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LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
Hong Kong's strategic positioning
in the region and its aspiration to become Asia's World City makes a relentless
demand on the level of English proficiency from its working population.
Hong Kong's role as the gateway to Mainland China also creates a strong
demand on the standard of Chinese fluency, both written and oral.
The UGC subscribes to these notions
very strongly and continued to provide support to institutions in their
language enhancement initiatives during the reporting triennium, although
the UGC is of the view that language proficiency could be more effectively
cultivated at primary and secondary levels.
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Dr Alice Lam, Chairman UGC, Visiting
Language Centre at The Hong Kong Institute of Education |
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Language Enhancement Grants
The UGC's commitment
towards improving students' language proficiency was reflected in the
continuous disbursement of Language Enhancement Grants (LEGs) during the
1998-2001 triennium. In fact, the reporting triennium saw an increase
in LEGs allocation by HK$45 million to HK$262.5 million. The amount was
disbursed to institutions in three annual instalments based on their respective
student numbers (Figure 3.3). The funding added substantially to the universities'
own resources from the block grant and other funding sources in promoting
students' language proficiency in both English and Chinese.
Noting that LEGs had been disbursed
to institutions since the 1991-1992 academic year, the UGC commissioned
the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) to undertake a review of LEGs
allocation and its effectiveness in 1999. An Inter-Institutional Task
Force on language enhancement under HUCOM, comprising representatives
from all eight institutions, was subsequently formed. The Task Force concluded
that the impact of LEGs had been positive and effective. Also, the language
enhancement programmes helped cultivate amongst students an awareness
of the importance of language proficiency, an interest in language learning
and greater confidence in using the languages.
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Figure 3.3 - Allocation
of the LEGs for Each of the Academic Years in 1998-2001
All figures are in $m
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Language Proficiency of First-Year-First-Degree
Students
The UGC considers that a good command of English
and Chinese is important to enable students to benefit effectively from
university education, to express more succinctly their views and to
interact more effectively with their peers.
To this end, both the UGC and the institutions
have been very conscious of the need to adopt a stringent admission
policy with regard to language proficiency. In the triennium under review,
all First-Year-First-Degree (FYFD) students, except those with mitigating
circumstances, were required to pass the Advanced Supplementary Level
Use of English and Chinese Language and Culture examinations. In fact,
in the 2000-2001 academic year, all FYFD students met the minimum admission
requirements with respect to language proficiency.
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English Proficiency of Graduating Students
The UGC is keenly aware of the community's
concern with respect to language proficiency of the graduates, as well
as the need for an objective mechanism to assess and document graduates'
language proficiency. In order to do so, the UGC has been working with
the institutions to see how best the initiative could be taken forward.
During the reporting triennium, the Inter-Institutional Task Force formed
under HUCOM examined the feasibility of introducing a common reporting
format to document the English proficiency of graduating students.
The Task Force commissioned a team of independent consultants to undertake
the study which began in February 2001. The Task Force submitted the study
report to the UGC in August 2001.
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