Actually do you know if your kid "think" in Cantonese first and translate to English to speak out or does she think in English directly? If kids are used to Chinese teaching in primary, they will need to translate to English if they study in EMI secondary, but if they are used to English teaching since P.1, will they simply "think" in English?
Besides, does your kid like learning Chinese and reading Chinese story books? Seems to me that kids study in English primary tend to like English more than Chinese and some may even don't have interest to learn Chinese.
Actually do you know if your kid "think" in Cantonese first and translate to English to speak out or does she think in English directly? If kids are used to Chinese teaching in primary, they ...
國際在線消息:英國約克大學科學家最近在專業雜志《心理學和老化》(Psychology And Aging)上發表的一項研究成果顯示,掌握兩種母語的人在能力方面超過單母語的人,這種優勢甚至可以保持 ...
In Europe, people used to learn 2 or 3 languages together, but the languages usually have some similarities. For us, Chinese and English are entirely different, that's why it maybe more difficult for the kids to learn the 2 languages together. Usually they will learn one of the language at a faster speed than the other, depends which language they are more exposed to.
We all know that Chinese language is in fact more difficult than English, so should the kids study in Chinese primary first? However, HK is a Chinese society and kids have little chance to speak or learn English, then should they study in English primary to learn more English so that they can adapt more easily in secondary? I think this is always controversial and is a dilemma for many parents.
Bilingual Approaches Produce Higher Reading Achievement, Report Says
ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2004) — Calling for an end to ideological debates on teaching English language learners to read, a new report analyzing more than three decades of research finds that bilingual education programs produce higher levels of student achievement in reading than English-only approaches for this rapidly growing population.
......
To be included in the analysis, studies had to compare bilingual instruction to English-only instruction with English language learners, and there had to be evidence that the two groups were comparable in reading performance before the treatments began.
In Europe, people used to learn 2 or 3 languages together, but the languages usually have some similarities. For us, Chinese and English are entirely different, that's why it maybe more difficult f ...
Oh, if then, everything a little bit, what will the result be??
Actually, is the standard of students from existing local English primaries really higher than those from Chinese primaries? Seems not very obvious. So I think that the teaching approach and teachers' quality are more the key factors for decision on selecting schools.
Bilingual Approaches Produce Higher Reading Achievement, Report Says
ScienceDaily (Jan. 26, 2004) — Calling for an end to ideological debates on teaching English language learners ...
This is the wrong context of applying the meta-research.
English primary school in Hong Kong intends not to do bilingualism in the sense of the meta-analysis. In the USA case, it is concurrent instruction in the native language and English. So-called English primary school in Hong Kong, is, at best, doing replacive bilingualism. That is to use ONLY ENGLISH in the learning of all subjects other than Chinese Language. This is exactly what the paper you have linked is arguing against. The author points is exactly that even when the pupils are in an English speaking country, if they have a mother tongue, let them use their mother tongue as well. English primary schools in Hong Kong intend to use only English and not their mother tongue.
Most published educational research points to the inefficiency of replacive bilingual approach.