Cover not available
Article published In:
Language Problems and Language Planning
Vol. 41:2 (2017) ► pp.159–167

Linguistic capital

Language medium of instruction policy in Hong Kong

 | University of Toronto
 | University of Toronto
This article discusses the effects of Hong Kong’s language policy changes in education since China reclaimed the territory in 1997. It describes Hong Kongers’ perceptions of English and their mother tongue Cantonese, and considers the effects of the Cantonese medium of instruction (CMI) policy, which was introduced to promote biliteracy and trilingualism
among Hong Kongers. The analysis shows that even though CMI results in deeper learning in Hong Kong students, the strength and status of English as the lingua franca in the territory remains strong, and access to the linguistic capital English brings remains restricted to those with financial capital to afford it.
Keywords: English, Cantonese, lingua franca, Hong Kong, language policy
Article outline
  • The promotion of trilingualism
  • Policy politics
    • A divided system
    • Linguistic capital and the lingua franca
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 27 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.41.2.05har
References (31)
References
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Oxford: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Choi, P. (2003). The best students will learn English: Ultra-utilitarianism and linguistic imperialism in education in post-1997 Hong Kong. Journal of Education Policy, 181, 673–694. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimal age question, and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 184334.Google Scholar
Education Bureau. (2009). Enriching our language environment, realizing our vision: Fine-tuning of medium of instruction for secondary schools. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Education Commission (1990). report No. 4. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
. (2005). Report on review of medium of instruction for secondary school and secondary school places allocation. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Education Department. (1985a). A comparison of academic performance of junior secondary students in Anglo-Chinese and Chinese middle schools. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
. (1985b). A comparison of pupils’ HKCEE results between schools using Chinese as medium of instruction (MOI) in all subjects and schools using Chinese as MOI by subject. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
. (1997). Medium of instruction: Guidance for secondary schools. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
. (2006). Further evaluation on the implementation of the MOI guidance for secondary schools (2002–2004). Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Fishman, J. (1967). Bilingualism with and without diglossia: Diglossia with and without bilingualism. Journal of Social Issues, 23(2), 29–38. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Glenwright, P. (2003). Education reform and policy change in Hong Kong: A critique of the post-colonial legacy. Education and Society, 21(3), 67–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ho, K. K. (1986). The effect of written language in Chinese or English on Form 1 social studies achievement. Education Research Journal, 11, 16–21.Google Scholar
Kan, V. & Adamson, B. (2010). Language policies for Hong Kong schools since 1997. London Review of education, 8(2), 167–176. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lao, C. Y. & Krashen, S. (1999). Implementation of mother-tongue teaching in Hong Kong secondary schools: Some recent reports. Discovery, 18 October. Retrieved from [URL]
Li, D. C. S. (2002). Hong Kong parents’ preference for English-medium education: Passive victims of imperialism or active agents of pragmatism? In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), Englishes in Asia: Communication, identity, power and education (pp. 29–62). Melbourne: Language Australia.Google Scholar
Lin, L. H. F. & Morrison, B. (2010). The impact of medium of instruction in Hong Kong secondary students on tertiary students vocabulary. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9(4), 255–266. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llewellyn, J., Hancock, J. G., Kirst, M., & Roeloffs, Y. K. (1982). A perspective on education in Hong Kong: Report by a visiting panel. Hong Kong: Government Printer.Google Scholar
Mak, S. Y. & Siu, P. K. (1991). The relationship between the medium of instruction and the structure of lessons in Form 1. The Chinese University Education Journal, 191, 19–27.Google Scholar
(1992). The relationship between the medium of instruction and the structure of classroom lessons in junior secondary schools. The Chinese University Education Journal, 20(2), 101–111.Google Scholar
Morrison, K. & Lui, I. (2000). Ideology, linguistic capital and the medium of instruction in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 21(6): 471–486. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Poon, A. Y. K. (2004). Language policy of Hong Kong: Its impact on language education and language use in post-handover Hong Kong. Journal of Taiwan Normal University: Humanities & Social Sciences, 49(1), 53–74.Google Scholar
Salili, F. & Tsui, A. B. M. (2005). The effects of medium of instruction on students’ motivation and learning. In R. Hoosain and F. Salili (Eds.), Language in multicultural education (pp. 135–156). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.Google Scholar
Siu, P. K. (1979). The final report on the effects of the medium of instruction on student cognitive development and academic achievement. Hong Kong: School of Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR). (2003). Action plan to raise language standards in Hong Kong – Final review report. Hong Kong: Standing Committee on Language Education and Research.Google Scholar
Tam, A. C. F. (2011). Does the switch of medium of instruction facilitate the language learning of students? A case study of Hong Kong from teachers’ perspective. Language and Education, 25(5), 399–417. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tse, S. K., Shum, M. S. K., Ki, W. W. & Wong, C. P. C. (2001). The transition from English to mother tongue Chinese as medium of instruction. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 11, 9–36. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tsui, A. (1992). Using English as a medium of instruction and English language acquisition. In K. K. Luke (Ed.) Into the Twenty-first Century: Issues of language in education in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Linguistic Society of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An introduction to sociolinguistics (5th ed.). Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Wen, W. P. (1999). Mother-tongue teaching must be accomplished consistently (in Chinese). Cited in Y. C. Lo (1999) Curriculum reform. In M. Bray and R. Koo (Eds.) Education and society in Hong Kong and Macau: Comparative perspectives on continuity and change. CERC Studies in Comparative Education 7. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, Comparative Education Research Centre.Google Scholar
Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Ai, Bin, Siwei Ma & Xia Liu
2024. Exploring Tibetan residents’ everyday language practices in Danba county, Southwest China: a case study. Applied Linguistics Review 15:5 ► pp. 2227 ff. DOI logo
Amina, Farrukh, Melissa M. Barnes & Eisuke Saito
2024. Language and belonging in Australian schools: perspectives and experiences of families from refugee backgrounds. International Journal of Inclusive Education 28:13 ► pp. 3193 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Guo
2024.  A localised perspective in educational policy studies: understanding actor interaction in a Hong Kong school through mohap . International Studies in Sociology of Education ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Tsang, Art & Beatrice Yan-Yan Dang
2023. Examining the relationships between medium of instruction in secondary education and learners’ academic achievement and perceptions in English-medium tertiary education. Journal of Further and Higher Education 47:6 ► pp. 769 ff. DOI logo
chang, jackie
2022. The Ideology of English-as-the-global-language in Taiwan’s Private English Language Schools. SSRN Electronic Journal DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 december 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.