Re: Learn English in Hong Kong

From: Charles (hk38_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 02/16/05 

Date: 15 Feb 2005 20:57:34 -0800

Although the government list English as an official language it is
rarely spoken even within the government.

This is in marked contast to other ex-British colonies such as
Singapore, India and Malaysia where overall English proficiency is much
higher. Indeed in many Singapore homes English is widely spoken. Only
recently has the Singapore government started to promote Mandarin ..
and then this is because trade with mainland China is so important to
them.

So, how can Hong Kong students / citizens learn English effectively or
be encouraged use English more widely?

Geoff wrote:
> hkenglish@gmail.com wrote:
> > Having taught English in Hong Kong for over two decades I am fully
> > conversant with the teaching and learning systems here.
> >
> <snip>
>
> > English in Hong Kong is almost a foreign language and is hardly
spoken
> > outside the classroom. Even in large corporations English is only
used
> > in meetings.
> >
>
> Well English is absolutely a foreign language, but "hardly
spoken..."?
> Having lived in Hong Kong from the early '80s through the end of 1999
as
> a multilingual gwailo, I am sad to hear things have fallen so far in
the
> five years since I returned to the U.S. In most mixed-culture offices

> where I worked over the years, the level of English among the local
> staff was quite good, though much less so on the street or in taxis
or
> shops (and the level of Chinese among the other expat staff
essentially
> zero). I wish you a long an prosperous career swimming upstream.

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