Struggling to thrive: The impact of Chinese language assessments on social mobility of Hong Kong ethnic minority youth

Abstract

The paper aims to address the issues arising from the alternative Chinese qualifications policy on ethnic minorities’ (EM) social mobility, and how such multi-exit assessment framework affect Chinese as a second language (CSL) teaching and learning in local school contexts. Chinese language qualifications other than the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) have been accepted by the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded institutions in Hong Kong as university admission requirements, including General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), and General Certificate of Education (GCE). These international qualifications, although recognized as CSL “alternatives”, are oftentimes considered lower-level non-equivalents to HKDSE in the job market. Even high achievers in these examinations are criticized by local employers as less-than-competent in workplace Chinese communication. Moreover, civil service jobs traditionally popular among EM require a Level 2 in HKDSE or specific government tests, which “implied” the said alternative qualifications as insufficient for career advancement. Chinese language teachers and EM students are thus torn between the manageable alternative qualifications to improve university admission chances, or the difficult HKDSE examination as well for better career opportunities, which reduce their chance of upward mobility. Through triangulation of data from different sources, the authors also look into the challenges to curriculum planning and design faced by Chinese language teachers at the time of policy changes, and recommend that policy reviews be carried out based on recent demographic shifts and classroom realities to better equip EM students’ Chinese language proficiency, so as to increase their job advantage, smoother social integration into Hong Kong society, and to resolve the intergenerational poverty.