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Yin Ha Vivian Chan et al.
language learning as language is one of the primary tools used to acquire knowledge, and is thus an
essential aspect of independent learning.
This emphasis on languages within self-access centres is particularly true for Hong Kong education. As
an international city, Hong Kong takes pride in its bilingualism: both English and Chinese (the latter
often referring to written Chinese and the local dialect of Cantonese for everyday spoken
communication). Since the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has
promoted various approaches for the population to cope with the new role the city plays in relation to
China and the rest of the world. One of the major tactics has been the encouragement of “bi-literacy and
tri-lingualism” in education. While the written languages refer to standard English and Chinese, the
spoken refer to English, Cantonese, and Putonghua. In 1998, the government decided to require that
the “mother-tongue” be implemented as the medium of instruction in schools, which triggered a
vigorous debate about whether such a change would lead to a decline in the English proficiency of local
students. This concern reveals the public awareness that the mastery of languages can lead to success
in study and vice versa.
The importance of language in Hong Kong was further reinforced in 2005 when the Education Bureau
presented the document “Reforming the Academic Structure for Senior Secondary Education and
Higher Education – Actions for Investing in the Future.” It announced the full implementation of a new
high school education system in 2009 and the complete switch from the 3-2-2-3 to 3-3-4 curriculum in
2012 1 . The switch poses great challenges to all parties concerned. As a result, large-scale curriculum
revisions at the high school level have been ongoing since 2009; the most significant of which is
probably that of Chinese language and the incorporation of liberal studies into the curriculum. By
broadening the scope for these two subjects, the Bureau aims to encourage extensive reading and
nurture youngsters to become well-informed, well-educated, and well-cultured members of society.
The emphasis on language enhancement is not only at the high school level. Various universities have
already launched pilot courses on languages and general education to cope with the change in the high
school curriculum. Take, for example, The Chinese University of Hong Kong where newly admitted
students will have to take 21 credits for general education, six credits for Chinese, and nine credits for
English. These new language requirements are meant to prepare students to handle the voluminous
reading requirements in both Chinese and English and to sharpen their language abilities in preparation
for the future job market. According to Bachman’s 2008/09 review of the efficiency of language
education in Hong Kong tertiary institutions, language enhancement is an urgent need for local
university students. Bachman notes:
Virtually all the research literature on achieving high-levels of proficiency in a second or
foreign language suggests that once learners have reached a given level, increasing larger
amounts of time are required for them to move from intermediate to advanced levels.
(2010: 2)
His remark illustrates why universities need to invest more resources to cater for students’ language
enhancement needs in preparation for serious academic studies and research. Bachman (2010: 2)
further notes that the present resources available to students are insufficient and suggests that local
universities should radically increase the number of language education courses they offer in order to
help students to advance their language proficiency.
What makes the situation in Hong Kong even more daunting is that the number of first year university
students will increase by an estimated 40 per cent in 2012. This “double cohort” includes the last group
of students under the former education system as well as the new group under the revised curriculum,
both of whom will enter local universities in the same year, thus creating more budgetary strain. In view
of this, it is not surprised that the university administration and those in charge of the budgets see
independent learning as the most simple and direct means to deal with this surge of student intake and
alleviate potential financial pressure. However, their understanding of independent learning remains
unclear. For many, a popular view is that independent learning simply means transferring face-to-face
teaching to self-study and thus the responsibility would be put onto universities’ self-access centres.
However, this view has been deeply questioned by the recent research in the field. Sturtridge (1997: 70)
calls attention to this intention of funding authorities to see one-off capital expenditures on self-access
1 Originally, students had to spend three years to complete junior high, two years for high school, two years for university
preparatory courses, and three years for university. After the reform, students will take three years to complete junior high, three
years for high school and four years for university.
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