Chinese as the medium of instruction (MOI) is used across the curriculum for early childhood education in Hong Kong; however, kindergartens with non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students adopt different MOI, in which English remains an integral part of learning and teaching, to cater to the needs of NCS students and their families. The present study…

This volume builds on Fortune and Tedick's 2008 Pathways to Multilingualism: Evolving Perspectives on Immersion Education and showcases the practice and promise of immersion education through in-depth investigations of program design, implementation practices, and policies in one-way, two-way and indigenous programs. Contributors present new…

A study of the impact of language of instruction in schools on the divergent thinking, self-esteem, and locus of control of expatriate and Hong Kong native Chinese adolescents is reported and some of the cognitive and affective costs of the immersion method of bilingual education are examined. Hong Kong children in most schools must change…

Seventy-four grade 8 pupils in Hong Kong were randomly assigned to an experimental class, with English as the language of instruction, and to a control class, with Chinese as the language of instruction. Pupils in the immersion program were not hindered in academic achievement but did not improve second-language proficiency. (JHZ)

Responses of 118 Cantonese-speaking students at Hong Kong English-medium secondary schools to a questionnaire indicated those factors that contribute to the ineffectiveness of the English-medium education include: (1) lack of exposure to English outside the classroom; (2) absence of the Hawthorne effect on the immersion programs; and (3)…