“市場主導”的語言政策可行嗎？普通話教中文的現狀與發展在香港

普通話在香港是一個獨立科目，中國語文科用粵方言講授。由於普通話每周只有一兩個教節，教學效果不好，上世紀90年代末教育界人士開始探討用普通話教中文。特區政府表示非常贊成，鼓勵學校如有條件可以試行，但從未為此制定發展方針。如果借用商業術語，這實際上是“市場主導”政策，與內地、台灣、新加坡等地採取的由上而下的語言政策迥異。其成效及可持續性也有待探討。本文將討論粵語在香港的獨特地位、用普通話教中文、以及學生的中文和普通話成績等問題。
文章建議香港特區政府應該收集各方意見，訂立長遠而“具體實在”的計劃。師資培訓方面應作出相應配合，回應學校和教師的迫切需求。
Putonghua in an independent subject in Hong Kong and the teaching of Chinese subject is conducted in Cantonese dialect. As the effectiveness/outcome of teaching Putonghua is not good due to the limited one/two periods of classroom teaching a week, the idea of teaching Chinese language in Putonghua was explored in the late nineties. The idea is supported by HKSAR and schools are encouraged to try it out if they consider themselves as having sufficient resources. However, no guiding principles or policy have been given for this development. In fact, this is a “Market Oriented” policy, if we borrow the concept from the commercial sectors. This is a totally different from the top-down language policy being adopted by China, Taiwan and Singapore. The effectiveness and continuity of this method have yet to be seen. This paper will discuss the unique status in Hong Kong and the impact of learning Chinese in Putonghua with respect to learning outcome in Putonghua and Chinese.
It is suggested that HKSAR should formulate a long-term, concrete and practical policy after considering opinions from parties concerned. Relevant teacher education programs should be offered to meet the urgent needs of schools and teachers. Copyright © 2006 商務印書館.