The exotic expertise

A lot of my friends are learning a third language besides Chinese and English. Some are taking courses in French, German, Japanese or even Spanish at universities. Some are learning the language outside their schools. I wonder why they are so interested in foreign languages. Learning foreign languages seems to be a trend these days for university students, at least for those around me.      While some young people want to be “fashionable” by acquiring another language, ironically, some are not interested in learning Chinese or English, which they started learning in kindergarten.      Educationalists have said that there has been a decline in the students’ standard of English nowadays. Surveys have revealed that some fifth form students’ English are only up to the standard of an average third former. Some primary school graduates cannot even write out the 26 letters of the alphabet.      It is in fact a shame for the whole education system if nothing is done to remedy the situation, for the failure in language teaching symbolizes the total collapse of the education system.      To respond to the phenomenon, fortunately, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has proposed importing 1,000 foreign teachers in the coming academic year.      What makes the proposal so controversial is that Tung suggests paying each of these “imported laborers” a $20,000 housing pension every month. Some teachers say this will cause a blow to their morale because the measure discriminates against local teachers.      I totally agree with this view. Why should the government spend so much money on housing pensions for them? Were the amount used in training the local teachers, wouldn’t it be more appropriate and effective?      This goes back to my first question about why so many people like learning a third language. Is everything foreign better than local stuff? Should we concentrate on upgrading the local expertise instead of employing foreign teachers? Should we first improve our standards in Chinese and English before we consider learning another language?                                                                             Nelle                                                                            Tin Shui Wai

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December 1997

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