"Labeling effects" against students learning in Chinese will intensify if Chinese-medium schools are allowed to conduct classes in English, chairman of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) Michael Tien said yesterday.

The government is reviewing the mother-tongue teaching policy, which has generated much controversies since its implementation in the 1998-99 school year. Under the policy, only 112 secondary schools are allowed to teach junior classes in English.

It is expected that the government will give more discretion to schools to decide which language to use.

On a radio program yesterday, Tien reiterated that mother-tongue teaching has benefited students' learning though it lowers their English standard.

The SCOLAR released a paper in 2005, proposing that Chinese-medium schools be allowed to become English-medium schools should they fulfil certain conditions in terms of students' ability, teachers' qualifications, and learning environment.

The government accepted the proposal.

Tien said yesterday that while the SCOLAR was working on the proposal, it did consider the possibility of allowing Chinese-medium schools to teach certain classes or subjects in English should students in those classes meet the English proficiency requirements. But the committee eventually decided against it for fear that students in Chinese-medium classes may end up being discriminated against.

Principal of King Ling College Hui Yiu-chi does not share such concerns.

"Students' English proficiency may improve over time. Therefore students whose English proficiency was not good enough to get into an English-medium school should be given a chance to study in an English-medium class as they grow older," he said.

Meanwhile, Tien denied on the radio program that the English standard of Hong Kong students is as poor as criticized by business representatives.

To prove his point, he said university graduates scored an average of 6.7 points in the International English Language Testing Service (IELTS), higher than the recruitment requirements set by some enterprises and the government.

(HK Edition 05/09/2008 page1)