Language use and language attitudes of students in a bilingual immersion programme in Hong Kong

Abstract

A study was carried out to understand the language use and language attitudes of the Cantonese speaking Chinese students of a Hong Kong secondary school which used English as the medium of instruction. Questionnaires were administered and group interviews were conducted to collect the views of these students. Their views were considered and interpreted in the context of the school and the Hong Kong education system regarding the policy of the education medium. For these bilingual students, English is mostly used in the classrooms. Cantonese is used with friends and at home. They have positive attitudes towards the English language and they try to develop various strategies to cope with the difficulties in the English immersion programme. They are motivated to learn English because it is helpful to their studies and related to better career opportunities. The results show that this bilingual immersion programme can help students develop their self-esteem and learning strategy. Perhaps more students can be admitted to this kind of immersion programme in the future.