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The Under Secretary for Education, Mr Kenneth Chen, today (June 4) attended an Empowerment Workshop on Whole-School Language Policy Planning organised by the Education Bureau (EDB). Mr Chen appealed to principals and teachers that students' learning effectiveness should be the first and foremost consideration in their formulation of school-based fine-tuned Medium of Instruction strategies in providing students with more opportunities to learn and use English to enhance their proficiency in Chinese and English.
More than 50 principals and teachers from 12 secondary schools participated in the workshop. The aim of the workshop was to assist schools, through thorough discussions and sharing, to devise school-based language policies for both Chinese and English by taking into consideration the flexibility under the fine-tuned MOI arrangements to enhance the learning of the two languages and the content subjects for achieving proficiency in both Chinese and English.
Mr Chen said, "When making arrangements of school-based language policy plans, schools should fully consider their own school conditions, including student abilities and progress, their needs and interests, teacher readiness and support measures in schools."
"I believe that schools will consider students' learning effectiveness of utmost importance in making professional judgment in accordance with students' aptitude and needs as well as their views of parents and students," he said.
Professor and Head of the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Professor Chan Shui-duen, and Professor Stephen Andrews of the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong were the guest speakers addressing the learning of mother tongue and second language at today's workshop.
Chief Curriculum Development Officer (NET) of EDB Mr Simon Tham also shared his experience with participants on generic framework on student-centred school development planning.
EDB will hold a series of workshops on whole-school language policy planning from June to mid-July to facilitate schools to formulate appropriate school-based language policies with the room given under the framework of the fine-tuning of medium of instruction for secondary schools to ensure the learning effectiveness of students.
Ends/Thursday, June 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:23
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