Beyond Pedagogy: Hong Kong Identity by Elaine Chan
English has been categorized as an official language in many sub-Saharan countries. It has been given priority in most foreign countries because it is used in formal communications. Besides, it has been granted a global position of lingua franca. according to recent statistics, approximately 1/3 billion of the world population use English as their formal language. Therefore, the reunification of Hong Kong government and the republic of Chinese in 1997, led to the Hong Kong government introducing guidelines that would support the transition from English to Chinese mother-tongue, in junior secondary education. According to Elaine Chan article, Hong society rejected this government proposal. Notably, this paper aims to analyses the reasons behind the Hong Kong society objection towards this government decision.
According to Elaine Chan, the Hong Kong government decided to persuade its society on acceptance of Chinese mother-tongue on the education of instructional grounds was true of no advantage. She argues that it is because the English language has become part of the general constitution of the society (Chan 2002). Therefore, the government acted inappropriately by acting insensitively to the nature and social functions of the language. Elaine supports her argument by stating that, at the individual level of Hongkongers, English had become part of the cultural and symbolic capital at the community level (Chan 2002). Besides, it distinguishes them from their equivalents in the Republic of Chinese. To sum up, English is very crucial to Hong Kong citizens because the distinction is something that they cherish ever since the reunification since it helps them maintain a separate identity from their motherland.
Additionally, Chan argues that according to an online publication of 2012, neo-colonialism, schools acknowledging great English in teaching and expansionism is an important emphasis in examination policies towards training language discussions for students in Hong Kong (Chan 2002). She argues that English is used because it has values such as; respect, has international value and it supports objective oriented curriculum, which the Education bureau brought to change the needs of the labour force. Chan in her article claim that such government claims reflect participant’s political interventions that might take over education discussions. However, she concludes that despite the established qualities of mother-tongue, it may never be accepted by the public in Hong Kong as the main language of teaching.
I strongly agree with Elaine Chain that the government acted insensitively by making such plans without considering how the individuals would feel. English is an important language in modern society because it has bestowed an economic advantage and Hong Kong development into a global Centre of commerce. It is considered as the main international language and therefore, those that are familiar with it can get assistance from other parts of the world. Hence, the government of Hong Kong making such a decision without an individual’s consultation was its biggest failure. This is because Hongkongers cherish the English language and to them, it distinguished them from their motherland.
In conclusion, the government of Hong Kong was wrong to decide to transition from English to Chinese mother-tongue. This is because the Hong Kong people cherished the English language since it marked as an identity from the Chines republicans. Also English has gained respect and it is used as an international language. Therefore, every individual that is familiar with it has an advantage of travelling around the world and getting assistance from other countries. English has been recognized as a crucial language in nurturing education and also, as a serious factor in associations in the societies.
Works Cited
Chan, Elaine. “Beyond pedagogy: Language and identity in post-colonial Hong Kong.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 23.2 (2002): 271-285.