The Education Bureau will introduce Applied Learning Chinese courses for non-Chinese speaking students at the senior secondary level in phases from the 2014-15 school year to provide an additional channel for them to obtain an alternative Chinese language qualification.
The bureau has been encouraging and supporting non-Chinese speaking students to improve their Chinese language ability and to integrate themselves into the community, Secretary for Education Eddie Ng said today.
"Chinese for the Service Industry" and "Practical Chinese in Hospitality" are the two new courses available for the students from this academic year. They are fully subsidised.
The programme is designed from the perspective of second language learners and provides a stimulating applied learning context in which students can learn Chinese.
The course is pegged at the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination qualification and Qualifications Framework Levels 1 to 3.
All eight subsidised University Grants Committee-funded institutions and 23 post-secondary institutions have accepted the course with "Attained" as the minimum grade required in Chinese language for admission.
While the Civil Service Bureau has accepted "Attained" and "Attained with Distinction" as meeting the Chinese language proficiency for civil service appointments.
