Why changing the medium of instruction in Hong Kong could be difficult

• Autores: Peter C.S. Tung
• Localización: Journal of multilingual and multicultural development, ISSN 0143-4632, Vol. 11, Nº. 6, 1990, págs. 523-534
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This paper considers the difficulties teachers face when the language of instruction is changed from a second language to the first language of the students. In Hong Kong the government is encouraging secondary schools to use Chinese instead of English as the medium of education in view of accumulating evidence that the academic achievement of most students would improve if they were instructed in Chinese. This paper first reports a survey of 242 Chinese‐speaking teachers in Hong Kong, who taught various non‐language subjects through the medium of English. Their responses clearly indicated that they were more confident in their ability to teach through the medium of English and that they would encounter significant problems teaching entirely in the Chinese language. The paper then seeks an explanation of the teachers’ perceived difficulties in adapting to the Chinese instructional medium by examining their language use in the classroom in terms of discourse functions and the spoken and written modes of communication. Finally, the paper considers the challenge of preparing future teachers who can teach effectively in Chinese.