THE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY PERCEPTION SURVEY A SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS

THE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY PERCEPTION SURVEY A SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS Background The Education and Manpower Branch commissioned in March 1994 a research team based in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to carry out the captioned Survey in order to provide one form of input to the Education Commission Working Group on Language Proficiency for its deliberation on ways of enhancing the helping factors which promote language proficiency in schools and removing the hindering factors. 2. The survey was conducted between April and June, 1994. It seeks the views on the current students' and recent graduates' levels of language proficiency of Chinese, English and Putonghua from five categories of people: (1) educators, (2) students and (3) their parents, in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors; (4) graduates from secondary and tertiary sectors, and (5) their employers. 3. In exploring and identifying the helping and hindering factors, attention is focused on the presence and/or absence of these factors in formal education, especially in the primary and secondary sectors. 4. The samples of students and educators are drawn from the study population in a statistically random manner. On the other hand, the samples of graduates and parents are drawn from the sampled schools and tertiary institutions, while the samples of employers are drawn from the sampled graduates. 5. Altogether 7,228 people from a sample comprising 60 primary schools, 60 secondary schools and all seven UPGC-funded tertiary institutions were surveyed (Table 1 refers). A report of the findings was submitted to the aforementioned Working Party in July 1994. Major Findings Perceptions on language proficiency of students & graduates 6. The study shows that the ability of both students and school graduates to make proficient, sophisticated use of the three languages is perceived to be relatively limited, particularly with regard to English and Putonghua. 7. For example, in the case of English, among the sampled educators, the percentage of the respondents agreeing with the item Generally speaking, my students' English language ability is good ranges from a low of 20.5 per cent (returned by the primary English teachers), to a high of only 31.3 per cent (returned by the primary English panel heads). Even at tertiary level, the percentage of the tertiary teachers agreeing with the item is only 24.1 per cent. 8. As for the sampled students, the percentage of respondents at primary-five, secondary-one and secondary-six levels agreeing with the item Generally speaking, my English language ability is good is respectively 33.1 per cent, 18.6 per cent and 14.2 per cent only. 9. Among the sampled parents, the percentage of parents with children in primary schools, and those with children in secondary schools agreeing with the item Generally speaking, my child's English language ability is good is respectively 20.9 per cent and 14 per cent. 10. When asked to respond to different aspects of their competence in English, only 19.6 per cent of the primary-five students agree that I can speak fluent English; less than a third agree that I can use words appropriately when writing English. 11. Among the secondary-one students, only 6.3 per cent agree that I can use English to describe relatively abstract ideas; 9.4 per cent agree that I can speak English fluently; 10.7 per cent agree that I can be grammatically correct when writing English; 13.6 per cent agree that I can use words appropriately when writing English; 24.7 per cent agree that I can use English to describe what I think, and 30.5 per cent agree that My English ability can cope with examinations. 26

12. As for the secondary-six students, only 4.8 per cent agree that I can use English to describe relatively abstract ideas; 10.0 per cent agree that I can write academic essays in English; 11.9 per cent agree that I can speak English fluently; 17.4 per cent agree that I can be grammatically correct when writing English; 27.4 per cent agree that I can use English to describe what I think. 34.9 per cent agree that My English ability can cope with examinations, and 40.7 per cent of the respondents agree that I can use words appropriately when writing English. 13. Even at tertiary level, only 9.4 per cent of the tertiary-one students agree that I can discuss abstract ideas and topics orally in English; 17.8 per cent agree that I can discuss abstract ideas and topics in written English; 19.2 per cent agree that I can speak in English and be grammatically correct; 20.7 per cent agree that I can speak fluently in English. 14. As for the perceptions of educators, when asked to respond to different aspects of their students' competence in English, only 5.3 per cent of the primary school heads agree that My students speak fluent English; 22.6 per cent agree that My students can be grammatically correct; and 35.2 per cent agree that My students use words appropriately. 15. Among the secondary school heads, only 8.8 per cent agree that My students speak fluent English; 10.6 per cent agree that My students can use English to describe relatively abstract ideas; 19.6 per cent agree that My students can be grammatically correct; and 23.5 per cent agree that My students use words appropriately. 16. Among the sampled primary English panel heads, only 10.7 per cent agree that My students speak fluent English; 15.2 per cent agree that My students can be grammatically correct; 30.2 per cent agree that My students use words appropriately. 17. As for the secondary English panel heads, only 6.9 per cent agree that My students speak fluent English; 9.4 per cent agree that My students can use English to describe relatively abstract ideas; 15.3 per cent agree that My students can be grammatically correct; 21.1 per cent agree that My students use words appropriately. 18. Similarly, only 5.2 per cent of the primary English teachers agree that My students speak fluent English; 10.3 per cent agree that My students can be grammatically correct; and 25.2 per cent agree that My students use words appropriately. 19. While 6.8 per cent of the secondary English teachers agree that My students can use English to describe relatively abstract ideas; 8.0 per cent agree that My students speak fluent English; 12.3 per cent agree that My students can be grammatically correct, and 19.3 per cent agree that My students use words appropriately. 20. In case of the sampled secondary-five and tertiary graduates, when asked to assess their English proficiency vis-a-vis their language experience at work, respectively 18.8 per cent and 79.5 per cent of them claim proficiency in written English, whereas respectively 11 per cent and 61 per cent claim proficiency in spoken English. 21. As for their employers, when asked to assess their employees' English proficiency vis-a-vis language demands at work, respectively 70.0 per cent and 14.5 per cent of the employers of tertiary graduates, and those of secondary-five graduates give their employees 70 marks out of one hundred marks for their written English, whereas respectively 60.7 per cent and 13 per cent of these two groups give their employees 70 marks out of one hundred marks for their oral English. 22. In the case of Putonghua, only 16.7 per cent of the sampled primary-five students, 6.8 per cent of the sampled secondary-one students, and 7.3 per cent of the sampled secondary-six students agree that I can speak Putonghua fluently. 23. Similarly, among the sampled tertiary-one students, only 3.8 per cent agree that I can use Putonghua to develop my academic potential; 4.0 per cent agree that I can follow the teaching of the subject in Putonghua; 4.2 per cent agree that I can use Putonghua to discuss abstract ideas and topics, and 6.1 per cent agree that I can use Putonghua to communicate with lecturers without difficulty. 27

24. Among the educators, the percentage of respondents agreeing with the item My students speak fluent Putonghua ranges from zero per cent (returned by the secondary Putonghua teachers, and secondary school heads) to only 7.1 per cent (returned by the tertiary teachers). 25. Among the parents of primary students, and those of the secondary students, respectively 3.3 per cent and 4.2 per cent of them agree that their child's Putonghua is good or excellent. 26. In the case of the secondary-five graduates, and tertiary graduates, when asked to assess their proficiency in Putonghua vis-a-vis their language experience at work, respectively 13.5 per cent and 21 per cent give their proficiency in Putonghua 70 marks or more out of one hundred marks. On the other hand, respectively 8.7 per cent and 13.7 per cent of the employers of secondary-five graduates, and those of tertiary graduates give 70 marks or more out of one hundred marks for their employees' proficiency in Putonghua vis-a-vis the language demands at work. 27. In sum, the great majority of sampled students, educators, parents, graduates and employers do not have a favourable view of the level of English and Putonghua proficiency attained within the schools. The only exceptions are the perception of tertiary graduates and their employers with regard to the former's written and oral English ability. 28. In the case of level of Chinese proficiency attained within the schools, the percentage of the respondents holding favourable views ranges from a low of forty per cent to a high of seventy-five per cent. Hindering factors for learning Chinese well 1 29. The percentage of student respondents agreeing with the item I think I have difficulty in learning Chinese well ranges from 27.5 per cent (returned by tertiary-one respondents) to 52.9 per cent (returned by secondary-six students). Whereas the percentage of educator respondents agreeing with the item I think my students have difficulty in learning Chinese well ranges from 63.2 per cent (returned by primary school heads) to 89.6 per cent (returned by secondary Chinese panel heads). 30. The hindering factors for learning Chinese well identified by the respondents concerned are quite consistent across levels and types of respondents; they reflect rather similar views about the school system. 31. For example, when the student respondents who agree with the item I think I have difficulty in learning Chinese well were further asked to identify from a checklist those factor(s) that give rise to such difficulties, the item The assignments are not interesting is selected by the largest number of student respondents of all types. 32. As shown in Table 2, the responses of the educator respondents reflect a similar pattern. 33. Whereas Contents of syllabuses irrelevant to students' everyday life is returned by the largest number of both the sampled secondary school heads and secondary Chinese panel heads as a hindering factor; on the other hand, No enough lessons per week/cycle is returned by the largest number of the primary Chinese panel heads as a hindering factor. Hindering factors for learning English well 34. The percentage of student respondents agreeing with the item I think I have difficulty in learning English well ranges from 63.8 per cent (returned by tertiary-one respondents) to 84.9 per cent (returned by secondary-six students). Whereas the percentage of educator respondents agreeing with the item I think my students have difficulty in learning English well ranges from 85.4 per cent (returned by secondary school heads) to 99.3 per cent (returned by primary English panel heads). 35. When these respondents were further asked to identify from a checklist the factors that hinder their learning 1 The identification of hindering and helping factors of language learning in Hong Kong are not covered in the survey among graduates and employers. 28

of English, Few opportunities to speak English after class is selected by the largest number of student and educator respondents of all types. 36. Incidentally, less than half of the sampled secondary English teachers (49.2 per cent) have received training in the subject during their education education and/or took the English language as their major during their tertiary education. 37. Respectively 53.7 per cent and 52.4 per cent of the sampled parents with children in primary schools, and those with children in secondary schools agree that there are problems for their children to learn English well. However, when they were asked to identify from a checklist those factors that may cause such difficulties, significant consensus of views on any particular factor is not in evidence. Hindering factors for learning Putonghua well 38. The percentage of student respondents agreeing with the item I think I have difficulty in learning Putonghua well ranges from 22.5 per cent (returned by secondary-six respondents) to 55.7 per cent (returned by tertiary-one students). Whereas the percentage of educator respondents agreeing with the item I think my students have difficulty in learning Putonghua well ranges from 37.7 per cent (returned by secondary school heads) to 100 per cent (returned by secondary Putonghua teachers). 39. As in the case of English, when the respondents concerned were asked to identify from a checklist the factors that hinder their learning of Putonghua, Few opportunities of using Putonghua after class is selected by the largest number of student and educator respondents of all types. Similarly, Not enough lessons per week/cycles is selected by the second largest number of educator respondents of all types. 40. Respectively 31.3 per cent and 23.3 per cent of the sampled parents with children in primary schools, and those with children in secondary schools agree that there are problems for their children to learn Putonghua well. When these respondents were further asked to identify from a checklist those factors that may cause such difficulties, both Not enough exposure to Putonghua and Not enough chance to use Putonghua are selected by more than 90 per cent of the respondents. 41. In sum, there is much agreement on what are the hindering factors for learning the languages well in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the nature of these factors appear to be different between for Chinese on the one hand, and for English and Putonghua on the other hand. For the former, the factors have more to do with how the language is being taught; whereas for the latter, they have more to do with the language environment outside the classroom. Helping Factors 42. In soliciting respondents' views on this topic, student respondents were simply asked to identify from a checklist three most important factors that would help their learning of the languages. On the other hand, the educator respondents' views were solicited with reference to four aspects: (1) Helping factors that are present in the schools where they work; (2) Helping factors that are absent in the schools where they work; (3) Proposed improvement measures for teaching the languages better, and (4) the most appropriate class-level for students to start learning the languages concerned. Helping Factors for learning Chinese well 43. When asked to identify from a checklist three most important factors that would help their learning of Chinese, none of the items on the list is selected by more than half of the student respondents (who may make as many as three selections), except Staff with excellent teaching qualifications (returned by the secondary-six students), and Content of the syllabus relevant to everyday life (returned by the tertiary-one students). Only one item, Extensive reading schemes, is selected by more than one-third of the primary-five (39.0 per cent), secondary-one (39.3 per cent) and secondary-six respondents (35.7 per cent). 44. When asked to pick from a checklist the factors, which are already present in the school where they teach, 29

that are most helpful to students in enabling them to learn Chinese well, the item School giving a high priority to enhancing Chinese language learning is selected by the largest number of educator respondents 2 except among the primary Chinese teachers (where it is selected by the second largest number of respondents) and secondary Chinese teachers (where it is selected by the fourth largest number of respondents). Another item that is selected by more than half of any one group of the educator respondents is Staff with excellent teaching qualifications (returned by the primary and secondary school heads). Otherwise, none of the other items is selected by a majority or significant plurality (i.e. more than one-third) of any group. 45. When asked to pick from a checklist the factors, which are absent in the school where they teach, that are most helpful to students to enable them to learn Chinese well, significant consensus of views on any particular item is not in evidence, although the item Contents of syllabus relevant to students' everyday life is selected by more than one-third of all educator respondents. 46. As for proposed improvement measures at primary level, from a list of such measures, four items are selected by more than/close to half of the educator respondents 3 concerned as shown in Table 3 at the end of the chapter. 47. At secondary level, only two items from the list of (proposed) language improvement measures are selected by more than half of the educator respondents as shown in Table 4. 48. Apart from the above two items, none of the other items is selected by a majority of the secondary school heads. Whereas more than two-third of the secondary Chinese panel heads also select the following three items from the list: School Library facilities is helpful to students' learning of Chinese. (96.7 per cent), Split class teaching in Secondary 1 & 2 is effective in helping students learn Chinese (85.3 per cent), The A.S. Level subject "Chinese Language & Culture" can help improve students' Chinese language ability (71.9 per cent). 49. Among the sampled tertiary teachers, no significant consensus of views on this topic is in evidence. Helping factors for learning English well 50. When asked to identify from a checklist three most important factors that would help their learning of English, none of the items on the list is selected by more than half of the student respondents, although Using English to teach is selected by more than one-third of all student respondents. Furthermore, 40.8 per cent of secondary-six respondents and 36.6 per cent of the tertiary-one respondents select Having expatriate English language teachers as a helping factor. 51. When asked to pick from a checklist the factors, which are already present in the school where they teach, that are most helpful to students in enabling them to learn English well, the item School giving a high priority to enhancing English language learning is selected by the largest number of primary school heads, secondary school heads and secondary English teachers. Among the primary English teachers, and secondary English panel heads, it is selected by the fourth and second largest number of respondents respectively. 52. When asked to pick from a checklist the factors, which are absent in the school where they teach, that are most helpful to students to enable them to learn English well, the item Expatriate English language teachers scheme is selected by one-third or more of all educator respondents except secondary English panel heads and secondary English teachers. 40.5 per cent secondary school heads and 43.5 per cent secondary English panel heads select the item Staff with excellent teaching qualifications, while 32.1 per cent of secondary English teachers and 35.7 per cent secondary English panel heads select the item English used as the medium of instruction in other subjects. Otherwise significant consensus on any particular factor is not in evidence. 53. From a list of (proposed) English language improvement measures at primary level, seven items are selected by more than half of the educator respondents concerned as shown in Table 5. 2 With regard to the helping factors, a different set of questions were put to the sampled tertiary teachers. 3 This question is put to only school heads and panel heads. 30

54. Whereas at secondary level, five items are selected by more than half of the educator respondents concerned, as shown in Table 6 at the end of the Chapter. 55. Among the tertiary teachers, more than half of them select the availability of required English language courses for students; exposure to lecturers who are native speakers of English; appropriate English language requirement for admission and enough English language teaching facilities as the factors that are present in the tertiary sector that would enable students to learn English well. 56. Whereas 36.3 per cent of them select Required standard of English language proficiency to be attained before graduation as a helping factor that is absent in the tertiary sector. As for the other factors, significant consensus of views is not in evidence. Helping factors for learning Putonghua well 57. When asked to identify from a checklist three most important factors that would help their learning of Putonghua, between one-third (returned by tertiary-one students) and 47.5 per cent (returned by secondary-one students) of the student respondents select the item Using Putonghua to teach. 58. Whereas between 41.1 per cent (returned by primary-five students) and 56.2 per cent (returned by secondary-six students) of the student respondents select the item Having Putonghua-speaking teachers. Meanwhile 33.4 per cent of the secondary-six students and 55.7 per cent of their tertiary-one counterparts select Contents of syllabus relevant to students' everyday life. 59. When asked to pick from a checklist the factors, which are already present in the school where they teach, that are most helpful to students in enabling them to learn Putonghua well, Putonghua as a subject in the school curriculum is selected by the largest number of the school heads as well as the Putonghua teachers (59.3 per cent to 92.1 per cent). 60. On the other hand, 36.3 per cent of the primary school heads and 34.8 per cent of the primary Putonghua teachers select Having Putonghua-speaking teachers. 61. When asked to pick from a checklist the factors, which are absent in the school where they teach, that are most helpful to students to enable them to learn Putonghua well, about one-third of the primary school heads, secondary school heads and primary Putonghua teachers select Staff with excellent teaching qualifications. 38.4 per cent of the primary school heads and 60.8 per cent of secondary Putonghua teachers select Using Putonghua as a medium of instruction for other subjects. And 34.6 per cent of the secondary school heads and 46.9 per cent of the primary Putonghua teachers select Contents of syllabus relevant to students' everyday life. 62. There is no evidence of significant degree of consensus of views among the tertiary teachers on these topics. 63. In sum, compared to their response to the hindering factors, there is a lesser degree of agreement as to which existing policy and/or practices are most helpful for the learning of the languages in schools. However, there is much agreement on what need to be done in order to further improve the situation. Also, it is interesting to note that, given the impression that in Hong Kong English is often being more valued than Chinese, the educator respondents' response to the items School giving a high priority to enhancing Chinese/English language learning is quite similar--most agree that this is a helping factor that is present in the school where they teach, as shown above. Appropriate class-levels for students to start learning English & Putonghua 64. Finally, when asked the most appropriate class-level for students to start learning the languages concerned, the response from the school heads is shown in Table 7 at the end of the Chapter. 31

65. The reposponse to the same question from the teaching staff is shown in Table 8. 66. It appears there is much agreement among the educator respondents that primary-one should be the level during which students start learning English. However, in the case of Putonghua, there appears to be a plurality of views, although primary-one seems to have a wider spread of support among the respondents concerned. The importance of different language skills at work & the lack of training in language skills in school according to graduates & their employers 67. The response of graduate and employer respondents to the questions of which language skills are important at work, and which language skills lack development and training in school is summarized in Table 9. As expected, there is much agreement concerning the importance of English skills at work, and that such skills of graduates are not adequately developed during their education. Also, it appears that the development of Putonghua skills requires more attention from the authorities concerned. Other observations 68. In the case of educator respondents' perception of students' language proficiency, there appears to be a correlation between the respondent's rating of students' proficiency and the social distance between him/her and the students within the school hierarchy. For example, the school heads tend to view students' proficiency more favourably than panel heads, who in turn tend to view them more favourably than the language teachers. 69. Another case of interest is when the student respondents are sub-divided into two groups on the basis of their socio-economic status (SES), significant between-group difference are found in their response to many items. For example, a much larger percentage of respondents with high SES agree that their high-level Chinese skills, and on most aspects of their English skills are good. More of them have better self-reported exam results in the languages, and agree that they have opportunities to use English outside class. Also, fewer of them agree that they have difficulties learning the languages. Conclusion 70. From the findings of this study, one may surmise that, on-the-whole, the Chinese skills of students and graduates are perceived to be good; and that their English skills are perceived to be poor, while their Putonghua skills are perceived to be even worse. 71. There is much agreement in evidence about what contribute to the less than desirable situation in the learning of these three languages in Hong Kong, as well as a confluence of views on what require to be done to remedy the situation. 72. Finally, it is as well to remind the reader that this is an opinion survey. The facts of opinion are uncovered, but they should be differentiated from the facts of language proficiency which is facility in the use of language for a purpose with people in a setting. 32

TABLE 1: THE SAMPLE Category Primary Secondary Tertiary Total Principal 60 60 N.A. 120 Chinese Panel Chairman 59 59 N.A. 118 English Panel Chairman 58 61 N.A. 119 Chinese Teacher 254 280 N.A. 534 English Teacher 275 302 N.A. 577 Putonghua Teacher 30 20 N.A. 50 Lecturer N.A. N.A. 212 (Y1:131) (Other:81) Student 1375(P5) 2409 (S1:1460) (S6:949) Parent 360(P1-P6) 365 (S1,S3,S5) 212 213(Y1) 3997 N.A. 725 Graduate N.A. 245(S5) 210 455 Employer N.A. 138(S5) 183 321 Total 2471 3939 818 7228 33

TABLE 2: THE RANKING OF ASSIGNMENTS NOT INTERESTING AS A HINDERING FACTOR FOR LEARNING CHINESE WELL ACCORDING TO EDUCATOR RESPONDENTS Respondents Ranking Primary school heads 1 Secondary school heads 2 Primary Chinese panel heads 2 Secondary Chinese panel heads 3 Primary Chinese teachers 1 Secondary Chinese teachers 1 TABLE 3: PROPOSED MEASURES THAT HELP IMPROVE THE LEARNING/TEACHING OF CHINESE IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO SCHOOL HEADS & PANEL HEADS PROPOSED MEASURES The post of Chinese Panel Chairman should be established as an official grade The provision of School Library facilities is helpful to students' learning of Chinese. The Chinese Extensive Reading Scheme organized by ED is helpful to students' learning of Chinese. There should be a certification exam for Chinese language teachers. SCHOOL HEADS PANEL HEADS 96.7 88.7 94.8 92.7 87.3 84.5 63.8 49.0 34

TABLE 4: PROPOSED MEASURES THAT HELP IMPROVE THE LEARNING/TEACHING OF CHINESE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO SCHOOL HEADS & PANEL HEADS PROPOSED MEASURE The Chinese Extensive Reading Scheme organized by ED is helpful to students' learning of Chinese. The post of deputy Chinese Panel Chairman should be established as an official grade SCHOOL HEAD PANEL HEAD 85.8 62.2 77.4 90.6 TABLE 5: PROPOSED MEASURES THAT HELP IMPROVE THE LEARNING/TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO SCHOOL HEADS & PANEL HEADS PROPOSED MEASURE The post of English Panel Chairman should be established as an official grade The provision of School Library facilities is helpful to students' learning of English. The Expatriate English Language Teachers Scheme is helpful to students' learning of English. The English Extensive Reading Scheme organized by ED is helpful to students' learning of English There should be a certification examination for English language teachers. Computer facilities can help improve the students' English language ability. The English language public exams should assess students mainly on their English communication skills. SCHOOL HEADS PANEL HEADS 96.7 93.4 83.4 77.5 81.1 70.4 78.4 83.4 71.9 50.0 59.5 62.7 49.5 66.6 35

TABLE 6: PROPOSED MEASURES THAT HELP IMPROVE THE LEARNING/TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO SCHOOL HEADS & PANEL HEADS PROPOSED MEASURE School Library facilities is helpful to students' learning of English. The English Extensive Reading Scheme organized by ED is helpful to students' learning of English. Split class teaching in Secondary 1 & 2 is effective in helping students learn English. The post of deputy English Panel Chairman should be established as an official grade There should be a certification exam for English language teachers. SCHOOL HEAD PANEL HEAD 97.2 87.0 87.3 59.5 86.0 85.9 81.3 81.2 74.3 65.0 TABLE 7: APPROPRIATE CLASS-LEVELS FOR STUDENTS TO START LEARNING ENGLISH & PUTONGHUA ACCORDING TO SCHOOL HEADS CLASS LEVEL English LANGUAGES Putonghua K 0% 5.6% P1 75.6% 34.6% P2 2.0% 6.8% P3 11.9% 20.6% P4 6.1% 21.4% P5 3.4% 0% P6 1.0% 0% S1 0% 10.9% 36

TABLE 8: APPROPRIATE CLASS-LEVELS FOR STUDENTS TO START LEARNING ENGLISH & PUTONGHUA ACCORDING TO TEACHING STAFF CLASS LEVEL LANGUAGES English 4 Putonghua 5 Putonghua 6 0% 6.4% 3.3% P1 89.1% 28.3% 54.8% P2 0% 23.3% 0% P3 4.1% 3.9% 18.0% P4 5.6% 38.1% 11.1% P5 0% 0% 0% P6 1.2% 0% 0% S1 0% 0% 12.8% 4 Views of sampled English panel heads. 5 Views of sampled Primary Putonghua Teachers. 6 Views of sampled Secondary Putonghua Teachers. 37

TABLE 9: GRADUATE & EMPLOYER RESPONDENTS' EVALUATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGE SKILLS AT WORK & WHICH OF THESE SKILLS LACK TRAINING IN SCHOOL Language skill important at work (% agree) S5 Graduates Spoken English 86.4 Written English 45.7 Written Chinese 18.6 Putonghua 15.4 Cantonese 13.3 Language skill lack training in school (% agree) Spoken English 60.7 Putonghua 46 Written English 26.1 Written Chinese 4 Cantonese 3.1 Employer of S5 graduates Spoken English 80.2 Written English 73 Written Chinese 64.6 Putonghua 51.9 Cantonese 42.7 Spoken English 65.5 Putonghua 52.5 Written English 44 Written Chinese 32.2 Cantonese 14.4 Tertiary graduates Spoken English 89 Written English 82 Putonghua 67.5 Written Chinese 48.3 Cantonese 32.5 Putonghua 71.4 Written English 47.1 Spoken English 45.7 Written Chinese 26.7 Cantonese 25.2 Employers of tertiary graduates Written English 87.4 Spoken English 83.1 Written Chinese 51.4 Putonghua 43.7 Cantonese 35.7 Putonghua 55.7 Spoken English 54.6 Written English 41 Written Chinese 37.2 Cantonese 16.9 38