Reply #934 doghead's post
Actually I personally find that general English proficiency in Hong Kong has declined a lot during the past 15, 20 or so years.
Previous to the 1990's, most people thought that English proficiency was the key to success in whatever profession one chooses. The emergence of China as an economic force and that so much business activity in Hong Kong now relies on the Motherland has shifted thinking, and now most here would rather concentrate on Putonghua proficiency.
The school system here in Hong Kong has of course also NOT been good for English - and its only just recently that there has been a U-turn on Native language teaching. Another factor is of course just the general quality of teachers in Hong Kong.
Yes, there are of course very good teachers here - but the local " teacher training institution" does NOT nurture the best candidates. Starting with Northcote College in the early 1980's, the HongKong government had actually been PAYING high school graduates to go to teacher training colleges. The government's reasoning had been that they wanted to make it easier for those who wanted to become teachers to get the necessary education to achieve this ambition.
But of course what happened was that it was ONLY the worst candidates - who could NOT go to better Universities (whether local or overseas), or those who could not land any jobs after finishing high school - had been practically the only ones who would go to these teacher training colleges; after all, they were actually being PAID to go to them!
If you notice, you will find that Older citizens of Hong Kong are more English proficient vs. younger people here. Real pity me-thinks.
SEAJ
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[ Last edited by SEAJ at 2-3-2011 23:30 ] | |
