{"id":18502,"date":"2021-03-16T12:15:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T04:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=18502"},"modified":"2021-05-27T14:21:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T06:21:59","slug":"lost-in-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/lost-in-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost in Translation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chinese as a Second Language learners struggle to learn Chinese under the current curriculum.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Victoria Fong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alysha Bibi, a year one\nstudent at the University of Hong Kong, only started to learn Hong Kong Chinese\nseriously when she was first enrolled in a local secondary school in Hong Kong\nat the age of 12. While local students were having regular Chinese classes at\nschool, she had to attend one-on-one Chinese classes to catch up to her peers\nwhen she was in Form One. Form One is the first year of secondary school in\nHong Kong, traditionally taken at the age of 12 or 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being born and\nraised in Hong Kong, Bibi never received proper Chinese education before\nsecondary school. The journalism student studied at Li Cheng Uk Government\nPrimary School, where traditionally a large part of the student body hails from\nethnic minority backgrounds. Chinese lessons there only covered basic\nknowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even know how\nto write my name (in Chinese) when I was in primary school. I didn\u2019t even know\nhow to write my school\u2019s Chinese name either. All I remember was counting numbers,\u201d\nBibi says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Bibi entered\nsecondary school, she discovered that her Chinese knowledge was not enough to\nhandle the curriculum. She remembers being unable to answer questions in Form\nOne Chinese History classes due to her inadequate Chinese level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe question was \u2018What\npolicy was implemented by the emperor?\u2019 and I remember my Chinese was so bad\nthat I answered: \u2018He ate fruit,\u2019\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bibi\u2019s Chinese improved\nafter attending one-on-one classes in Form One. In Form Three, she started\nlearning Chinese with Form One Chinese students. In Form Six, she eventually\ntook the Applied Learning Chinese (ApL(C)) examination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ApL(C) subject was\nintroduced as an alternative qualification for the Chinese Language (Category\nA) subject in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination\nin the school year of 2014-2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Hong\nKong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), the results of Attained and\nAttained with Distinction in ApL(C) are equivalent to Level 2 and Level 3 or\nabove of the Category A Chinese subject in HKDSE respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her school\u2019s focus on\nBibi\u2019s Chinese education came at the expense of other learning opportunities.\nBelieving Bibi needed to set aside more time to study Chinese, her teachers\npersuaded her to take only two DSE electives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(The teachers) said,\n\u2018You need (to focus on) Chinese, it\u2019s too difficult for you\u2019, so I ended up\nchoosing two electives,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To enter any of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) participating institutions, applicants are required to attain Level 3 or above in the Category A Chinese Language DSE exam. Non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students are allowed to take alternative Chinese language exams as a substitute for this requirement. ApL(C) is one of the alternative options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative Chinese language qualifications and the minimum grade required for admission into the JUPAS participating institutions* <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
<\/td>ApL(C)<\/th>GCE (A-Level)<\/th>GCE (AS Level)<\/th>GCE (O-Level)<\/th>GCSE<\/th>IGCSE<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
The University of Hong Kong<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Chinese University of Hong Kong<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
City University of Hong Kong <\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Not recognised<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hong Kong Baptist University<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lingnan University<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Open University of Hong Kong<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Education University of Hong Kong<\/td>Attained<\/td>Grade E<\/td>Grade E <\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>Grade C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n

*Source from JUPAS<\/em>
*Certain programmes do not accept alternative Chinese language requirements, or will require applicants to submit additional proof of Chinese language proficiency in order to be accepted into the programme.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Sides of the Same Coin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students, like Bibi,\nspend their secondary school catching up on Chinese, other NCS students enter\nsecondary school to discover that they are sent back to square one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chetrit Nipurna KC is one of them. KC, also born and raised\nin Hong Kong, is a 21-year-old studying law at City University of Hong Kong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

KC learned Chinese in primary school. When she left primary\nschool, her Chinese level was comparable to other local Primary Six students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She then continued her study at Delia Memorial School (Hip Wo). She was placed in her school\u2019s Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) curriculum where she studied the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) Chinese curriculum. GCSE Chinese is equivalent to Primary Three level in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sample assessment material of the GCSE Chinese Speaking in Chinese exam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

KC observes that her class was composed of\nstudents with varying Chinese levels. While some of her classmates found the\ncurriculum useful, she found it repetitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were students from other countries who\nhad never learned Chinese before and those who were relatively weaker in\nChinese, so (the GCSE Chinese curriculum) was beneficial to them. But for me,\nit wasn\u2019t very beneficial,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KC believes her Chinese would be better if she had\nprogressed instead of going backwards in secondary school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt like my efforts in primary school were in vain,\u201d she says. \u201cBy adjusting the level in Form One, it made me think Chinese was easy and demotivated me to learn Chinese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt like my efforts in primary school were in vain. By adjusting the level in Form One, it made me think Chinese was easy and demotivated me to learn Chinese.<\/strong>\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Bibi and KC\u2019s experiences stem from the lack of a\nstandardised CSL curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Curriculum Development Council of the Education Bureau\npublished a Supplementary Guide to the Chinese Language Curriculum for\nNon-Chinese Speaking Students in 2008. The guide explains the Chinese Language\ncurriculum framework \u201cprovides schools with flexibility and autonomy\u201d. Teachers\nare advised to adjust the curriculum and teaching strategies according to the\nabilities and interests of NCS students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the guide is not a standardised CSL curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Hong Kong Unison, a non-government organization\nadvocating for ethnic minority rights, the lack of concrete objectives means\nChinese learning is school-based. Different schools offer different\nexaminations and curricula, based on university entrance requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JUPAS, the main system for students to apply for\nundergraduate programmes in Hong Kong, accepts six alternative qualifications\nin Chinese for NCS students, including ApL(C) and GCSE. The alternative\nqualifications vary greatly in their level of difficulty, resulting in uneven\nlevels of achievement for CSL learners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local School\u2019s Struggle\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong Kai-chi is a Chinese teacher for non-Chinese speaking\nstudents in True Light Girls\u2019 College, a local secondary school. He identifies\nthe difference in NCS students\u2019 Chinese proficiency as a serious challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NCS students in the school take international Chinese\nexaminations in Form Four or Five, such as GCSE and General Certificate of\nEducation (GCE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school has admitted students whose Chinese are at\nPrimary One standards. One student did not know any Chinese. At the same time,\nthey have admitted students whose abilities are on par with their local peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He questions how teachers could design curricula for students with such different language levels. \u201cWhat if these students are in the same form or the same class? How should teachers design the curriculum? Which textbook should be used? Does the textbook matter in this case?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Chinese learning materials for Chinese as a Second Language learners.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe try our best to help our students. But if we had to arrange tutorial classes for students with different Chinese abilities, then we would need infinite classes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If we had to arrange tutorial classes for students with different Chinese abilities, then we would need infinite classes.<\/strong>“<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Turning Over a New Leaf<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Gary Wong Yu-ka from the Department of Curriculum\nand Instruction at the Chinese University of Hong Kong explains that the CSL\nframework does not provide clear instructions for teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout clear instructions, teachers are unsure of what\nexactly they should do to achieve the learning goals of the framework,\u201d says\nWong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor first language learners, there are textbooks, clear\nlevel descriptors and assessment tools. Teachers have a clear picture on how to\nteach them,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong believes that the first step to improve the CSL\ncurriculum is to implement a systemic\nassessment for NCS students in Hong Kong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to first understand the general performance of\nthese students before we can establish reasonable learning goals,\u201d he says. The\neducation professor believes this is feasible,<\/ins> as\nterritory-wide assessments like the HKDSE examination have long existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong believes that there must be a clear understanding of\ntheir abilities. Only then can scholars and teachers design a curriculum with\nspecific learning purposes and assessment tools. \u201cWithout a set of standards\nfor reference, discussions on a better curriculum would be groundless,\u201d he\nsays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagining a New Curriculum <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pete Cheng Juk-hei, communication officer of Hong Kong\nUnison, explains that the government\u2019s framework lacks a \u201csecond language\nlearning perspective element.\u201d The framework divides the learning stages for\nthe first-language curriculum into smaller fractions, which is called the\n\u2018small-step\u2019 approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current framework is a fragmented version of the\nfirst-language curriculum,\u201d Cheng explains. \u201cSupplementary resources are still\nbased on a framework that is developed from a first-language perspective,\u201d he\nadds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA better education policy should include assessment methods, effective monitoring, key performance indicators, professional development for teachers, home-school cooperation, and holistic description of stages of learning,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Patricia Ricafort
Sub-edited by Shell Zhang<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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