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Following is a question by the Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (March 19):
Question:
The Policy Address of this year states that from the 2014-2015 school year onwards, the Government will implement a "Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework" (Learning Framework) for ethnic minority (EM) students in primary and secondary schools. However, the authorities are yet to make public the details of the Learning Framework. Regarding learning Chinese as a second language by EM students, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the authorities' specific policy objectives, monitoring mechanism and effectiveness evaluation indicators in respect of learning Chinese as a second language by EM students; the differences between the Learning Framework and the "Chinese language as the second language" curriculum, which the Chief Executive undertook in his election manifesto to develop; the specific justifications of the authorities for adopting the former rather than the latter for assisting EM students in learning Chinese language;
(2) how it will formulate the Learning Framework; whether it will invite the community at large and professionals to participate in the relevant work;
(3) whether it has drawn up a timetable for a regular review on the effectiveness of the Learning Framework and its enhancement;
(4) given that Cantonese is the main form of spoken Chinese used in listening and speaking by students in mainstream schools, whereas modern Chinese is the standard written form for writing and reading, and there are many differences between the two forms, of the measures put in place by the authorities to ensure that EM students can overcome the barriers arising from such differences when they learn Chinese as a second language;
(5) whether it has conducted any study on setting up specialised schools providing courses on Chinese as the second language for EM students to take after school, so that they only need to take subjects other than Chinese language in the mainstream schools; if it has, of the outcome of the study; if not, the reasons for that;
(6) whether it will consider setting up a research centre for teaching and learning Chinese as a second language, in which experts, academics and frontline teachers who are acquainted with the subject of EM education conduct joint studies and assess the effectiveness of different teaching modes by adopting an evidence-based approach; and
(7) as some members of the education sector have pointed out that the Chinese Language curriculum of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE) is too difficult for EM students, while the level of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (Chinese) Examination is so low that it is not conducive to EM students pursuing further education or employment locally, whether the authorities will make reference to the previous practice of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, in which English language examination papers of two levels were set, and provide additionally an examination paper with a slightly lower level for the Chinese language subject in the HKDSEE?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Claudia Mo is as follows:
(1) As announced in the 2014 Policy Address, support measures for the ethnic minorities will be strengthened. As regards the educational support, our goal is to help non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students (Note 1) learn Chinese effectively and integrate into the community, as well as to build an inclusive school environment. Starting from the 2014/15 school year, we will provide the "Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework" (Learning Framework) to address the learning difficulties of the NCS students in primary and secondary schools and help them learn Chinese as a second language with a view to bridging over to mainstream Chinese Language classes. The Education Bureau (EDB) is inviting research and language experts to formulate a research framework to facilitate the evaluation of the overall effectiveness of various support measures for NCS students, specifically in respect of their Chinese language learning, to ensure the quality of the support services and continually refine them where appropriate. We will continue to communicate with stakeholders and report to the Legislative Council Panel on Education about the progress and effectiveness of the Learning Framework and the various support measures at the appropriate juncture.
The Learning Framework provides a clear set of expected learning outcomes for NCS students at different learning stages. With the Learning Framework, teachers could set the learning targets, progression and expected learning outcomes, and use a progressive "small-step" learning approach to enhance students' learning. In parallel, supporting materials including exemplars of learning tasks, assessment tools, learning materials and teacher notes, will be provided to demonstrate how teachers can make use of the Learning Framework for systematic and progressive curriculum adaptation, addressing the learning difficulties of the NCS students as a second language learner. Teachers can set appropriate learning targets and expected learning outcomes together with the NCS students, with the aim of facilitating their early bridging over to mainstream Chinese Language classes.
Simply put, the Learning Framework can be seen as a "Chinese as a Second Language Curriculum" in the process of learning and teaching under the circumstances that there will be no provision of a simpler Chinese Language syllabus and public examination. The Learning Framework aims to provide a set of progressive, flexible and "small-step" learning objectives to help NCS students learn effectively and to bridging over to mainstream Chinese Language classes as soon as practicable. In accordance with their personal expectations, needs and aspirations and their learning outcomes as portrayed in the Learning Framework, NCS students could choose to acquire Chinese language qualifications through the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) (Chinese Language), the HKDSE (Applied Learning - Chinese) (please refer to (7) below), or other internationally recognised qualifications in pursuit of multiple pathways.
(2) The EDB has formulated the Learning Framework and supporting materials with the concerted effort by school principals, teachers and tertiary institutions. We have been seeking professional advice from language experts and frontline teachers. We have also invited tertiary institutions to carry out evidence-based study and to refine the "Chinese Language Assessment Tools" in line with the Learning Framework. This will help teachers evaluate students' language competence in setting appropriate learning targets and teaching strategies. The EDB will continue to collect professional views and experience from schools, teachers, language experts and related groups, so as to improve its work.
(3) The effectiveness of the Learning Framework can only be clearly seen over time. The EDB is inviting research and language experts to formulate a research framework to facilitate the evaluation of the effectiveness of various support measures for NCS students. We will report to the Legislative Council Panel on Education about the progress and the effectiveness of the Learning Framework and the various support measures at the appropriate juncture.
(4) The Learning Framework provides a systematic set of learning objectives and expected learning outcomes on reading, writing, listening and speaking strands. Referring to the "small-steps" progressions described at different levels of the Learning Framework and using the supporting materials, teachers can employ different intensive teaching and learning modes like pull-out teaching, split-class/group learning, additional lessons, cross-curricular learning, after-school consolidation, etc. with a view to helping NCS students, especially those at junior levels, learn Chinese systematically and bridge over to mainstream Chinese Language classes as soon as practicable.
To help NCS students to overcome learning difficulties in second language learning, including Graphemes of Chinese Characters, tones, vocabulary, classifier and word order, teachers can use multiple strategies such as "small-steps" teaching approach, learning strategies for each learning strand outlined in the Learning Framework, and organising an appropriate learning sequence for beginners (e.g. putting greater focus on listening and speaking at the beginning stages, and gradually moving towards the balanced developments in listening, speaking, reading and writing).
In parallel, module exemplars or learning tasks to demonstrate how teachers can flexibly adopt the learning materials at different learning stages with reference to the Learning Framework will also be provided. Other complementary measures, including teachers' professional development programmes, coupled with the Professional Enhancement Grant Scheme funded by the Language Fund (to be announced in the first quarter of 2014) to enhance Chinese teachers' professional capabilities and qualifications in teaching Chinese as a second language, are in the pipeline.
(5) From the 2014/15 school year, a provision of $200 million has been earmarked on an annual basis to step up the education support for NCS students to facilitate their effective learning of the Chinese language and create an inclusive learning environment in schools. We will enhance the additional recurrent funding for schools admitting 10 or above NCS students to implement the Learning Framework, including different intensive teaching and learning modes like pull-out teaching, split-class/group learning, additional lessons, cross-curricular learning, and to regularise the "Project of After-school Extended Chinese Learning for Non-Chinese Speaking Students" (Note 2) with a view to helping NCS students, especially those at junior levels, learn Chinese steadily and bridge over to mainstream Chinese Language classes as soon as practicable. As for schools admitting only nine or fewer NCS students, they may apply to the EDB for the necessary funding to provide diversified after-school support in learning Chinese starting from the 2014/15 school year. In the meantime, we are consulting stakeholders to finalise the implementation details.
The EDB will continue to provide various modes of after-school/during-holiday support for NCS students through the Chinese Language Learning Support Centre (Note 3) commissioned to a tertiary institution. Besides, we have, starting from 2013, refined the Summer Bridging Programme for NCS students progressing to Primary 1 up to Primary 4 by allowing NCS parents to accompany their children during the Programme. Through parental support and parent-school collaboration, NCS students would be better motivated to learn Chinese. The above measures provide NCS students with diversified opportunities to learn Chinese in and out of school. In light of this, we believe that there is no need to set up a specialised college for "Learning Chinese as a Second Language".
(6) The EDB is inviting research and language experts to formulate a research framework to facilitate the evaluation of the effectiveness of various support measures for NCS students in learning Chinese as a second language. In the meantime, we will continue to solicit views and good practices from language experts, related groups and frontline teachers for enhancing the learning effectiveness. We believe that there is no need to set up a learning and teaching research centre for "Learning Chinese as a Second Language".
(7) The provision of the Learning Framework is to ensure that NCS students will have equal opportunities as their Chinese-speaking peers to learn Chinese and for them to aim at obtaining the HKDSE Examination (Chinese Language) qualification. We are aware that students do differ in terms of their talents, personal expectations, needs and aspirations during the learning process. The EDB will hence continue to provide examination subsidy for qualified NCS students to participate in other recognised international Chinese Language examinations (Note 4). From the 2014/15 school year, the EDB will, in stages, provide an Applied Learning (Chinese) subject for NCS students as an alternative to the HKDSE (Chinese Language). The subject will be pegged at Levels 1 to 3 of the Qualifications Framework and relevant results will be recorded in the HKDSE certificate. In the meantime, we are working with stakeholders to ensure that these recognised qualifications can benefit the future employment and studies of NCS students.
Note 1: For the planning of educational support measures, "NCS students" refers to those whose spoken language at home is not Chinese.
Note 2: The "Project of After-school Extended Chinese Learning for Non-Chinese Speaking Students" is a time-limited try-out project, funded by the Language Fund.
Note 3: In the 2013/14 school year, there are around 520 NCS students using the support services provided by the Chinese Language Learning Support Centre in 19 venues.
Note 4: The EDB will continue to provide examination subsidy for eligible NCS students to participate in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) / International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) / General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Subsidiary (AS)-Level and Advanced (A)-Level Chinese Examinations as alternative Chinese qualifications for consideration of admission to local higher education institutions and universities.
Ends/Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:45
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