Following is a question by the Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (January 17):

Question:

     In the 2014/15 school year, the Government introduced the Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework (Learning Framework) to help non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students overcome the difficulties of learning Chinese as a second language, and introduced the subject of Applied Learning Chinese (for NCS students) (ApL(C)) at the senior secondary level. Regarding learning of Chinese language by NCS students, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) among the Secondary 5 NCS and Chinese speaking students from schools under various modes of subsidies, of the respective numbers and percentages of those taking the ApL(C) subject in each year from 2015 to 2017 and, among such NCS students, the respective numbers and percentages of those enrolling in the courses of (a) Chinese for the Service Industry and (b) Practical Chinese in Hospitality under that subject (set out in Table 1);

Table 1
 

	2015		2016		2017
	NCS students
Number of students
Percentage
	(a)	(b)	(a)	(b)	(a)	(b)
Number of students
Percentage
	Chinese speaking students
Number of students
Percentage

(2) regarding the courses of (a) Chinese for the Service Industry and (b) Practical Chinese in Hospitality under the ApL(C) subject for the first cohort, of the respective (i) numbers of schools offering such courses, (ii) numbers of enrolled students at the beginning, (iii) numbers of enrolled students in the end, and (iv) numbers of candidates sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) on such courses (and (v) a breakdown by attainment of such candidates) (set out in Table 2);

Table 2
 

		(a)	(b)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)	Attained with distinction
	Attained or above
	Unattained

(3) whether the Education Bureau (EDB) has conducted a review on the implementation and effectiveness of the ApL(C) subject; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will conduct such a review expeditiously;

(4) whether the EDB has taken measures to enhance employers' recognition of the HKDSE results for the ApL(C) subject; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5) of (i) the number of candidates sitting for the Chinese Language subject of HKDSE, and (ii) among the NCS candidates of HKDSE, the percentage and number (with a breakdown by their attainment and the relevant percentages) of those sitting for this subject, in each of the past six years, to be set out in tables of the same format as that of table 3; and

Table 3

Year: _____                
 

(i)
(ii)	Number of NCS candidates						Percentage
Attainment	Level 5 or above	Level 4	Level 3	Level 2	Level 1	Unclassified
Number
Percentage

 
(6) whether it has drawn up a timetable and a work plan for reviewing the Learning Framework; if so, of the details, including the commencement and completion dates of such a review as well as the stakeholders to be consulted; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Claudia Mo is as follows:

(1) Applied Learning Chinese (for non-Chinese speaking students) (ApL(C)) is introduced starting from the 2014/15 school year. The course is for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students, which provides an additional channel exclusively for NCS students fulfilling the specified circumstances (Note 1) to obtain an alternative Chinese language qualification. It is designed from the perspective of second language learners and provides a simulated applied learning context for students to learn Chinese through different modes of activities. The duration of ApL(C) courses extends over three school years at the senior secondary level, i.e. Secondary 4 to 6. In the past three cohorts, the enrolment of Secondary 4 students in ApL(C) in schools of various funding modes (including Aided, Government and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools) is as follows:
 

	2015-17 Cohort		2016-18 Cohort		2017-19 Cohort
	NCS Students
Number of Students	181		178		199
	(a) ApL(C) - Chinese for the Service Industry	(b) ApL(C) - Practical Chinese in Hospitality	(a) ApL(C) - Chinese for the Service Industry	(b) ApL(C) - Practical Chinese in Hospitality	(a) ApL(C) - Chinese for the Service Industry	(b) ApL(C) - Practical Chinese in Hospitality
Number of Students	125	56	138	40	132	67
Percentage	69%	31%	78%	22%	66%	34%

Note 1: Students who have learned Chinese Language for less than six years while receiving primary and secondary education; or students who have learned Chinese Language for six years or more in schools, but have been taught an adapted and simpler Chinese Language curriculum not normally applicable to the majority of students in local schools.

(2) For the first cohort, the enrolment of the two ApL(C) courses is as follows:
 

		(a) ApL(C)– Chinese for the Service Industry	(b) ApL(C)– Practical Chinese in Hospitality
(i) Number of Schools		7	7
(ii) Initial Enrolment (Note 2)		125	56
(iii) Final Enrolment (Note 3)		118	45
(iv) Number of Students Entered for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination (Note 4)		111	42
(v)	Attained with Distinction	20	9
	Attained or above	99	30
	Unattained	12	12

 
Note 2: Number of NCS students enrolled in ApL(C) at Secondary 4
Note 3: Number of NCS students enrolled in ApL(C) at Secondary 6
Note 4: Number of NCS students entered for ApL(C) of the 2017 HKDSE

(3) Evaluation of ApL(C) has commenced upon course completion of the first cohort (2015-17 cohort). The Education Bureau (EDB) is collecting information related to the participation, learning, performance and articulation pathways of students for analysis.

(4) For civil service appointments, the Government accepts "Attained" and "Attained with Distinction" results in ApL(C) respectively as meeting the Chinese language proficiency requirements of Level 2 and Level 3 in Chinese Language in HKDSE Examination. To enhance employers' understanding of students' language competency in different aspects, in addition to the HKDSE qualification, ApL(C) is also pegged to the Qualifications Framework Levels 1-3. The EDB will continue to maintain communication and exchanges with stakeholders to enhance their understanding and recognition of ApL(C).

(5) (i) There were 69 725, 69 150, 64 540, 60 305, 55 117 and 50 108 candidates sitting for the HKDSE (Chinese Language) Examination in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively.

(5) (ii) There were 510, 568, 731, 830, 1 046 and 1 072 NCS students from public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools offering the local curriculum sitting the HKDSE Examination in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively, of which 95, 120, 113, 97, 116 and 106 (i.e. about 18.6 per cent, 21.1 per cent, 15.5 per cent, 11.7 per cent, 11.1 per cent and 9.9 per cent) took the HKDSE (Chinese Language) Examination and 22, 37, 27, 21, 32 and 28 (i.e. approximately 23.2 per cent, 30.8 per cent, 23.9 per cent, 21.6 per cent, 27.6 per cent and 26.4 per cent) attained Level 3 or above, meeting the general entrance requirement of the University Grants Committee-funded undergraduate programmes in respect of the Chinese Language subject.

(6) The EDB has consulted teachers and language experts when formulating the Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework ("Learning Framework") and will continue to collect views of various stakeholders on the "Learning Framework" as well as the effectiveness of the related supporting materials. As an integral part of the evaluation process, the EDB would engage stakeholders including school teachers, students, parents and non-governmental organisations through various channels such as focus group discussions and interviews on a continuous basis. The "Learning Framework" would be reviewed, as appropriate, at an interval of three years, when a cycle of learning at each Key Stage (e.g. Primary 1-3, Primary 4-6, Secondary 1-3) has been completed. The information collected through school-based professional support services, teacher professional development programmes and focus group interviews since the 2014/15 school year is being collated and analysed, so as to understand the implementation of the "Learning Framework" in schools, and to propose specific recommendations for improvement in the "Learning Framework", the Chinese Language Assessment Tools and the supporting learning and teaching materials. The initial findings would be reported to the Legislative Council after the completion of collation and analysis.

Ends/Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Issued at HKT 15:40

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