Language Policy at HKIEd: Enabling Trilingual Competence for a Globalized World

1. The HKIEd language policy: How linguistic and cultural diversity is handled at the Hong Kong Institute of EducationCALPIU ’12Higher education across borders: Transcultural interaction and linguistic diversity04 – 04 – 2012 Prof. David C.S. Li ( 李楚成 ) Hong Kong Institute of Education Department of English Telephone: (852) 2948 8602Fax: (852) 2948 7270Email: dcsli@ied.edu.hk 1

5. Where is Hong Kong (SAR)?

6. Demographics: Population over 7 million (January 2012), ca. 1,100 square km

7. Chinese Hongkongers About 90%: • Cantonese-dominant • bilingual in English/Putonghua to different extents About 5%: • Other Chinese varieties e.g. Chiu Chow, Hakka, etc.

8. Self-styled “Asia’s World City” July, 2010: • HK ranked 4th among international financial hubs April, 2009: • Six industries identified for future development…

9. Six industries identified for future development • Testing and certification • Medical services • Innovation and technology • Cultural and creative industries • Environmental industries • (International) educational services • HK thrives on finance/service industries/knowledge-based economy • When hiring, employers value English proficiency, increasingly Putonghua as well

10. One country, two systems, three languages

11. Hong Kong language policy Co-official languages: Chinese* and English Language policy goal: biliteracy and trilingualism (兩文三語) *Chinese in HK  spoken Cantonese / SWC

12. The Hong Kong Institute of Education language policy (effective 09/2012)

13. The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) • One of 8 HKG-funded tertiary institutions •  Total student population: • Undergraduate: ~ 2,000 • Postgraduate (including Ph.D.): ~ 200 •  Vision / mission: • education-focused, multidisciplinary, strong research capacity • leading provider of quality teacher education in Asia-Pacific region

14. Main challenge toward these goals Toward internationalization: • Most courses are Chinese-medium (currently over 65%) • Not enough EMI courses  Few students able to gain international experience (e.g., outgoing exchange)  Can’t attract international students

15. HKIEd’s new language policy from September 2012 “HKIEd will adopt a new language policy to enhance students’ trilingual proficiency development with strengthened Language Enhancement Programmes and Language Exit Requirements (LERs) in English and Putonghua. Being informed by the notion of ‘functional trilingualism’, the new language policy is designed to enhance our students’ competitiveness in an increasingly globalised world. It does so by setting clear language learning targets, equipping them with an internationally recognized level of English and Putonghua, and fostering the development of a language-rich environment at HKIEd.” (HKIEd Intranet Announcement, March 2012 emphasis added)

16. Functional trilingualism the ability to use three languages to varying degrees of proficiency and for different purposes ( Andy Kirkpatrick ? )

17. HKIEd new language policy: Key features • Minimum Language Exit Requirements (LERs) for ENG and PTH (programme-specific) • Support for tertiary-level English and SWC • Support for basic Cantonese (non-Chinese / non-Cantonese-speaking students) • HKIEd-sponsored IELTS and PSC (national PTH test) once

18. Minimum Language Exit Requirements (LERs) in ENG / PTH for allfull-time UG students from September 2012

19. Support for tertiary-level English and SWC ENG: • Five courses (138 hours, mandatory) • IELTS preparation (4 skills, 60 hours, optional) SWC: • Three courses (total 90 hours)

20. Support for Cantonese (non-Chinese / non-Cantonese-speaking students) Non-Chinese, e.g. South Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese) • Two compulsory courses in Basic / Survival Cantonese • Exempted from LERs in Putonghua (but not in English) Putonghua-dominant students from Mainland China • Two compulsory courses in Basic / Survival Cantonese

21. HKIEd-sponsored IELTS test and PSC (national Putonghua test) once All undergraduate students are sponsored to take • IELTS • PSC once, after completing their English enhancement / Putonghua enhancement programme

22. Language of Instruction “Language of instruction is another important aspect of the Institute’s Language Policy. To demonstrate our commitment to internationalization and adhering to societal expectation of language competence of our students, the percentage of English-medium content courses in non-language major BEd programmes will be gradually increased to at least 50% by 2013/14. (...) ” • from ‘laissez-faire approach’ • to ‘Promotion of English’ / ‘pro-multilingualism approach’ (F. Grin)

23. Implementation of new language policy: Some lingering concerns • Local staff’s ability and willingness to teach in English • Some non-local staff don’t teach because of low uptake of EMI courses • Mix of students from different L1 backgrounds • Local: Cantonese-dominant • Mainland China: Putonghua-dominant • International: English-dominant • Non-Chinese students are turned away despite EMI • Staff training in effective bilingual teaching strategies needed (not on agenda yet)

24. If time ‘Race bias heard in language block’ (23/03/2012, The Standard) • Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) • Survey based on 107 valid responses

25. ‘Race bias heard in language block’ “the language barrier is depriving them [minority groups] of gainful employment and an education (…) the problem is made worse by government policy that neglects the needs of minorities by institutionalizing Cantonese as a mandatory entrance requirement for both employment and higher education opportunities.”

26. ‘Race bias heard in language block’ “It is well recognized that the language barrier is the biggest hurdle for ethnic minorities to integrate into the Hong Kong community, hindering employment opportunities and restricting intercultural interaction.” Equal Opportunities Commission Chairman, W.K. Lam

27. Q & A Tak Merci / Danke / Gracies / Gracias / Thank you 多 謝 (do55 ze22) 謝 謝 (xièxiè)

36. Cantonese vis-à-vis Putonghua (Mandarin) 36