Re: Hong Kong schools

Angel Lin (ENANGEL who-is-at cityu.edu.hk)
Mon, 04 Jan 1999 10:58:28 +0800

Hi Kate (and others who might be interested),

Like their counterparts in any other society in the world, Hong Kong
students are a diverse group. My characterization should therefore be
taken as a rough working model (an expedient way of talking about complex
phenomena).

The new immigrant group from China (called NAC in HK--newly Arrived

Chinese) are the most marginalized group. Most of them find themselves
in an even worse situation than the existing working class group in
HK--e.g., poor living conditions (e.g., a family of 4 or 5 crowded into a
small room of 60 sq. feet), don't speak much Cantonese, discriminated by
local chilren. (I'm currently working on a project looking at their
adaptation in elementary schools--despite many frustrating facts, many
teachers and school principals are doing extra work to help them).

<italic>I'm afraid there's not much written on the disdavantaged groups
in schools in Hong Kong. You could say I'm "prioneering"--and quite
lonely in my work here. You could take a look at what I wrote in
Linguistics and Education 1996, vol 8, issue 1, in Journal of Pragmatics
1997 (fall), or in the Encyclopaedia of Language and Education, Vol.
5--Bilingual Education (edited by Jim Cummins).

</italic>

I have written some others on Hong Kong. You can download abstracts at
my web-site:

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/en/staff/angel/angel.htm

You can also go to the TESL-HK Newsletter website-- a newsletter I helped
create for Hong Kong English teachers:

http://www.tesl-hk.org.hk

Thanks for your message and for doing great things to your immigrant
students there on your side.

Best and cheers,

Angel

At 08:16 AM 1/2/99 -0500, Kate wrote:

>Angel, I was touched by your New Years note to

>xmca. Yes, of course these structures are the

>same elsewhere. Everywhere? I don't know the

>answer to that. Doesn't seem to be the same in

>Western Europe (say, Switzerland) except perhaps

>in the case of ethnic minorities -- a growing

>group. In any case, the American model is well

>studied and I have a sense of some of its dimensions

>from teaching in New York City: poor neighborhoods,

>high crime rate, low employment, fragmented families,

>racism -- with underfunded schools (low teacher salaries,

>high turnover, decrepit buildings). These elements

>help create the message of low standards and going

>nowhere that you alluded to. And it's a crime.

>

>I would love to know more, though, about the HOng Kong

>situation because I teach students from Hong Kong who

>have resettled in some of these very neighborhoods in

>Brooklyn. I'm sure their experiences in Hong Kong have

>varied, but is there a good study or description of the

>schooling situation there that might help me better

>understand their previous experience? Some of them

>seem to have come from South China -- from small villages

>-- and their fathers first emigrate to Hong Kong and then

>bring the family? Their parents often worked in factories

>in Hong Kong, sometimes bringing piece work home with them.

>They say they see academic opportunity here where there had

>been none before (because of our community college system?

>They are learning academic English with me and if they can

>make fast enough progress, they stand a chance of earing

>a degree).

>In the context of the resistance behavior of New York City

>students, the Hong Kong community seems hopeful rather than

>in revolt. The language hurdle, however, can be formidable

>and not all of my students appreciate what is involved.

>

>Any comments or references you might be able to offer

>would be appreciated.

>

>best for 1999,

> Kate Garretson

>