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Is Hong Kong really that undesirable when it comes to bringing up a child?

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  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by INXS:
    Really? Up until yesterday we still weren't sure my son had got into the school we liked, I'd decided with a heavy heart that we would send him to international school rather than some 3rd rate local school.

    The local school we got him into is, in my opinion, one of the best schools in the territory when you consider the secondary school it feeds to....

    I don't think it's possible to say International School is better than Local School or vice versa.......depends on the school!!!
    I mean the way the students are taught, and what they are imparted. Students from the international schools and the local schools will enjoy different learning atmospheres.

    Yes, I cannot conceal the fact that students the band 1 schools (1st rate schools) perform really well in open exam. But outside the exam, I am afraid they have learnt nothing in that 6 secondary-school years.

    That is just my small experienced opinion.
    Last edited by charlestang; 05-06-2013 at 10:12 PM.
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  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by arrowsmith:
    I meant surely their English would be well above the standard of the local kids and therefore English lessons, taught as a foreign language, pitched at the level of your average local kid are not really going to be a challenge for them?
    That would depend on the level of the English speaking kid, the level of the local kids, (many are fluent), loads of factors.....are these bilingual kids starting from K1 or entering in say, P3?? Is the local school using the local version of the English material or the international version? Are the English teachers experienced enough to teach to the top while still engaging the 'lower level' students?

    I'm not sure it's possible to give you a general answer.......way too many variables, way too many....if you have a specific question...say a specific school, set of circumstances and so you can drop me a pm...

    Just to add....hopefully some of the others can add their opinion; many of the other teachers have been here a lot longer than me and may have a different view...
    Last edited by INXS; 05-06-2013 at 10:40 PM.

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by charlestang:
    I mean the way the students are taught, and what they are imparted. Students from the international schools and the local schools will enjoy different learning atmospheres.

    Yes, I cannot conceal the fact that students the band 1 schools (1st rate schools) perform really well in open exam. But outside the exam, I am afraid they have learnt nothing in that 6 secondary-school years.

    That is just my small experienced opinion.
    I agree with you. I suppose I hope that I can offer my sons a balance of HK education in school and westerns thinking outside of school. We all just do the best we can I suppose!!

    I do think some kind of middle road between East and West is what I'm trying to achieve here....I worry if they go to international school they'll 'forget' their Chinese side and become very westernised......
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  4. #14

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    To Arrowsmith

    Ok my tot is half Chinese half English and is fluent in Mandarin and her dialect with only a smattering of English phrases ie can we get ice cream etc etc and the like .

    Despite i am a native English speaker i decided her Chinese should take precedence hence enrol in local school etc .

    I spend a fortune on English tuition for her by the way and am effectively getting no progress there .

    It seems to depend on language used at school congruent with predominant home language then its a slam dunk what they speak as a preference despite what the parents may speak.

    At the end of the day English is easier to pick up later -i am not worried


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by INXS:
    That would depend on the level of the English speaking kid, the level of the local kids, (many are fluent), loads of factors.....are these bilingual kids starting from K1 or entering in say, P3?? Is the local school using the local version of the English material or the international version? Are the English teachers experienced enough to teach to the top while still engaging the 'lower level' students?

    I'm not sure it's possible to give you a general answer.......way too many variables, way too many....if you have a specific question...say a specific school, set of circumstances and so you can drop me a pm...

    Just to add....hopefully some of the others can add their opinion; many of the other teachers have been here a lot longer than me and may have a different view...
    Yeah you right it will depends on a lot of things.

    I just imagined there might be quite a difference between, say, what an 8 year old kid in England studies in his English class and what an 8 year local kid does here. And that a bi-lingual kid would be more suited to the former. I guess that might not always be the case though.

    I didn't really have a specific case in mind; I was just daydreaming about the future. So not really worth considering any more until then.

    Anyway congrats to you and your kid for getting the school you/they wanted. The other half's niece recently got rejected for her top choice and was apparently really upset. Quite how, at the age of five she was suppose to understand the significance and get upset about it I don't know.
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  6. #16

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    My kids are 6 & 8. They speak only English with me and most of the time with Daddy. They only speak Chinese when with hubby's family or when doing homework with daddy. They go to local school and are fluent and literate in Cantonese. PTH not so much. We have spent nothing on tutors.

    If you would like to discuss more, please feel free to send me a PM.


  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by hongkong7:
    To Arrowsmith

    Ok my tot is half Chinese half English and is fluent in Mandarin and her dialect with only a smattering of English phrases ie can we get ice cream etc etc and the like .

    Despite i am a native English speaker i decided her Chinese should take precedence hence enrol in local school etc .

    I spend a fortune on English tuition for her by the way and am effectively getting no progress there .

    It seems to depend on language used at school congruent with predominant home language then its a slam dunk what they speak as a preference despite what the parents may speak.

    At the end of the day English is easier to pick up later -i am not worried
    Interesting.

    So what language do you and your partner speak to her in?

    And what language do you speak to each other in?

  8. #18

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    Arrowsmith, there is no reason why you can't work on English at home....


  9. #19

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    My son isn't at local school yet, but I teach so I've seen some of the things students do at local schools here. Obviously so much depends on the school and the teacher but there are a few things to note.

    Local schools are big on grammar. Your kid will know what's correct just by being a native speaker, but will need to learn to answer questions like `what is the past perfect form of to have?'

    He'll need to learn spelling, and how good he is at that will depend to an extent on how much reads.

    He will probably have to do utterly pointless 'dictations' in which he has to memorise a passage and then write it out exactly as the original.

    Also, sometimes things that we say naturally would be marked wrong (e.g. 'he was later arrested by the police.', 'we will get a new teacher next year, I hope they will be nice')

    I've also seen some shocking examples of 'good' english from even the top schools (sometimes even the exam papers are wrong!) So it's not as straight forward as you might think. But a good teacher/school will make all the difference.


  10. #20

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    If I were from the UK, and was offered an expat package I'd be on the plane to HK already. Space and school are not issues with an expat package. Plus you can afford helpers. Your kids will get the opportunity to learn Chinese which will only help them in the next 50 years as China ascends in the world economy. The only drawback is the air quality.


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