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E-news Issue 286

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EOC Chairperson urges Government to focus on outcomes in supporting non-Chinese-speaking students

EOC Chairperson urges Government to focus on outcomes in supporting non-Chinese-speaking students

Earlier this month, EOC Chairperson Mr Ricky CHU Man-kin published an article in The South China Morning Post and Ming Pao Daily, urging the Government to take an outcome-oriented approach to supporting non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong.

In response to demand for more language learning support for NCS students, starting from the 2014/15 school year, the Government has, among a range of measures, provided additional funding to schools and introduced the “Chinese Language Curriculum Second-Language Learning Framework”.

“Its stated objective was to act as a bridge for NCS students to join mainstream Chinese language classes. So it would be fair to ask how many students in fact made the jump,” wrote Mr Chu in The South China Morning Post. “Other indicators of improved Chinese language proficiency, if available, would also be helpful to measure progress.”

The EOC, in consultation with key stakeholders, made several recommendations on improving the Chinese language teaching for NCS students in its 2019 report Closing the Gap. Keeping the focus on the outcome, the report gives suggestions on curriculum, teacher training and examination pathways.

However, there continues to be a lack of data about the actual impact of the Government’s measures. “In the absence of success markers, we will never be sure if the money spent is delivering the intended results,” said Mr Chu. 

He concluded, “We need to clearly define the learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are not simply the amount of money spent. It would seem obvious that the ability to speak, read and write Chinese to a level that allows a student to get into a university course and compete for jobs on a level playing field should be one of the desired outcomes.”

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