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If we had to arrange tutorial classes for students with dif-

ferent Chinese abilities, then we would need infinite classes.

speaking students in True Light Girls’ College, a local sec- vide clear instructions for teachers.
ondary school. He identifies the difference in NCS stu- “Without clear instructions, teachers are unsure of
dents’ Chinese proficiency as a serious challenge. what exactly they should do to achieve the learning goals
NCS students in the school take international Chinese of the framework,” says Wong.
examinations in Form Four or Five, such as GCSE and “For first language learners, there are textbooks, clear
General Certificate of Education (GCE). level descriptors and assessment tools. Teachers have a
The school has admitted students whose Chinese are clear picture on how to teach them,” he adds.
at Primary One standards. One student did not know any Wong believes that the first step to improve the CSL
Chinese. At the same time, they have admitted students curriculum is to implement a systemic assessment for NCS
whose abilities are on par with their local peers. students in Hong Kong.
He questions how teachers could design curricula for “We have to first understand the general performance
students with such different language levels. “What if these of these students before we can establish reasonable learn-
students are in the same form or the same class? How ing goals,” he says. The education professor believes this
should teachers design the curriculum? Which textbook is feasible, as territory-wide assessments like the HKDSE
should be used? Does the textbook matter in this case?” examination have long existed.
he says. Wong believes that there must be a clear understand-
“We try our best to help our students. But if we had to ing of their abilities. Only then can scholars and teachers
arrange tutorial classes for students with different Chinese design a curriculum with specific learning purposes and
abilities, then we would need infinite classes,” he says. assessment tools. “Without a set of standards for reference,
discussions on a better curriculum would be groundless,”
Turning Over a New Leaf he says.
Professor Gary Wong Yu-ka from the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction at the Chinese University of Imagining a New Curriculum
Hong Kong explains that the CSL framework does not pro- Pete Cheng Juk-hei, communication officer of Hong
Kong Unison, explains that the government’s framework
lacks a “second language learning perspective element.”
The framework divides the learning stages for the first-
language curriculum into smaller fractions, which is called
the ‘small-step’ approach.
“The current framework is a fragmented version of the
first-language curriculum,” Cheng explains. “Supplemen-
tary resources are still based on a framework that is devel-
oped from a first-language perspective,” he adds.
“A better education policy should include assessment
methods, effective monitoring, key performance indica-
tors, professional development for teachers, home-school
cooperation, and holistic description of stages of learning,”
he says.

Edited by Patricia Ricafor
Edited by Patricia Ricafort t
Chinese learning materials for Chinese as a Sec- Sub-edited by Shell Zhang
Sub-edited by Shell Zhang
ond Language learners.