The Education policy "Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers of English" had been controversial since its establishment in 2000, in the sense that various stakeholders including parents, students, school administrators, teachers and the general public. This essay critically analyses this education policy in the HK context by scrutinizing the prerequisite. Subsequently, how LPATE was built on policy texts and how it was construed as a solution of gradual decline of English as well as the reciprocal politics interacting with the policy were analyzed. Additionally, the institutions and actors involved in the policy process are discussed followed by the revelation of the outcomes of LPATE in both the expected and the unanticipated dimensions. Copyright © 2014 the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal.

This book provides a detailed account of the origin, development, administration, revision and subsequent research findings on the benchmarking initiative from 1996-2016. It presents an overall assessment of the initiative’s impact on major stakeholders, predictions regarding the way forward, and implications for other countries, especially in South East Asia. In addition, the book discusses what the larger global community can learn from Hong Kong’s two-decade experience of conceptualizing and implementing minimum standard language requirements for teachers. Copyright © 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This study investigates the perceptions of stakeholders on the impact of a high-stakes assessment of English language teachers' proficiency – the minimum language standards Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English) [LPATE], which was introduced in 2000. Given that the test has now been in place for 17 years, the study investigates the extent to which the LPATE assessment has contributed to English language teacher standards in Hong Kong. Interview data from 24 participants in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, reveal a number of positive links between the LPATE test and English language teaching as a profession. The introduction of the LPATE was deemed to be necessary in terms of setting, raising and maintaining language proficiency standards; stakeholders' awareness that English teachers need to have high language standards, subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical skills related to English language teaching; and that now an increasing number of English teachers are exempt from the LPATE through having opted for relevant degrees and teacher training, questions should be asked about how and whether the LPATE should be used in more relevant and meaningful ways.
[Copyright © 2017 The Author(s).]