I Can Speak; I Can’t Speak…

I Can Speak;I Can’t Speak… Lesson 1(for senior forms)

(click the image to view videos) Video Story: Check this out! • Killer x Translator • A video created by some South Asian teenagers in HK • When viewing the videos, think about: • What’s wrong with the killer? • How does the killer solve his problem? Does it work?

Video Story: Killer x Translator • What’s the problem with Killer? • Mis-communication • language differences • Any similar problems in real life? • How does you solve the problem?

Case Study I: Gagan the Napelese Boy • Gagan is a 15-year-old boy who has just moved from his country Nepal to Hong Kong with his family six months ago. • He can speak Nepali and very little English only. Nepali (नेपाली in Devanagari script) is the official language of Nepal and was formerly called Khaskura then Gorkhali. It is also spoken in parts of India, Bhutan and Myanmar (Burma). Nepal is is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China.

Case Study I: Gagan the Napelese Boy • Gagan is a very sporty and active boy, but he remains quite quiet and shy in school. Sometimes he tries to offer his paintings to his classmates and teachers without saying anything so they feel confused. • His school teachers find him not attentive and drawing a lot in textbook during classes.

Case Study I: Gagan the Napelese Boy • Gagan also has very good singing voice. However, he would like to join the school choir but school teachers and schoolmates do not know or understand the songs he is singing. One of Gagan’s paintings

Case Study I: Gagan the Napelese Boy • Think about these… • Do you think Gagan is a gifted boy? • What do you think of his painting? • Why do you think Gagan is so quiet and shy in school? • Any problems to be encountered if you cannot speak the same language with your schoolmates? • As his classmate, as his teacher, as a social worker, or as his family member, what can we do to help Gagan? Currently, the majority of Ethnic Minority students are placed in 30 “designated schools”, 90% of whom are studying “local curriculum” provided by these schools. This “local curriculum” has defaulted extremely low-level Chinese standard, where EM students can only sit for UK’s General Certificate of Secondary Education (Chinese) (GCSE, Chinese). Its highest scores 5* is only equivalent to the Chinese standard from Primary 2 to 3.

Case Study I: Gagan the Napelese Boy • Inquiry: • What is Gagan’s mother tongue? And, what is your mother tongue? What other languages can you speak? • How does Gagan make friends in school? Why do you think he does so? • What is the biggest challenge he faces in school? • If you are Gagan’s classmate, do you want to make friend with him? Why? • How will you make friend with Gagan, and how will you help him? Mother Tongue is the first language that you learn when you are a baby, rather than a language learned at school or as an adult.

Case Study II: Sabin’s Job Hunting • Sabin, Gagan’s cousin, has been living in Hong Kong since he was born. He studied in local schools in Hong Kong and has learnt some basic Chinese. He can speak fluent English and Cantonese. • As an outgoing and hard-working person, Sabin would like to look for a job in the field of marketing, which he studied in the University of Hong Kong. • Upon graduation, he has found 2 posts in job centre and local newspaper. • Please refer to the following slides.

Case Study II: Sabin’s Job Hunting Job post #1

Case Study II: Sabin’s Job Hunting Job post #2

Case Study II: Sabin’s Job Hunting • Think about these… • What are the requirements of the 2 jobs? Does Sabin meet them? • What are the main factors do you think an employer would consider when considering a candidate for a job? • Considering Sabin’s ability, do you think he would succeed in getting either one of the jobs? • According to research on Employment Situation of Ethnic Minorities in HK • 70% of EM people are doing jobs on elementary level; • EM people are rejected by employers because they don’t know Cantonese/Chinese (58.7%) and they are not Chinese (29.9%); • The major problems faced by EM people at work are difficulties in communicating with Chinese supervisor (53%) and with Chinese colleagues (48%)

Equal Opportunities • Equal Opportunities is a stipulation that all people should be treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular “distinctions can be explicitly justified.” • An Equal Opportunities Employer is committed to operate its employment policy in such a way that individuals will be selected, appointed, promoted, developed and treated on the basis of a set of consistent selection criteria. Accordingly, individuals will be assessed on the basis of the job requirements and their relevant aptitudes, skills and abilities, and not on other irrelevant considerations.

Racial Discrimination • Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another under comparable circumstances because of his/her or his/her near relative’s race. It is also direct discrimination to segregate a person on the basis of his/her race. • Indirect discrimination occurs when a same requirement (rule, policy, practice, criterion or procedure) or condition, which cannot be justified on non-racial grounds, is applied equally on people of different races but which has an unfair effect on a particular group because (i) only a small proportion of people from that racial group can meet that requirement compared to the proportion of people of other racial groups, and/or (ii) the condition is to the detriment of the persons of that particular group because they cannot meet it. The Racial Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) is an anti-discrimination law enacted in July 2008 to protect people against discrimination, harassment and vilification on the ground of their race. Under the RDO, it is unlawful to discriminate, harass or vilify a person on the ground of his/her race. The RDO has come into operation since 10 July 2009.

Case Study II: Sabin’s Job Hunting • In a small group of 4-5 , let’s investigate: • Do you think Sabin is suited to the posts? Or which one is particularly suited? Why? • As an Equal Opportunities Employer, will you consider Sabin for these posts? Is language the key factor determining your decision? Why? • One of the employers have shortlisted some candidates including Sabin and some other local Chinese for the post. Debate in pair whether or not Sabin should be offered one of the jobs. 

Equal Opportunities? • How to make it happen? • Accepting and legitimate differences • eg, making friends with Gagan and Sabin • Providing opportunities equally to all people • eg, offering schooling to Gagan and a job to Sabin if appropriate • Celebrating diversity by understanding differences • eg, their neighbours host a welcome party with Gagan and Sabin, and exchanging food with them in the party • Empowering the disadvantaged minority • eg, special language classes for Gagan to help his learning in school; a company provides language strengthening course to Sabin as staff development training

Equal Opportunities? • What are the main differences between Sabin and Gagan’s situations in Hong Kong? • How are they different, and why? • To what extent do you think “Equal Opportunities” policy should be applied to Sabin and Gagan? Why?

They can speak; They can’t Speak… • Do you know any EM people in HK? • For example, Nepalese, Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, etc • Can they speak Chinese or English? • What kind of jobs are they doing in HK? • Any generalisation? • Any similar situation where language is the main reason for discrimination? Is it race-specific? • Other than language, how can we communicate with each other? • Do you think language makes a big barrier for EM new immigrants? • If so, what can we do to strive for equal opportunities? ? !

Nabela Qoser (利君雅), TV News Reporter Gill Mohindepaul Singh (喬寶寶), Actor (click the image to view vidoes of Vivek’s video clips) Vivek Mahbubani, Stand-up Comedian Further Investigation • Who are they? • Indians, born and raised in Hong Kong • Good knowledge in Chinese, Fluent in Cantonese • To what extent do you think they are enjoying Equal Opportunities as a member of ethnic minority in HK?

References – Further Reading • Racism in the Classroom • http://www.aboutequalopportunities.co.uk/racism-in-the-classroom.html • Research conducted by Hong Kong Unison and some other related organisations • http://www.unison.org.hk/R_Research.htm • The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), HK • http://www.eoc.org.hk/ • Celebrating Diversity in the Workplace • http://www.aboutequalopportunities.co.uk/celebrating-diversity-workplace.html • Census – Proportion of Population Aged 5 and Over Able to Speak Selected Languages / Dialects (2001, 2006 and 2011), HK • http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/main-table/A111.html

References – Video Footages • RTHK /Hong Kong Stories (香港故事──隱形香港人) • part 2 investigates how language barrier hinders EM’s education opportunities [see next slide] • in Cantonese, with English subtitles • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFlccWqiwlU • RTHK /Hong Kong Stories (香港故事──印度﹕印象) • beginning of part 2 features the standup comedy of Vivek Mahbubani about language differences • in Cantonese only • http://app3.rthk.hk/special/hkstories2011/oldstories.php?eid=10

I Can Speak; I Can’t Speak…