Case Study 3: School C

Abstract

This chapter provides the description of the third case study school. The chapter describes the school’s demography, the background of its students and an overview of the school’s medium of instruction policies, illustrating which language is used to teach which subject and at which levels. The chapter also provides samples of lesson transcriptions and their analysis using discourse analysis showing when code-mixing or code-switching is used in the lessons. The chapter also includes samples of the responses and views of the stakeholders interviewed and a discussion of these.

8.1 School Information

Located in Kowloon, School C is a boys’ school. It has a long history, being established in 1930. The language policy in the school has changed several times throughout the years. Prior to the 1970s, School C was an Anglo-Chinese School. In 1970, as with many schools in Hong Kong, it offered both morning and afternoon sessions to different sets of pupils. English was used as the MoI in the A.M. Session while Chinese was used in the P.M. Session. The curriculum for both sessions was unified in 1972, with Chinese as the medium of instruction. In September 2008, Putonghua became the MoI for the Chinese Language subject for P2, gradually becoming the MoI for P2. Cantonese remained the MoI of P1. In 2014, there was a further change with Putonghua becoming the MoI for the Chinese Language subject for P1–P4, and Cantonese returning as the MoI for P5–P6.

The results of our survey showed that the students in School C were 100% local Hongkongers. Cantonese was the MoI for the teaching of the Chinese Language subject for P1, while Putonghua was used for P2–P6 (the survey was conducted before the change noted above was implemented). Teachers have the freedom to switch between the two languages in class. For the English subject, almost 100% English was used as the MoI and almost 100% Putonghua was used as the MoI in the Putonghua subject. As for other subjects (Mathematics, General Studies, Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education and Information Technology), Cantonese was used as the MoI. The survey also indicated that finding suitably qualified teaching staff was the worst problem encountered during the implementation of trilingual education in School C.

We collected data in the school for the case study from September to November 2014, which is when the language policy regarding the use of the MoI in the Chinese Language subject changed: Putonghua was now used for P1–P4, while Cantonese was used for P5–P6. The MoI for English, and other subjects remained unchanged as shown in Table 8.1.

Table 8.1 Official MoI policies of the school

8.2 Results and Discussions

8.2.1 Data Analysis of Classroom Discourse and Teachers’ Reflection Forms

We video-taped and transcribed seven 35-minute-long lessons (see Table 8.2) to analyse what actually happens in different lessons taught in different MoIs. The teachers, whose lessons had been observed and video-taped, filled in the Teacher’s Reflection Form.

Table 8.2 The information of recorded lessons in School C

A Chinese Language subject teacher stated in his Reflection Form that code-switching is not allowed in language learning and Cantonese was the best language for communication among students in the Chinese Language lessons. Most language teachers did not code-mix in teaching, except in the Chinese Language lesson in P2 (Table 8.2). Although the MoI of the Chinese Language subject was Putonghua in P2, the teacher used Cantonese (14.8%) in the video recording (Table 8.3); in the reflection form the teacher recalled Cantonese usage at 20% (Table 8.4). This teacher reported using Cantonese as a supplement to Putonghua in teaching the Chinese Language subject because he wanted to ensure that students with low proficiency in Putonghua could understand.

I mainly used Putonghua which is supplemented by Cantonese in my teaching. The aim is to ensure students with low proficiency in Putonghua can understand my teaching.

Table 8.3 Analysis of code-switching/code-mixing of the recorded lessons in School C

Table 8.4 Percentage of language(s) used by teachers in the recorded lessons in School C

The teacher usually called out the students’ names and students’ numbers in Cantonese and allowed his students to answer his questions in Cantonese and then he would repeat the students’ answers in Putonghua. In addition, he would use mixed code between Putonghua and Cantonese when he wanted to show the students the different expressions to describe the same situation in the two languages. Below is the transcription of his lesson:

(Cantonese is in bold and explanations and translations in English are given in [bold and italics] and pseudonyms are used for the teacher and students’ names, and the Chinese names are underlined.)

• T: 各位同學,午安!

• S: 張老師午安。

• T: 坐下。同學其實我呢有張工作紙派比你地。 [I have a worksheet for you]今天我們要教新的語文知識。在教語文知識之前,我們先對一對細菌單元後面的綜合語文重點知識讀解。現在請打開第39頁,39頁。(S翻書)好有沒有同學沒有打開39頁啊?

• S: 沒有。

• T: 39頁,我們先看一看細菌打敗小豆丁的方法。小豆丁就是什麼東西?就是小朋友對不對?

• S: 對。

• T: 好,一句就可以了。現在我們先看看細菌打敗小豆丁的方法。先…先怎麼樣?他們的嘴巴?有沒有人可以試一試?先…好這一個我給你。先走進他們的嘴巴對不對,我們的課本裡面都有的。現在大家一起寫:先走進他們的嘴巴,再溜進他們的哪裡啊?阿傑,哪裡?再溜進他們的什麼地方?阿傑?再溜進他們的什麼地方?

• S: (silent)

• T: 有沒有人可以幫他?

• S: 肚子。

• T: 肚子。沒錯,再溜進他們的肚子裡。我們的課本裡面都有寫哦。同學們,我們上一課已經讀完課文了,我們應該要知道,細菌是怎麼令小朋友生病的。溜進他們的肚子裡面,然後細菌會複製,是不是?一個變兩個,兩個變四個,四個變八個,這叫做什麼?努力生養。偉豪,生養什麼?

• S: 生養細菌。

• T: 生養細菌。在我們的課文裡面,它叫做什麼?

• S: 小菌子。

• T: 小菌子,沒錯,小菌子。努力生養小菌子。(S 填空)這就是細菌打敗小豆丁的方法。好,有沒有人沒有寫完?沒有寫完的舉手。全部都寫完了。好,我們看看下面,就是小豆丁,為什麼他會被對付呢?第一點,我們課文裡面已經說了,小豆丁他有什麼地方,什麼地方是特別容易被細菌對付的呢?首先是什麼?小孩比誰都容易對付。然後呢?然後什麼?小孩比誰都容易對付。下一個是什麼?是什麼?有沒有人可以回答?不用害怕,雖然有老師在後面看。來, 嘉樂 。

• S: 髒的像豬。

• T: 髒的像豬。像豬,沒錯。髒的像豬。首先他是髒對不對?除了髒呢?還有什麼?下面那一句是什麼?小孩的抵抗力很差。所以是什麼?欣琪 。

• S: ……

• T: 大聲一點。大聲一點,我聽不到。要吾要? [you need or not?] 不要?這個嗎?不要亂舉手啊。是軟弱。軟弱。軟弱的像豆腐,對不對?像豆腐。軟弱怎麼寫?髒怎麼寫?我們的課文裡面,有髒這個字,髒,在我們的運用詞語,就有髒這個字。髒,還有軟弱。小孩都很髒,沒有洗手就吃飯,所以那些細菌呢,就全都,全都在他們手上。然後呢吃東西的時候呢,細菌就會進入他的肚子。而且呢,小孩又特別軟弱,他們的抵抗力很差勁,我說過我們的身體裡面有什麼?可以打敗細菌的那是什麼?高美美,你可以用廣東話回答。

• S: 白血球 [ white blood cell] 。(student answered in Cantonese)

• T: 沒錯,白血球 (teacher repeated student’s answer in Cantonese)。是白血球,它在我們的身體裡面幫我們打敗細菌對不對?但是小孩的白血球呢就很弱,所以呢,就很軟弱了。然後不愛看病,討厭什麼?討厭什麼?

• S: 打針。

• T: 另外一個同學回答,欣彤,討厭什麼?討厭什麼?你平常討厭什麼?

• S: 吃藥。

• T: 沒錯,討厭吃藥。討厭吃藥和打針。好。

• (S 填空)

• T: 好我們已經…有沒有人沒有寫完?

• S: 我…

• T: 快點。

• (S填空)

• T: 好,應該大家都寫完了。我們呢,現在下去下一頁。翻開下一頁。下一頁是什麼?是語文運用。語文運用呢,語文運用今天我們首先要教的是動詞的重疊。我們之前已經教過什麼是動詞對不對?就是有動作的詞語。好像拿、握、打,那些都是動詞。不過呢,動詞除了可以一個一個 地說,我們也可以兩個,或者用動一動、拿一拿這些方法來說。但是,有什麼分別呢?現在就跟大家看一看。那這個碰一碰、摸一摸到底它的時間跟平常的摸有什麼分別呢?好,我想請一位同學出來示範一下什麼叫摸一摸,什麼叫做摸。我們抽一抽。現在我抽。17號,17號 [ student’s number ]。誰?出來。好,然後我再抽一個。這個是…13號 [ student’s number ]。快,出來。現在呢,我想請,馬可,你摸一下慧詩的手。(S摸手)好,摸了,摸完了摸完了。現在,我想請慧詩,你摸一摸馬可的手。摸一摸。(S摸手)好像不是這樣喔。有誰可以幫慧詩嗎?啊,西蒙 。快點快點。 [quick]快點。你摸一摸馬可的手。(S摸一摸手)好,大家可以看見,剛才呢馬可摸慧詩之後,我叫他摸,他就是這樣對不對?然後呢,西蒙摸一摸馬可就是這樣,就完了。所以…好,可以回去,可以回去。好所以我們可以看見,哪個比較長呢?是摸比較長,還是摸一摸呢?覺得是摸比較長的,請舉手。摸比較長,時間比較長的,請舉手。剛才,摸是什麼樣的?是拿著不動,是不是?是不是?摸是拿著不動。摸一摸,是不是?好,那我現在再問一次。你覺得,摸比較長的,請舉手。舉手。(S舉手)好,有很多人啊,好放下手。覺得是摸一摸比較長的,請舉手。嗯,沒有了啊。沒錯,所以我們可以看見,摸一摸,就是就是我們廣東話掂一掂 [touch] ,對不對?摸呢,就是我們廣東話,掂住啊嘛 [touch in Cantonese] 。掂,我掂,但是呢,可能可以掂好耐嘅,摸一摸,就是掂一掂,掂一掂呢就是咁樣。 [this is how we touch]你看見一壺水很熱的時候,你會碰一碰對不對?你不會碰…如果你碰的話,就怎麼樣?熟了對不對?可以吃了。你只可以碰一碰。碰一碰時間就比較短了。好,現在我們知道了,如果時間很短的話呢,而且還有一個試一下的目的,你看見水很熱,試一下就是摸一摸,對不對?我們可以加一個一字。好像看這個例子,媽媽煮的菜味道很好,你來嘗一嘗。嘗一嘗是不是指叫你全部都吃下去?是不是?是不是叫你全部都吃下去?振宇 ,嘗一嘗是全部都吃下去還是吃一點?

• S: ……

• T; 有沒有人可以幫他?振宇 。

• S: 吃一點。

• T: 吃一點,沒錯。嘗一嘗就是吃一點。這個時間比較短的,而且呢,還有一個想試一試的那個意思。好我們現在呢,就翻到書的第40頁。這些都是很容易的,對我們班的同學來說。好第一題,我們看一看第一題。那兒傳來一陣熱鬧的叫喊聲,我們過去看一看吧。看一看是叫你在那裡一直看著,還是這樣看一看就走了?有沒有人可以回答?我現在想請同學扮一個,扮演一個看一看的內容做給我看。19號,是誰?好。振興 ,過來 [come over] 。扮演一個看一看的動作,然後就坐回去。

• (S扮演)

• T: 大家覺得他扮演的對不對?覺得對的舉手。對的舉手。(S舉手)那麼少。有誰覺得他不對的?不對的舉手。(S舉手)好好偉強過來。你覺得他不對,那看一看應該是怎麼樣的呢?看一看應該是怎麼樣的?看一看,現在扮演一下。怎麼樣?看一看應該是怎麼樣的?(S扮演)這樣是看一看啊?這樣。好。覺得偉強 是啱的請舉手。[ put up your hand if you think Wai Keung is correct ](S舉手)好像比較少哦。對,其實振興是對的。大家看他走出來的時候是這樣的,看一看就走了對不對?沒錯,看一看就是說你看一下,看的時間很短,不是叫你站在那裡慢慢看。這個叫做慢慢看是不是?好,現在我們知道它的分別了,看看第一題:公園裡有人表演唱歌,讓我……下面我們找一個詞語。有沒有可以回答第一題?婷婷 。

• S: 聽一聽。

• T: 聽一聽。是不是呢?沒錯。聽一聽是什麼曲子。就是讓你聽一下,不是讓你坐在那裡慢慢聽。聽一聽就是聽一下而已。好,第二題。有了電燈真方便,我們只要什麼開關扭,房間就立即亮起來。我抽一個同學。29號。是誰?又是 振宇 [Tsang Yu again?] 。好。不用你回答了,你回答的太多。這個是五號。五號是誰?偉勁 。好,這一題,是什麼?有了電燈真方便。站起來回答。

• S: 按一按。

• T: 按一按。不過是同學告訴你的是不是?按一按,按一按就是按一下對不對?不是按著不走。好,按一按開關扭,房間便立即亮起來。同學們要積極回答問題,唔使驚嘅。[ don’t be afraid ]按一按開關扭,房間呢便立即亮起來了。好,如果我說,如果我說,正浩你過來按這個開關。坐下坐下,我只是舉例。按著,按著就是按著不動對不對?不能走,一直按著。那麼按一按就是按一下,按一按,是不是?

• S: 對。

• T: 再按一按。好,我們看第三題。比賽前,你要先跟他什麼需要遵守什麼規則。我們看一看啊。這裡用什麼字?第三題應該用什麼字呢?比賽前我們有句話叫什麼呢?比賽前我們要…先小人後君子是不是?先講清楚我地有啲咩規矩,跟住先去比賽嘅嘛,你同啲小朋友玩,玩僕哩哩,咁喺唔喺要講下僕嘅時間有幾耐,捉嘅時間有幾耐,喺唔喺?要講清楚的。咁所以…[ if you play hide-and-seek with friends, we need to make the rules clear before the game, e.g., how long you will hide before you seek your friends] 所以這一題是什麼呢?這一題?

• S: 看一看。

• T: 看一看。你要先跟他看一看什麼規則?規則可以看的嗎?規則平常我們都是怎麼樣?志強。

• S: 說一說。

• T: 沒錯,說一說。對不對?假如子吉 揾你僕哩哩,你要先同他講埋點樣僕啊嘛,系唔系啊?點樣玩,講清楚先玩嘅嘛,雖然我哋幫所有人睇住哩哩,系唔系? [you have to tell others how to play hide-and-seek before you start the game, right?] 好,這一題就是說一說。說一說要遵守什麼規則。好,第四題,橡皮不見了,你快點怎麼樣。我們看一看前面的看、摸、想、按、聽、說。橡皮不見了,你快點把它放到哪去。應該選哪一個呢?你的東西不見了,東西不見的時候,你首先是怎麼樣?首先你們怎麼樣?如果你的東西不見了,你會怎麼樣?如果你嘅嘢唔見左,首先你會點做啊?[ what would you do if you lose something? ]

• S: 諗下系邊。[ think over where I lost it ]

• T: 諗下系邊。諗下,冇錯了。[ right, you have to think where you lost it ] 他已經說了答案。廣東話嘅諗下啦,就是普通話的想一想。想一想。普通話裡面是沒有想下,冇諗下 呢個詞嘅。想一想,或者想一下,但是沒有想下,我地廣東話就可以講諗下,普通話就冇諗下呢個詞嘅。 (Teahcer used Cantonese and Puonghua to show the students the different expressions to describe the same situation as ‘let me think’ in English.) 想一想。好,第五題。你的小狗真乖巧,我可以怎麼樣?我可以看一看它,對不對?我可以想一想它,對不對?可以按一按它,對不對?如果你按它,它會怎麼樣?它會咬你,對不對?我可以聽一聽它,不是。我可以說一說它,也不是。所以一定是摸一摸它。我可以摸一摸它嗎?好,很容易是不是?這個呢,就是動詞的重疊,是比較容易的。有沒有人沒有寫完的?

• S: 我。

• T: 快點。

• (S填空)

• T: 好現在應該全部同學都寫完了,我們現在就去一個比較難一點的語文應用,到底是什麼呢?有沒有人沒有寫完?

• S: 有。

• T: 沒有了,全部都寫完了,好我們現在看看下一頁。這是誰,大家都知道,他是……

• S: (雜音)

• T: 不要你自己說,我要你舉手告訴我。家浩,他是誰?

• S: 多啦A夢。 [Doraemon ] (student answered in Cantonese)

• T: 多啦A夢,(teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese) 我們也可以叫他做什麼?他又另外一個名字叫什麼? 叮噹,對不對?老師經常都叫他叮噹,因為老師小的時候他的名字就叫叮噹,沒有叫他哆啦A夢的,現在才叫他哆啦A夢。好,我想問,老師拿這個哆啦A夢,拿這個叮噹的樣子給大家看呢,是想問,你覺得他的臉像一個什麼?可不可以說,他的臉像一個……像什麼,有沒有人回答?Peter,他的臉像什麼?

• S: (小聲)

• T: 聽不到,大聲一點

• S: (Mr. Happy?)

• T: 我聽不清楚,你可以說廣東話嗎?

• S: Mr. Happy?

• T: Mr. Happy? 老師不認識Mr. Happy… 我們可以有另外的答案嗎?好,大家覺得叮噹的臉像一個什麼?保羅,像什麼?

• S: 足球 [ football ]

• T: 像一個足球,好還有其他答案嗎?淑芬,像什麼,他的臉?

• S: 狸貓 [ civet cat ]

• T: 狸貓,我知道,我知道叮噹佢係一隻狸貓,但係我宜家係問佢塊面似咩嘢?Jack?

• S: 似一頂帽 [ look like a hat ]

• T: 似一頂帽?(teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• S: 因為佢系圓形的嘛。[ because it is circular in shape]

• T: 圓形。 (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 好還有其他答案嗎?慧嫻,像什麼?

• S: 小丑。

• T: 嗯?你可以說廣東話嗎?[Can you speak in Cantonese?]

• S: 小丑。[ clown]

• T: 小丑, (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 因為小丑有個紅色的鼻系唔系?系,啱咧我宜家想講的其實系佢塊面咧圓碌碌,到底系似咩嘢咧?我覺得佢似一個籃球。系唔系呀? [Is it because a clown has a red nose? But I want to say it has a round face. What is it? Is it a basketball?]

• S: (雜音)

• T: 噓!

• S: (雜音)

• T: 啱笑咧我地上唔到堂咯。我知系開心,開心笑一下得了,唔好系啱系度笑。好,[ ok, I know you laugh because you are happy but don’t laugh too much as we need to continue our lesson ]像一個籃球對不對?好,如果我說他像一個香蕉呢?大家覺得像不像香蕉?

• S: 不像

• T: 為什麼呢?大家對香蕉還有籃球的反應不同呢?因為籃球它是圓的對不對?而叮噹的臉也是圓的,所以他們有一個共同的地方。我們叫它做共同點,對不對? 共同點,就是他們一樣的地方,共同點 [one similarity] 就是他們有一個相同的東西,相同的東西,是圓的,他們都是圓的,所以,叮噹的頭像籃球,對不對?但是,叮噹的臉是圓的……叮噹的臉是圓的,但是香蕉不是圓的,對不對?它是長的,所以他們兩個之間,他們兩個中間有沒有共同點?

• S: 沒有

• T: 沒有,沒錯。所以,他們,我們就不可以說,叮噹的臉像香蕉了,這就是,這就是一個什麼……我們叫他做……如果我說叮噹的頭像籃球,這是一個什麼句子?有沒有人可以告訴我,這是什麼句子?呢個系咩嘢句子?[ What is the sentence pattern?] 叮噹個頭似籃球,呢個系咩嘢句子啊? [what is the sentence pattern of this: ‘the head of Doraemon looks like a basketball’?] 忠誠 ? 嗯?我地宜家教緊的系咩啊?修辭,咩呀?43頁。修辭……唔系,系41頁,修辭比喻啊系唔系? [we are now learning rhetoric, is it a simile?] 就是比喻句,我們要教的就是比喻,把叮噹的頭比喻成籃球,這就是比喻句。好,我想問,現在再考大家一下,再考大家一下,有沒有人知道他是誰?舉手,你們不認識他嗎?舉手!

• S: 認識

• T: 認識,他叫什麼名字?

• S: (小聲)

• T: 再說一次,廣東話點講啊?[ How do you say it in Cantonese?]

• S: 星星。 [stars]

• T: 星星, (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 佢系邊一部卡通片嘅啊?系啦,佢就系海綿寶寶嘅,佢系海綿寶寶裡面的,咩野名啊?有冇人知道啊?你地看卡通片嘅。[ does anyone know his name in a cartoon called’SpongeBob’? ]

• S: 派大星。 [Patrick Star]

• T: 派大星, (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 派大星其實佢系邊種動物啊,大家知不知道? [what kind of animal is Patrick Star? ]

• S: 海星。 [starfish]

• T: 佢系海星。 (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 系啦。佢就系海星。大家見到佢。[ yes, so you see it is a starfish] 一個角,兩個角,三個角,四個角,五個角對不對?海星就是五個角的。好,噓…好,那麼,他的頭呢?大家覺得像什麼東西?我是說他的頭…他的頭像什麼東西?呃,曉倫 。

• S: (小聲)

• T: 聽不到。你可以說廣東話。是什麼?

• S: 火箭。 [rocket]

• T: 火箭。 (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 嗯,他說像火箭。呃小宇,他像什麼?他的頭像什麼?有沒有人可以幫一下小宇?志明,你說。

• S: 香蕉。

• T: 像香蕉。嗯,火箭還有香蕉。火箭還有香蕉。還有什麼?還有什麼?

• S: (小聲)

• T: 聽不到。

• S: 箭。 [arrow]

• T: 箭。弓箭。 (teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• 對不對?好,剛才呢,我們聽了幾個同學…好,剛才我們聽了幾個答案,火箭,弓箭,還有香蕉。大家覺得他的頭是不是尖的?他的頭是尖的對不對?所以呢很多同學都用一些尖的東西來比喻他。看老師想到什麼呢。我覺得他的頭呢很像一把刀。對不對?也是尖的。也是尖的。好,這就是一個比喻句。派大星是不是。派大星 [Patrick Star] 。派大星 [Patrick Star] 。他的頭像一把刀。他們的共同點是什麼?

• S: 尖的。

• T: 尖的。他的共同點是尖的。剛才呢,就是圓的。叮噹的頭是圓的。現在派大星…海星和刀的共同點,就是尖。好,如果我說,海星的頭像一個海綿。覺得正確的請舉手。覺得正確的請舉手。覺得錯的請舉手。沒錯。他就是根本就不像對不對?他的中間有沒有共同點?

• S: 沒有。

• T: 沒有。根本就沒有共同點。這個海綿它是一個方的對不對?系方嘅。 [it is square] 但是它是尖的。所以他們中間呢就沒有共同點。所以我們就不可以說它尖。不可以說它的頭像海綿了。好,這就是我們要說的比喻句。大家可以看到呢,比喻一定要中間有共同點。共同點。例如我們班有一些同學的頭比較圓對不對?有沒有人的頭比較圓?偉倫的頭挺圓的對不對。我們可以說偉倫的頭像叮噹的頭對不對?但是,可不可以說他的頭像海星的頭?不可以。因為他們的頭根本就沒有共同點。根本就不尖對不對?好,現在我們知道什麼是比喻句了。比喻句需要有共同點,大家也知道了。現在讓我們看一看下一個。這就是我們要教的比喻。比喻呢就是說用相同的東西來描述…來比喻另一個東西。南瓜和太陽。南瓜和太陽呢,都是圓的對不對?而且呢,也是紅紅的。所以呢我們也可以說,太陽像一個大南瓜,對不對?這呢,就是叫做比喻了。好,除了樣子之外,我們還可以用什麼來做比喻呢?我地平時做嘅比喻嘞,就系樣,叮噹嘅頭圓嘅,海星嘅頭尖嘅,所以佢一個似波,一個似刀,但是呢,其實我地仲可以用其他嘢來做比喻,唔一定系個樣嘅,仲有其他嘢。 [in similes, the head of Doraemon is round like a ball, the head of the starfish is pointed like a knife, any other similes?] 好, 明明,有什麼東西可以用來作比喻?

• S: (小聲)

• T: 聽不到。

• S: 桌子。

• T: 我是說,除了樣子之外,桌子也是有樣子的對不對?但是,除了樣子,我們其實也可以用其他東西來作比喻的,有沒有?

• S: 豆腐像海綿一樣軟弱。

• T: 豆腐像海綿一樣軟弱。豆腐跟海綿的樣子不同,是不是?但是他們有一個相同點,就是軟弱。這個呢,是靠眼睛看不出來的,要我們瞭解這樣東西,才會知道的。這種比喻呢…這種比喻呢就更好了。好現在呢,老師也想給你看一看比喻,看一看另外一個比喻。這是什麼?有沒有人是認識這種動物的?請舉手。認識動物…認識它嗎?好,有沒有人可以說一說它的特點?有沒有人可以說一說它的特點?啊,成成 。你起來。

• S: 它跑得很快。

• T: 它跑得很快。你知道它可以跑多少公里嗎?知道嗎?有沒有人可以幫助他?

• S: 二百幾公里。 [around 200 km]

• T: 二百幾。好。(teacher repeated student’s answer in Canontese)

• S: 二百八十。

• T: 沒有。沒有二百八十。有人知道嗎?有人知道嗎?

• S: 一百一十公里。 [110 km]

• T: 啊,他知道。你在哪裡知道的?怎麼知道的?

• S: 屋企有本書。 [I have the related book at home]

• T: 就是說動物的書是不是?沒錯,獵豹呢是…獵豹它是世界上跑得最快的動物,它每個小時可以跑一百一十公里。一百一十公里呢,聽起來好像不是很多對不對?一百一十公里聽起來好像不是很多,但是你知道我們小朋友最多可以跑多少嗎?知道嗎?一個小時。知道嗎?

• S: 十公里。

• T: 沒錯,我們小朋友呢,一個小時只能跑十幾公里,但是獵豹一個小時它可以跑一百一十公里。就算是大人,就算是一個參加比賽的大人,他最多只可以跑二十幾公里,二十幾三十。但是,就算奧運攞金牌果啲選手,奧運攞金牌嘅,佢都系跑三十幾公里。但是呢,佢就可以跑一百一十,所以大家可以見到有幾快嘅喔。系唔系? [Even the Olmpic gold medal winners can run only around 30 km (in one hour), but it (Cheetah) can run 110 km. it’s fast, isn’t it?] 好,那些鹿呢,鹿最多可以跑九十幾公里,所以呢鹿就不夠它快,所以經常呢都被它捉到。如果你們有看電視的話,就會看見獵豹通常都可以很輕易地捉到那些獵物,因為沒有一種獵物呢比它跑得快。好,老師為什麼要給獵豹大家看呢?

P2 students were the only students who code-switched between Putonghua and Cantonese in the Chinese Language lesson. As reflected by the teacher (see Table 8.5), students used more Cantonese (70%) than Putonghua when interacting with him. For example:

• T: 認識,他叫什麼名字?

• S: (小聲)

• T: 再說一次,廣東話點講啊?

• S: 星星。

• T: 星星,佢系邊一部卡通片嘅啊?系啦,佢就系海綿寶寶嘅,佢系海綿寶寶裡面的,咩野名啊?有冇人知道啊?你地看卡通片嘅。

• S: 派大星。

• T: 派大星,其實佢系邊種動物啊,大家知不知道?

• S: 海星。

• T: 佢系海星。系啦。佢就系海星。大家見到佢。一個角,兩個角,三個角,四個角,五個角對不對?海星就是五個角的。好,噓…好,那麼,他的頭呢?大家覺得像什麼東西?我是說他的頭…他的頭像什麼東西?

• (the dialogues above are all in Cantonese even though it is a Putonghua subject lesson)

Table 8.5 Percentage of language(s) used by students when interacting with teachers in the recorded lessons

In general, the teachers, especially the language teachers, did not code-mix while teaching. For example, the Chinese Language teacher reflected that “Code-switching is not allowed in language teaching and Cantonese is the best language for communication among students in the Chinese language lessons”. The English Language subject teachers and the Putonghua subject teachers agreed that a rich language environment could facilitate students’ language learning. For example, the following comparable views were expressed by both English Language subject teachers in their reflection forms:

• English Language subject teacher 1: I aim at providing my students with an accurate model of the English language by letting them immerse in an English speaking classroom environment.

• English Language subject teacher 2: English Language lessons are the only chance that my students can speak in English since all of their mother tongue is Cantonese. Though mother-tongue teaching is more effective, it does not apply in language teaching. I believe that a language-rich environment is very important for learning English.

• Putonghua subject teacher: I only used Putonghua because the students have the language proficiency to communicate in Putonghua so that the lessons can go smoothly. My students are used to and are confident of using Putonghua to communicate. There is no such necessity to code-switch. I persist in using Putonghua in the teaching of the Putonghua language to promote trilingual education.

However, the English Language subject teacher teaching P1 English pointed out in the reflection form that she would use Cantonese as a supplement if her students encountered difficulties in understanding her instructions.

• I will make use of Cantonese as a supplement if students encounter any difficulties in understanding my instructions.

As all the students in School C were 100% local HongKongers, the teachers teaching other subjects all agreed students would learn best in their mother tongue and so they would not code-mix in their teaching. For instance, as the teacher teaching P1 General Studies stated in her reflection form:

• I will not because Cantonese is the mother tongue of my students and they can easily understand the content in Cantonese.

As a whole, code-mixing was not significant in School C as the MoI of most of the subjects was Cantonese and all the students were L1 speakers of Cantonese.

8.2.2 Students’ Questionnaire Survey and Focus Group Interview

8.2.2.1 Questionnaire Survey

A 5-point Likert scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree) questionnaire survey was designed to collect students’ perceptions of the trilingual education model implemented in the school. All together 193 primary 4 to primary 6 students were surveyed (P4: 58, P5: 67, P6: 68). In the questionnaire, item 4 to item 7 are about students’ perceptions of code-mixing. Figure 8.1 shows the mean and standard deviation plot of the survey results of item 4 – item 7.

Fig. 8.1

Mean and standard deviation plot of item 4-item 7 of the student survey

The students gave the highest mean to item 7 (I find it acceptable switching from one language to another when studying different subjects in the school), with the second largest standard deviation in which students’ opinions were a little varied, with around 30% of students strongly agreeing, and around 10% strongly disagreeing. Item 6 (I find myself code-switching between Cantonese and Putonghua regularly during the study of the Chinese Language subject) received the lowest mean with the largest standard deviation. Students’ opinions on this item varied. Twenty percent strongly agreed and 20% strongly disagreed (Fig. 8.2).

Fig. 8.2

Mean and standard deviation plot of item 8-item 12 of the student survey

Item 11 (I am happy with my progress in the study of Cantonese) was ranked the first with the highest mean score and the smallest standard deviation, while around 50% of the students strongly agreed, only around 3% strongly disagreed. The students’ opinions varied for item 12 (I am happy with my progress in the study of Putonghua) as its mean was the second lowest with the largest standard deviation. Around 25% strongly agreed, and around 12% strongly disagreed. Students in the school also showed their different opinions on item 10 (I am satisfied with my progress in the study of spoken English). Its mean score was the lowest and its standard deviation was the second largest, with around 26% strongly agreeing, and around 9% strongly disagreeing (Fig. 8.3).

Fig. 8.3

Mean and standard deviation plot of item 13-item 17 of the student survey

The students ranked item 16 (I am confident that when I graduate I will achieve good proficiency in Cantonese) the highest and their opinions were shared, while around 49% strongly agreeing and only some 3% strongly disagreeing. Item 17 (I am confident that when I graduate I will achieve good proficiency in Putonghua) received the lowest mean score and the largest standard deviation. This shows the students’ opinions were varied about this. Some 29% of them strongly agreed and around 11% strongly disagreed.

8.2.2.2 Focus Group Interview

Eight students from P4 to P6 participated in the Focus Group Interview. The P5-P6 interviewees (six out of the eight) said that they preferred using Cantonese in the study of the Chinese Language subject and this may explain the reason why students of this school enjoyed the trilingual education the least of all the schools surveyed. An interviewee said, “I preferred using Cantonese in the study of the Chinese Language subject. If Putonghua was used, some classmates would find the lesson boring and became inattentive or fell asleep. Some even failed to answer the teacher’s questions, affecting their academic results and thus their learning attitude became worse. This year the situation is improved as Cantonese is used”. Another added, “Using Cantonese to learn the Chinese Language subject is better. Because some students could not understand the teacher when using Putonghua”. “Some students could not understand well when using Putonghua in learning the subject, especially in dictation, they could not write down the correct words due to their misunderstanding of the words, affecting their results” said by the other student.

Not many students from the school found code-mixing acceptable. There are possible reasons for this. First, all the students in School C are local Hongkongers. Second, Cantonese is the major MoI in most subjects in the school. Third, teachers insist on using almost 100% English in English Language lessons and almost 100% Putonghua in Chinese Language subject lessons (P1-P4) and in Putonghua subject lessons (P1-P6). Fourth, P6 students were anxious about their promotion to secondary education. For example, a P6 interviewee said, “I appreciate my teacher using 100% English in English Language lessons. It is because we need to well prepare ourselves now and adapt to such a learning environment; otherwise, it will be more difficult for us to adapt to an EMI secondary school”. Another student added, “Using 100% English in English teaching can benefit us when we are going for an interview in the future”. However, some students pointed out the teachers would use Cantonese in the following situations:

• S1: When we don’t understand the meaning of words, teachers will use Cantonese.

• S2: When doing revision before tests, teachers will use Cantonese to explain the main points to us.

• S3: Teachers will use more Cantonese in the first few weeks at the beginning of the school year.

• S4: Teachers will use Cantonese when explaining the grammatical structure.

• S5: Teachers will use Cantonese to explain those difficult words in reading comprehension.

Not surprisingly, given that they were all L1 speakers of Cantonese, students from the school were happy with their progress in the study of Cantonese and were very confident in achieving good proficiency in Cantonese, both in writing and speaking. However, only four out of the eight interviewees reported that they were happy with their progress in the study of Putonghua. One P6 interviewee said,

I have more confidence in English than in Putonghua. In English, we just need to spell the words but we need to put more time on practising pinyin (聲母及韻母) in Putonghua which is rather difficult. Otherwise, we cannot learn Putonghua well.

Based on the survey data, we find that only a few students in School C were happy about code-mixing in learning language, especially mixing between Cantonese and Putonghua. However, the interviewees did feel that that the teacher teaching Putonghua would occasionally use Cantonese in Putonghua lessons:

• S6: Teachers will use Cantonese when explaining some of the difficult terms or when students fail to follow the pronunciation of the words.

• S7: Putonghua is used in the majority of teaching time, but Cantonese is used when students fail to understand the meaning of the words.

On the other hand, some students appreciated the English Language subject teachers’ use of mixed code in teaching English language. For example:

• S1: I accept mixed code. It is because if teachers use 100% English in teaching the English subject, I may not understand some of the difficult words and in this case I prefer teachers explain in Cantonese.

• S2: Teachers might have to waste quite a lot of time explaining the difficult words if 100% English is used.

• S3: If 100% English is used, some students may not be motivated to learn and will fall asleep or talk with their classmates.

• S4: I think mixed code is acceptable because when teachers use 100% English, some students may not understand the content well and will find the lessons boring.

The students also showed dissatisfaction with their likely language proficiency in Putonghua on graduation, yet the students were not in favour of using Putonghua in learning the Chinese Language subject. The changing MoI policies in the Chinese Language subject throughout the years in the school might be one of the reasons to explain this phenomenon.

P5 and P6 students who had experienced the use of PMI in learning the Chinese Language subject welcomed the change of the policy – using Cantonese as the MoI of the subject – as they could understand better and be more involved in class activities. As for the two P4 Interviewees, they were neutral to the policy. The P5-P6 interviewees also pointed out some of the disadvantages of using Putonghua as the MoI in teaching the Chinese Language subject:

• S8 (from P5): If Putonghua was used, some classmates would find the lesson boring and become inattentive or fall asleep. Some even failed to answer the teacher’s questions, affecting their academic results and worsening their learning attitude. This year the situation is improved as Cantonese is used.

• S9 (from P6): When using Putonghua in teaching the subject, students sitting around me would play in class as they did not understand the teacher. They now become attentive when the teacher uses Cantonese.

8.2.3 Interviews

The school principal, 12 teaching staff and 11 parents were interviewed. The teaching staff included subject panels of the Chinese Language, English Language, Putonghua, Mathematics, General Studies, Visual Arts, Music, PE and Computer Technology subjects, and three subject teachers teaching the Chinese Language subject (using Putonghua as the MoI), the English Language subject and the Putonghua subject respectively.

8.2.3.1 Parents

Eleven parents (3 males and 8 females) were interviewed. Most had an understanding of trilingual education policy: that three languages, i.e., Cantonese, English and Putonghua are used as the MoI in teaching and students need to learn how to write in Chinese and English. However, one said that she did not really understand the policy of trilingual education. They all could point out the goal of trilingual education policy as being to develop students’ language proficiency in the three languages. When asked if the trilingual education model in the school was an attractive feature when they chose the present primary school for their children, only two agreed. One claimed that the use of Putonghua as the MoI in teaching the Chinese Language subject was a decisive factor in her choice of school, saying, “I considered several schools that used PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject and this is one of the deciding factors”. Meanwhile, the reasons the other parents gave for choosing the school were: the school ethos, family connections, the school’s religious affiliation, the school motto and the closeness of the school. For example:

• Parent 1: My elder son graduated in this school and it is reasonable for me to choose this school for my younger son. When I chose this school for my elder son, there was no trilingual education in this school, and therefore there were other factors, like the good school ethos, that made me choose this school for him.

• P2: Not a particular factor as I thought every school implements trilingual education. I was attracted by the school motto instead.

While, generally speaking, the parents were satisfied with the trilingual education model as implemented in the school, there was controversy among the parents on the use of PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject. Five parents supported using PMI, but two of them did not understand why the school had changed the MoI of the Chinese Language subject for P5-P6 from Putonghua to Cantonese. Six parents objected to the use of PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject:

• P3: Better use Cantonese to study the Chinese Language subject as Cantonese is our mother tongue. It’s easier for parents to have revisions with their children when using Cantonese as the MoI of the subject. I have reservation on using PMI. Switching to the use of Cantonese in the study of the Chinese Language subject is appropriate for students to prepare themselves for admission to secondary schools.

• P4: I oppose to using PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject. It’s good to use Cantonese in teaching the Chinese Language subject and the other subjects. Switching back to Cantonese in teaching the Chinese Language subject is desirable.

• P5: The rationale behind using PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject is good but it is rather difficult to put into practice as our mother tongue is Cantonese and it is not easy to write out what we say in Putonghua. Also, PMI needs a lot of support. For me, I don’t know Putonghua and I can’t do revision on this with my son. Therefore, I need to make use of the online CDs of the textbooks and listen to the content in Putonghua. I really do not know the accurate pronunciation of the words. Finally I need to put him in Putonghua tutorial class outside school.

Four parents pointed out that they had not seen any significant impact from using PMI on the improvement of their children’s language proficiency in written Chinese. One said,

I think he has made improvement in written Chinese, but this may not be a result of PMI. It is because he is becoming more mature and has learnt a lot of vocabularies by reading more books, resulting in his better writing in Chinese and this is not because of speaking more Putonghua.

Another parent added,

The improvement on written Chinese depends very much on reading. My son is not good at Putonghua, but he reads a lot and I find his written Chinese has been improved.

Eight parents agreed that the school might consider using English as the MoI, or as a supplementary MoI at higher grades in Mathematics, the science topics in General Studies and Computing. One parent said, “I think English can be used as the MoI in the Computing subject, as we usually say ‘mouse’ instead of 滑鼠 (in Cantonese) and much software has English version only and after some time students are getting used to bilingualism”. Another added, “Computer. As we always use its English terms in our daily life and most information in the internet are in English”. Their desire for an increasing use of English as a MoI stemmed from their wish for their children to enter EMI secondary schools in the future and they felt that using EMI in these subjects in higher grades could help bridge the gap between primary and secondary education. “The school can use mainly Cantonese, supplemented by English in Mathematics in senior grades so as to bridge the gap between the primary and secondary schools”, pointed out one parent. Another said,

I don’t see the need (of introducing more EMI subjects) for junior grade students. However, English can be used as a supplement in Maths and GS for P5-P6 students. Most parents would like to have their children admitted to an EMI secondary school, in which most subjects, including Liberal Studies, are all taught in English. It is a burden for those who are coming from CMI primary schools to adapt to such a change.

“English is very important as universities are all using EMI. I think Cantonese can be used as MOI in all subjects, but the textbooks can be in English. I know some schools are using Chinese and English textbooks but Cantonese is used when teaching the concepts. All quizzes and exams are in English. This way can help students learn the English terminologies so that they can adapt well when they are in secondary schools. The school may consider using this method in P5 and P6 regardless of the submission of exam results. That is to teach mainly in English and supplemented by Cantonese in Science. Maths is better to be taught in Cantonese but English terminologies can be given to familiarise themselves with the English terminologies. This is more favourable for them to choose EMI secondary schools” expressed by one parent.

All the parents at School C thought their children were confident of achieving good proficiency in the three languages when they graduated. Three parents thought students should start learning in the mother tongue and only start learning the other languages at a later stage. This parent explained,

I agree with some experts that point out children should learn their mother tongue well before six, and after that they can learn English and Putonghua gradually. Mother tongue should come first so that the children can learn the knowledge and the reasons. Then they can absorb more knowledge supplemented by other languages. If children are brought up in an English environment at an early age, they may not know how to communicate with the elderly in Cantonese, leaving a gap between the two generations.

Seven parents, however, felt that children should learn the three languages as early as possible. “I think the three languages should be developed in parallel, starting from an early age. We’d better use 100% English in English Language lessons”, said one parent.

8.2.3.2 Teachers

A total of 12 teaching staff were individually interviewed, including nine subject panels and three language teachers who taught Chinese Language (using PMI), English Language and Putonghua respectively. They all agreed to the appropriateness of using Chinese as the major language for communication and the appropriateness of the trilingual education model implemented in the school.

Although the classroom discourse analysis showed that the language teachers, except the Chinese Language subject teacher using PMI teaching the P2 Chinese Language lesson, did not code-mix in their lessons, the English panel and the English Language subject teacher interviewee were not resistant to code-switching. While they would not code-mix in teaching, they allowed their students, especially those low achievers, to code-mix when asking questions.

• English Language subject teacher: The school policy is to force them to speak in English, as a result they try to keep quiet in the English Language lessons. Therefore, I see the point that the policy to force students to use English in English Language lessons would make students run away from English. In this connection, I allow code-switching but I am not encouraging this. I allow code-switching as I don’t want my students to feel too much pressure and refuse to speak to me.

• English Language subject Panel: We allow code-switching in our classrooms. We would teach them to speak in English step by step. Though code-switching is helpful for the low achievers, it is harmful to the learning of the high achievers except in the case that they don’t know the meaning of specific terms like the “umbrella revolution”.

Teachers teaching other subjects did not share the same views as the language teachers. The subject panel of Computer Tehnology said that the MoI of the subject is Cantonese; however some English materials would be used for discussions in class as most advanced news about information technology came from overseas and was in English. To better the students’ understanding of up-to-date news, she would sometimes code-mix in class.

• The Computer Technology Panel (Head): Some professional terms should be taught in English for easy understanding. For example, using the English term microphones is better than麥克風. Sometimes, my students will use English terms in class, like the word ‘WhatsApp’. Sometimes using the English terms is much easier for students to know what you are saying.

Using PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject has been a controversial issue in School C. This can be reflected by the changing policies concerning the use of Putonghua as the MoI in teaching the Chinese Language subject. It seems that the Chinese Language subject teachers using PMI and the Putonghua subject panel were not in favour of using PMI. The teacher who used PMI in teaching the Chinese Language subject thought the policy was desirable, but for more capable students. The Panel of the Chinese Language subject did not agree that using PMI could enhance student language proficiency in Chinese and she pointed out that students were more motivated when learning the subject in Cantonese. The Chinese Language teacher who taught P2 in Putonghua agreed.

• P2 Chinese Language teacher using PMI: The advantage of using Putonghua to teach the Chinese Language subject is to let students learn the written language, and to save time on the direct translation of the content into Cantonese. The disadvantage is that there are fewer interactions among students and students are not motivated in answering questions.

However, the teachers would follow the school policy.

• The subject panel of Putonghua: I insist on separating Putonghua and Chinese Language into two subjects. This is because using Putonghua as MOI to teach Chinese could only increase the language proficiency of Putonghua, but it is not so visible on the improvement in Chinese, or in Chinese writing. For example, there are also some wordings in Putonghua which cannot be used in Chinese writing, like we cannot write the beggar as 叫化子, instead we should write 乞丐.

8.2.3.3 Principal

The sponsoring body thought using PMI could be one of the strategies to attract more parents to choose the school as the use of PMI is becoming a trend after the handover in 1997. The present Principal was not the policy-maker. He faced a dilemma, with complaints from parents who wanted Cantonese to be the MoI of the Chinese Language subject on the one hand, and teachers who were not competent enough in teaching the subject in Putonghua on the other.

• Principal: Some of our Chinese Language subject teachers were skilful in teaching the Chinese Language subject in Cantonese but they did not have the language proficiency in Putonghua…. The worse situation was that some good Chinese Language subject teachers were complained by parents after they had used PMI in teaching. They even urged for reusing Cantonese in teaching the Chinese Language subject as their children could understand what had been taught in class. In one case, a teacher had reached level 3 or above in Putonghua but could not make the students understand and so sometimes Cantonese was used in explanation and this was complained by other teachers, wondering why such teacher could use Cantonese in Chinese Language lessons. Two years ago, I became the principal and found the situation more confusing as more complaints came from different stakeholders. The most resistance came from the parents of P5 and P6.

To balance things and to attract more parents to choose School C, the principal decided to use CMI in teaching P5-P6 Chinese Language subject while using PMI in P1-P4 so that students could achieve better results in the TSA oral test and parents’ confidence in the school could be regained. However, the principal himself was supportive to learning in mother tongue.

• Principal: Using PMI is due to the trend after Hong Kong’s return to China. I personally agree to student learning in mother tongue. If academically weak students learn the Chinese Language subject in Putonghua they may gain nothing as they cannot understand the teachers. I agree that using mother tongue can help them build up their basic knowledge in the subject.

Officially, code-mixing is not allowed in School C as the school language policies strictly followed the guidelines set by the Education Bureau (EDB) that language teachers should use one language at a time when teaching languages.

• Principal: 100% English should be used when teaching English; or if not 100% English, teachers are encouraged to use pictures or body language to express themselves but Cantonese is definitely not allowed. This is also applied to the teaching of the Putonghua subject and the Chinese Language subject using PMI.

The principal also stated that the present School Sponsoring Body had intended to change the MoI policy and use English as the MoI in teaching and learning. He felt that this would pose a challenge to him and the school.

• Principal: The School Sponsoring Body has suggested using English as MOI in teaching other subjects in school and our feeder school is an EMI secondary school. The importance is how to bridge the gap and balance the development of both English and Putonghua languages.

• We have not thought of changing the MoI for the time being because we are worried of the intake of P1 students through Primary One Admission System. Are they all able to learn in English? This is different from the intake of students in DSS schools because the top students are usually recruited by them. Moreover, we have to consider the ability of teachers, can a Math teacher teach in English? They need to adapt to such big change.

8.3 Conclusion

Most subjects are taught in Cantonese, except the English Language subject and the Chinese Language subject which uses Putonghua as the MoI from P1 to P4. However, if the school accepts the suggestion from the School Sponsoring Body to use English to teach other subjects, the school may change from a CMI school to an EMI school and many factors will have to be taken into considerations, including the English capacity of the teachers teaching other subjects, the student intake and readiness of the whole school to switch to EMI.