Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1998

Prof. Charles K. Kao Prof. Authur K.C. L i P r o f . Ch a r l es K . K a o : L a n g u a ge p r o f i c i e n cy i s a prerequisite for effective c ommu n i c a t i o n; i t affects the q u a l i ty of teaching and learning. Ma ny of us are concerned about the decline i n b o t h Chinese a nd En g l i sh proficiency of H o n g K o n g students, i n particular those entering the University. H o w should we go about salvaging such deterioration w h i ch may eventually jeopardize H o n g Kong's future success? ...At The Chinese University, ma ny new initiatives have been l a u n c h ed to h e lp students i m p r o ve their language skills. Extract from 'New Year Message from the Vice-Chancellor', CUHK Newsletter, No. 81, 4th January 1996 P r o f . A r t h u r K . C L i : We are v e ry fortunate that the f o u n d i ng fathers of The Chinese University of H o ng K o ng decades ago had the foresight to make this a b i l i n g u al u n i v e r s i ty f r om the outset. A t the time, it was not the fashion and definitely against the trend; but to steer the course they d i d was an act of w i s d om. So, as y o u w i l l no d o u bt agree, we have always been r i g ht i n emp h a s i z i ng the i mp o r t a n ce of both Chinese and English. Is the purpose of bilingualism to r e n d er easier c o mm u n i c a t i on w i t h mo re p e o p le a r o u nd the globe or is i t to increase the p o t e n t i al for job o p p o r t u n i t i es for o ur graduates? Perhaps b o t h. Wh i c h e v er i s the case, i t was an a dm i r a b le p o l i c y. ...Bilingualism is a part of our distinctiveness—and i t should remain so. I believe that our founding fathers saw bilingualism as a means to integrate both Western and Chinese cultures so that our graduates could have the best of both worlds. Extract from Prof. Arthur K.C. Li's address at his installation as vice- chancellor of the University on 7th November 1996 To ensure that students possess a language standard adequate for university studies, the University has laid d o wn very- strict language requirements for admission. To qualify for admission, applicants have to obtain i n one sitting of the H o n g K o ng Ce r t i f i c a te o f E d u c a t i on E x a m i n a t i on (HKCEE) grade E or above in two language subjects ( Ch i n e se L a n g u a g e, E n g l i sh L a n g u a g e, French, o r Ge r ma n ), a nd t o o b t a in i n one s i t t i ng of the H o n g K o n g A d v a n c ed Level E x am i n a t i on ( H K A L E) grade E or above i n A d v a n c edSupplementary Culture, and i n Advanced Supplementary Level Use of English. According to statistics on the entrance examination results of the 1997 and 1998 intakes, all students w i th main round offers met the m i n i m um language requirements of the University. The percentage of students obtaining grade C or above i n AS Chinese Language & Culture and HKCEE Chinese L a n g u a ge i s f u r t h e r m o re the h i g h e st a m o n g a ll t e r t i a ry i n s t i t u t i o ns i n the territory. F r om this one can see that the U n i v e r s i ty has never d e v i a t ed f r om its language policy. Percentag e o fStudent s Obtainin g Grad e Co rabov e i nChines e an d Englis h Subject 1997 intake 1998 intake AS Chinese Language & Culture 4 6 . 8 8% 4 8 . 5 4% AS Use of English 4 0 . 7 2% 4 3 . 3 3% HKCEE Chinese Language 78.20% 78.70% HKCEE English Language 4 7 . 5 4% 50.93%