TY - JOUR
T1 - Boredom and fear in the undergraduate classroom : the medium of instruction controversy in Hong Kong
AU - HUI, Po Keung
PY - 2015/1/1
Y1 - 2015/1/1
N2 - Although the mother-tongue of some 90% of the population in Hong Kong is Cantonese, schools and universities in Hong Kong have witnessed the downgrading and even abandoning of Cantonese as a medium of instruction (MOI) in classrooms. For universities, this process is accelerated by the discourses of “internationalization.” For primary and secondary schools, the main compelling force is parents’ anxiety over their children's future. This paper discusses the social context in which the forsaking of Cantonese as a medium of instruction has occurred, and also the unintended consequences of silencing the mother-tongue of most of the Hong Kong students (and teachers) in secondary schools and universities.
AB - Although the mother-tongue of some 90% of the population in Hong Kong is Cantonese, schools and universities in Hong Kong have witnessed the downgrading and even abandoning of Cantonese as a medium of instruction (MOI) in classrooms. For universities, this process is accelerated by the discourses of “internationalization.” For primary and secondary schools, the main compelling force is parents’ anxiety over their children's future. This paper discusses the social context in which the forsaking of Cantonese as a medium of instruction has occurred, and also the unintended consequences of silencing the mother-tongue of most of the Hong Kong students (and teachers) in secondary schools and universities.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84932136427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14649373.2015.1037082
DO - 10.1080/14649373.2015.1037082
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
SN - 1464-9373
VL - 16
SP - 253
EP - 262
JO - Inter-Asia Cultural Studies
JF - Inter-Asia Cultural Studies
IS - 2
ER -