English among the younger generation leaves much
to be desired. It is in our interest to brush up our skills in English
lest we lose out.</p>
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</div><a href="http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1878007/stay-competitive-hong-kong-must-polish-its-skills-using">http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1878007/stay-competitive-hong-kong-must-polish-its-skills-using</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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