Double Entry Journal Template
| Author: Elaine Chan Reading Covered: Beyond Pedagogy: language and identity in post-colonial Hong Kong | ||
| Page | Quotations | Commentary/Analysis |
| 272
| “Hong Kong society reacted strongly against the government’s decision. Students broke into tears when they found out that they had to learn in Chinese; somehow, they felt denigrated not to be able to study in English.” | The article analyses the situation when the government of Hong Kong issued guidelines for the transition from English to the Chinese language in Junior secondary schools. However, the Hong Kong society strongly reacted against the government objection. Therefore, Elaine Chan in this article analyses the reasons for severe resistance by the students and parents. |
| 274
| “The first hint of change came with the publication of The Burney Report on Education in 1935 (Burney, 1935) | The government argued that the reason for shifting into chinses language is because It wanted Hong Kong students to be educated on Chinese first, then English would be taught on the job-related level. However, the government concentrated more on Chinese mother-tongue and that is why the parents and students opted to resist. |
| 276
| “The government cited several reasons in support of mother-tongue teaching. They are mostly based on pedagogical grounds. Armed with research conducted both locally and overseas” | The education department claimed that teaching in mother-tongue facilitated the learning of students. Besides, most of them preferred chinse language since they performed better in the public examination as compared to those that use English |
| 277-279
| “Despite support from the government and educators, society did not entirely welcome the policy of mother-tongue education. On 2 December 1997, the ED announced that 100 secondary schools, about one-quarter of all secondary schools in Hong Kong, were qualified to use English as the medium of instruction.” | Elaine Chan argues that it is because English had been accorded a high status than Chinese in Hong Kong society. Additionally, those that were skillful in it gained political and social access in the colonial days. Also, English had become a symbol of the capital and therefore, parents wanted their children to learn in English despite the pedagogy advantage. |
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| “Paralleling the discourses of pride and honor was still the third discourse, pitched at the societal level, which is closely related to an important aspect of the identity of Hong Kong as an international commercial center.” | English had become habitus to society and was used in international relations. Additionally, it has bestowed the economic development of Hong Kong into a global center of commerce. Also, since it is the only recognized international language and therefore, those that are familiar with it can access assistance from other countries. |
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| “It is interesting to note that, generally speaking, Hong Kong people do not resent the infiltration of Western culture into the city. This makes Hong Kong identity something more than just a Chinese identity.” | The author argues that the government acted insensitively to society by making the Chinese language as the official language for education. Because the English language was more important to the Hong Kong individuals as it distinguished them from the Chinese individuals. |
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