Classroom language use in Hong Kong's reformed English-medium stream

Classroom language use in Hong Kong's reformed English-medium stream

• Evans, Stephen English Dept, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29(6), 483-498, 2008

Routledge

2008

• F Learning & Teaching
  • FE Medium of Instruction, Language of Teaching, Bi-& Multilingual Education, Problems of Bilingualism, Code-mixing & Code-switching
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RE School Management, School-Parents Relationship
• R Educational Policy & Administration
  • RC Educational Planning & Decision Making Process, Educational Administration

Bilingual Education Codeswitching Immersion Education Language Policy Medium of Instruction Students Schools Linguistics Language & Linguistics

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Secondary Education

During the last two decades of colonial rule, a wide gulf existed between policy and practice in Hong Kong's English-medium secondary schools: while English was the medium of textbooks, assignments and examinations, Cantonese and Cantonese-English mixed code were the dominant media of classroom communication. Although mixed-mode instruction was defended in some quarters, during the 1990s it was regarded in government circles as the main cause of unsatisfactory English standards. To eliminate mixed-mode instruction, and thereby ensure the consistent use of English or Chinese as teaching media, the postcolonial government introduced a controversial language policy in 1998 which permitted only 112 schools to remain English-medium, while most schools were forced to switch their medium of instruction from English to Chinese. This paper presents the findings of an investigation which aimed to gauge the extent to which the new policy has been translated into classroom practice in the 'reformed' English-medium stream. The findings indicate that teachers and students make greater use of English in the classroom than their counterparts during the era of 'mass' English-medium education, although, as might be expected, the language-learning experience provided in the 'reformed' English-medium stream generally falls short of the full immersion programme envisaged by policy makers.
[Copyright of Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434630802147940]

• English

Journal Articles

• 01434632

• 10.1080/01434630802147940

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/24f4dbb8

2011-01-21