The Hong Kong Education Bureau has implemented various measures to support the integration of South Asian ethnic minorities into local communities. One such measure is providing Chinese language education in primary and secondary schools, as proficiency in Chinese is considered crucial for social mobility. The measure has been implemented for a decade; positive outcomes are to be expected. However, official data about the Chinese proficiency level of South Asian ethnic minorities is limited. With the increase in the number of South Asian students from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri-Lanka successfully entering higher education institutions in Hong Kong, there is a need for language teachers to find out more about the current situation of this learner group and reflect on current curriculum and pedagogy. This study investigates the issues of reading acquisition of South Asian students, aged 18 to 22, and from various academic disciplines, with prior knowledge of traditional Chinese characters and Cantonese, in an English as a medium of instruction Hong Kong university in their Chinese language learning, specifically in intermediate Chinese reading and writing courses. Preliminary results show that the South Asian students acknowledge the advantage of their prior knowledge, that is, understanding of radicals and the full handwriting ability of a traditional characters, while having some difficulties in recognising simplified characters such as characters which are totally different in form. Practitioners can enhance their awareness and understanding of students’ learning backgrounds and difficulties to facilitate their learning. Additionally, relevant learning materials, such as comparisons of traditional and simplified radicals and the basic rules for Chinese character conversion could be supplemented to assist students.

READING ACQUISITION AND REFLECTIONS AMONG SOUTH ASIAN STUDENTS AT TERTIARY LEVEL IN HONG KONG

ZHOU Tong, lczhoutong@ust.hk, and CHAN Lam Yim, lccrystal@ust.hk

ABSTRACT 

The Hong Kong Education Bureau has promoted Chinese language education for South Asian ethnic minorities to support social integration. Although these measures have been implemented for a decade, there is still limited official data on the Chinese proficiency of this group. With increasing numbers of South Asian students entering Hong Kong's higher education institutions, there is a growing need to understand their learning situation and improve teaching approaches.

This study examines reading acquisition among South Asian undergraduates with prior knowledge of traditional Chinese characters and Cantonese. Preliminary findings indicate that while students benefit from their understanding of character radicals and ability to write traditional characters, they face challenges in recognizing simplified characters, particularly those significantly different in form. The study suggests that teachers should better understand students' linguistic backgrounds and provide targeted support, such as comparative materials on traditional and simplified characters and conversion rules.

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To cater to the varied learning backgrounds, needs and diverse proficiency levels of the non-Chinese background students at the HK University of Science, since June 2021 onwards, the Center for Language Education has been designing the new Chinese curriculum. The new curriculum offers three speaking and listening courses and two reading and writing courses based on the results of the needs analysis. In order to boost students’ spirit of inquiry and facilitate collaborative and self-directed learning, blended learning is adopted in the instructional design of the five new courses. This study will introduce the blended learning design of the five courses including the course design process, the models and technology used, and will explore the challenges that the course developers are meeting in the design process.