Access to majority language and educational outcomes: South Asian background students in postcolonial Hong Kong

Access to majority language and educational outcomes: South Asian background students in postcolonial Hong Kong

• Tsung, Linda Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney, Australia
• Zhang, Qunying Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
• Cruickshank, Ken Faculty of Education, University of Sydney, Australia

Diaspora Indigenous and Minority Education, 4(1), 17-32, 2010

Routledge

2010

• N Students & Student Services
  • NO Minorities & Immigrant Students
• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GA Chinese Language

Hong Kong Chinese Educational Policy Language Planning Language Proficiency Minority Group Children Outcomes of Education Postcolonialism Second Language Teaching Secondary School Students Secondary Schools Teaching Language Teaching Methods Secondary Education Non Native Speakers South Asian Students

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Secondary Education

This study examines the extent to which South Asian students in Hong Kong are gaining fluency in Chinese and the impact of this on their educational outcomes in the postcolonial context of an official shift to a trilingual (Cantonese, English, and Putonghua) and biliterate (Chinese and English) society. It focuses on the teaching and learning of Chinese in secondary schools 'designated' for minority background students. Data are drawn from student language proficiency testing and teacher interviews. The study found low proficiency in Chinese due, in part, to teaching methodologies based on approaches to learning Chinese as a first language. There was evidence of inadequate teacher preparation, inappropriate curriculum, structural issues, and a cycle of low student motivation and performance. The study concludes that educational outcomes for these students will not improve without a seismic shift in policy thinking and improvement of educational provision for minority students.
[Copyright of Diaspora Indigenous and Minority Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15595690903442256 ]

• English

Journal Articles

• 15595692

• 10.1080/15595690903442256

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/45f2ead7

2010-11-28