Language teachers' entry qualifications should be raised as a report from the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research recommends, the Permanent Secretary for Education & Manpower says.

SCOLAR has issued the final report of its language education review, titled "Action Plan to Raise Language Standards in Hong Kong". It summarises the views the committee received through its public consultation in the first two months of the year and sets out its final recommendations.

The Government endorses the overall direction SCOLAR recommends, Fanny Law said, adding it is committed to implementing most of the recommendations over the next five years.

"I am most grateful to SCOLAR for its invaluable contribution to language education in Hong Kong by completing a comprehensive review and public consultation, it has examined and advised on the respective roles of the Government, school management, teachers, parents, employers, the mass media, and the language learners themselves in raising the language standards," Mrs Law said.

The Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education & Qualifications, Professor Cheng Kai-ming, also welcomes the report and pledges support to its recommendations in ACTEQ's future deliberations.

Public contributed valuable suggestions

At a press briefing to release the report, SCOLAR Chairman Michael Tien thanked members of the public for sharing many valuable ideas and suggestions.

"We have considered the views expressed in the 193 submissions received in the public-consultation exercise and revised our recommendations as appropriate," Mr Tien said.

The public was generally supportive of the Committee's recommendations in the following two key directions:

* Language competencies expected of students and workforce should be specified to reflect the current and future needs of society; and

* All relevant parties in the community should work together to create a more motivating language learning environment.

Training for language teachers imperative

Highlighting SCOLAR's key recommendations, Mr Tien said: "To improve the quality of language education in schools, we have emphasised the need to upgrade the professional preparation of our language teachers and reform our language curricula and pedagogy."

SCOLAR recommends that from the 2004/05 school year onwards, new language teachers joining the profession should hold a Bachelor of Education degree majoring in the relevant language, or a first degree and a Postgraduate Diploma or Certificate in Education, both majoring in the relevant language.

Those who have not yet attained the recommended qualifications when they join the teaching force should acquire them within three to five years.

"If a school management finds it necessary to appoint a candidate who has not received any initial teacher training to teach a language subject in their school, we recommend that the new recruit should complete a preparatory course before and/or shortly after they take up teaching duties," Mr Tien said. 

"The preparatory course should equip these new teachers with basic language teaching skills before they continue on to pursue a regular teacher-training programme," he added.

Mrs Law agreed that language teachers, who had the most direct influence on students' learning, should be proficient in the language they teach, well grounded in subject knowledge, and acquainted with pedagogical knowledge and skills.

The implementation of the Language Proficiency Requirement for Teachers helps to assure the public the language proficiency of our English Language and Putonghua teachers.

Starting from 2004/05 school year, all new language teachers must meet the language proficiency requirement before being appointed.

The next step we need to take is to ensure our language teachers have the necessary preparation in subject knowledge and pedagogy, Mrs Law said.

Language-teacher training to get a $200-million boost

In support of the long-term upgrading of the language teaching force, the Employment and Manpower Bureau will re-deploy its resources to make available more pre-service and in-service training places for language teachers.

In addition, $200 million will be set aside in the Language Fund to encourage serving language teachers to acquire the SCOLAR-recommended qualifications by offering them an incentive grant covering 50% of the course fees, subject to a maximum of $30,000 per teacher.

To give language teachers more immediate assistance in pushing forward the curriculum reform in their schools, SCOLAR also recommends setting up a task force of district-based teaching consultants. These consultants will work with the language panels of individual schools to help them improve their language curricula and pedagogy. 

Mrs Law says the bureau will work closely with SCOLAR to assemble this task force as soon as possible and ensure its effective operation.

Community has a role to play, too

Mr Tien stressed that language education was not only a matter for school management, language teachers and students. 

"Members of the wider community, particularly parents, employers and the mass media, must cooperate with the Government to create a more motivating language learning environment and raise the general language standards in Hong Kong," he said.

Steering committee to find ways to enhance language skills

Mrs Law said the Chief Secretary for Administration would chair a high-level inter-bureau steering committee to look into a number of issues that fall outside the realm of language education but are important to enhancing the biliterate and trilingual environment in Hong Kong.

The steering committee, comprising representatives from relevant bureaux, will formulate and coordinate Government policies and programmes to foster biliteracy and trilingualism in the wider community of Hong Kong.

Mrs Law also pledged that the Government would continue to work with SCOLAR and other relevant bodies, such as the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications and the University Grants Committee, to raise the language standards in Hong Kong.

Language ability key to economic development

Mr Tien said he was glad to see that the Government had accepted SCOLAR's final recommendations and was committed to implementing them. 

"Our recent experience with the SARS outbreak shows us how important tourism and international trade are to the economy of Hong Kong. To maintain and further our position as Asia's world city, we must do all we can to improve the overall biliterate and trilingual competence of our current and future workforce," Mr Tien said.

In the years ahead, SCOLAR will work with the Government and other relevant parties to oversee the implementation of its recommendations and evaluate their effect on language education.

It will also continue to identify and conduct or commission projects that are of value to the advancement of language education in Hong Kong.

Coming public-education campaigns

Following on Putonghua Month 2002, SCOLAR will sponsor, with support from the Language Fund, a Putonghua Festival in mid-September to mid-November. It is considering organising a similar annual campaign to raise public interest in the learning and use of English.

SCOLAR will also continue with its efforts to promote English television programmes as a resource for the teaching and learning of English among secondary school teachers and students. It is also planning to commission research studies on the conditions necessary for a successful switch to using Putonghua to teach Chinese Language. 

SCOLAR's final report is posted on its website (www.language-education.com).

Background

SCOLAR was established on the recommendation of the Education Commission Report No. 6 in October 1996 to advise the Government on language education issues in general as well as on the use of the Language Fund. 

The Language Fund was set up in March 1994. Over the years, it has sponsored close to 260 projects undertaken by various organizations, including tertiary institutions, schools, community and educational bodies, to enhance the language proficiency of the local population.