<p>香港正在考虑让更多初中生使用英语作为教学媒介（MOI），教育部长指出学习环境的改善、教师素质的提升以及该领域的其他发展。教育局局长蔡若莲周四表示，公立小学和中学在未来两年可能会面临更多的资源削减，因为政府进一步收紧开支。现行的 MOI 政策于 2010 年进行了微调，允许学校根据学生能力等特定标准自行决定每个班级的教学媒介，或者在六年周期内教授最多两门英语科目。所有班级均以英语授课的学校被视为精英学校，深受家长和学生的欢迎。蔡表示，该政策目前严格到只有前 40% 的学生被允许在初中使用英语学习。但她表示，行业的改善使她考虑是否可以放宽这一门槛。“我们实施了许多不同的支持措施，比如数字教育。实际上，学校之间的语言环境和教师资格没有太大差别，” 她在与媒体的年度春季聚会上表示。“我认为值得考虑是否应该严格考虑这个 ‘学生标准’（前 40%）。因此，我们将根据学习和教学的新发展模式、香港作为一个国际化城市以及为学生提供装备的情况，审查未来的 MOI 政策。” 希望使用英语作为 MOI 的学校必须满足三个标准：学生的英语学习能力；教师的能力；以及足够的支持。为了满足学生能力的第一个标准，班级使用英语作为 MOI 时，至少 85% 的初一新生必须在前两年的周期中英语能力位于前 40%。蔡表示，调整门槛还将取决于教育局委托香港大学进行的 MOI 研究的结果。她表示，她也愿意审查六年周期的持续时间，因为她希望简化机制。下一个周期将从 2028-29 年持续到 2033-34 年。“我认为我们也可以优化学校切换 MOI 的机制，比如是否会有这个审查周期，但现在说还为时尚早……我对是否将持续时间保持在六年持开放态度，” 她说。香港资助中学议会主席李怡颖表示，她同意学生的学业表现不应被视为排除他们可以用英语授课的严格门槛。“12 岁孩子的思维和能力处于动态成长阶段，具有极高的可塑性，” 她说。“学生是否能有效地用英语学习，取决于创造良好的学习环境、学校的细致培养和个人的毅力，而不是他们年轻时的考试成绩。” 现行安排允许学校采用 “校内分层教学法”——在最多两门非语言科目中使用英语作为教学媒介。此前，机构仅采用中文或英文作为其 MOI。同时，蔡还表示，公立小学和中学在未来两年应预期进一步削减资源，因为政府减少开支，并且这一决定不会受到其财务状况近期改善的影响。“当我们去年削减大学的资源时，也削减了他们三年的资源；中小学教育也将如此，” 她说。“我们必须在三年内完成资源优化的过程。因此，我们将在未来两年内继续这样做。” 在本学年，香港公立学校最大的资金来源之一——扩展运营费用补助金已削减 10%。当局去年宣布了支出削减的提议，称包括教育局内部预算在内的总削减将从 2024-25 年到 2027-28 年达到 7%。蔡还提到了一项提议，要求教师获得有效期为三年的执业证书，表示阅读与其专业相关的书籍可以算作专业发展。她表示，要求教师更新证书与现有要求相符，即在三年周期内完成至少 150 小时的继续专业发展，并且关键学习阶段的持续时间，驳回了五年更新的建议。“现在即使你们（教师）愿意阅读书籍，我也将其视为专业发展，有些课程甚至是在线进行……但这些书籍当然应与他们的教学和专业相关，” 她说。她表示，离开教育行业一段时间的教师在重新加入学校之前，必须在大学完成至少 60 小时的专业发展课程，以更新他们在该领域的最新发展。她表示，将开发一个电子平台供教师申报继续专业发展课程。“教师并不觉得专业发展麻烦；他们只是对注册和记录所学内容的工作感到烦恼。电子平台是为了方便这些事务，” 她说。</p>

恒生指数

<p>香港教育局局长蔡若莲正在考虑允许更多初中学生使用英语作为教学语言（MOI），这是由于教育领域的改善。目前，只有前 40% 的学生可以用英语学习，但蔡若莲建议放宽这一门槛。然而，随着政府收紧预算，学校在未来两年将面临进一步的资源削减。现行的 MOI 政策允许有限的英语教学，蔡若莲愿意审查 MOI 周期的标准和持续时间</p>

<p>Hong Kong is considering letting more junior secondary school pupils use English as their medium of instruction (MOI), with the education minister pointing to an improved learning environment, better qualified teachers and other developments in the sector. Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin also said on Thursday that publicly funded primary and secondary schools could expect more cuts in resources in the coming two years as the government tightened its belt further. The existing MOI policy, fine-tuned in 2010, allows schools to determine their own medium of instruction in each class if they fulfil certain criteria including student ability, or they can teach English in up to two subjects, in a six-year cycle. Schools in which all classes are taught in English are regarded as elite and are highly popular with parents and students. Choi said the policy was now so stringent that only the top 40 per cent of students were allowed to learn in English in junior secondary schools. But she said improvements in the sector led her to consider whether the threshold could be relaxed. “We have implemented many different support measures like digital education. In fact, there is no big difference in the language environment and teachers’ qualifications [among schools],” she said at an annual spring gathering with the press. “I think it is worth considering whether we should factor in this ‘student criteria’ [of the top 40 per cent] strictly. Therefore, we will review the future policy of MOI based on the new development model of learning and teaching, Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan city and equipping our students.” Schools that wish to use English as the MOI have to fulfil three criteria: student ability to learn in English; teacher capability; and adequate support. To fulfil the first criterion on student ability, for a class to use English as the MOI, at least 85 per cent of the Form One intake must be within the top 40 per cent for English ability in the previous two years of the cycle. Choi said adjusting the threshold would also depend on the result of a MOI study that the Education Bureau had commissioned the University of Hong Kong to conduct. She said she was also open to reviewing the duration of the six-year cycle as she wanted to simplify the mechanism. The next cycle will run from 2028-29 to 2033-34. “I think we can also optimise the mechanism on schools switching MOI, such as whether they will have this review cycle, but now it is too early to say … I am open to suggestions whether the duration should be kept at six years,” she said. Lee Yi-ying, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said she agreed that the academic performance of students should not be regarded as a rigid threshold ruling out that they could be taught in English. “A 12-year-old’s mind and abilities are in a dynamic growth stage, possessing extremely high malleability,” she said. “Whether a student can learn in English effectively depends not on their test scores in their youth, but on the creation of a conducive learning environment, the school’s meticulous cultivation and the individual’s perseverance.” The existing arrangements allow schools to adopt a “within-school streaming approach” – where English can be used as the medium of instruction for a maximum of two non-language subjects. Previously, institutions adopted only Chinese or English as their MOI. Choi, meanwhile, also said that primary and secondary schools should expect further cuts in resources in the coming two years as the government reduced spending and that the decision would not be affected by recent improvements in its financial situation. “When we cut the resources for universities last year, we also cut their resources for three years; secondary and primary education will be the same,” she said. “We have to finish the process of resource optimisation in three years. So we will still do this in the coming two years.” In this academic year, one of the largest sources of funding for the city’s public schools – the Expanded Operating Expenses Block Grant – has been cut by 10 per cent. Authorities last year announced proposed cuts to expenditure, saying the total reduction including the Education Bureau’s internal budget would amount to 7 per cent from 2024-25 to 2027-28. Choi also touched on a proposed requirement for teachers to obtain practising certificates, valid for three years, saying that reading books related to their expertise could be counted as professional development. She said requiring teachers to renew the certificate aligned with existing requirements of having to complete at least 150 hours of continuing professional development in a three-year cycle and the duration of key learning stages, dismissing suggestions of five-year renewals. “Now even if you [teachers] are willing to read books, I also count it as professional development, and some courses are even conducted online … but the books of course should be relevant to their teaching and profession,” she said. She said teachers who had left the profession for a period of time had to finish at least 60 hours of professional development courses at a university to update themselves on the latest developments in the sector before rejoining schools. She said an electronic platform would be developed for teachers to declare continuing professional development courses. “Teachers do not find professional development troublesome; they are only annoyed by the work of registration and recording what they have learned. The electronic platform is to facilitate this stuff,” she said.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>香港正在考虑让更多初中生使用英语作为教学媒介（MOI），教育部长指出学习环境的改善、教师素质的提升以及该领域的其他发展。教育局局长蔡若莲周四表示，公立小学和中学在未来两年可能会面临更多的资源削减，因为政府进一步收紧开支。现行的 MOI 政策于 2010 年进行了微调，允许学校根据学生能力等特定标准自行决定每个班级的教学媒介，或者在六年周期内教授最多两门英语科目。所有班级均以英语授课的学校被视为精英学校，深受家长和学生的欢迎。蔡表示，该政策目前严格到只有前 40% 的学生被允许在初中使用英语学习。但她表示，行业的改善使她考虑是否可以放宽这一门槛。“我们实施了许多不同的支持措施，比如数字教育。实际上，学校之间的语言环境和教师资格没有太大差别，” 她在与媒体的年度春季聚会上表示。“我认为值得考虑是否应该严格考虑这个 ‘学生标准’（前 40%）。因此，我们将根据学习和教学的新发展模式、香港作为一个国际化城市以及为学生提供装备的情况，审查未来的 MOI 政策。” 希望使用英语作为 MOI 的学校必须满足三个标准：学生的英语学习能力；教师的能力；以及足够的支持。为了满足学生能力的第一个标准，班级使用英语作为 MOI 时，至少 85% 的初一新生必须在前两年的周期中英语能力位于前 40%。蔡表示，调整门槛还将取决于教育局委托香港大学进行的 MOI 研究的结果。她表示，她也愿意审查六年周期的持续时间，因为她希望简化机制。下一个周期将从 2028-29 年持续到 2033-34 年。“我认为我们也可以优化学校切换 MOI 的机制，比如是否会有这个审查周期，但现在说还为时尚早……我对是否将持续时间保持在六年持开放态度，” 她说。香港资助中学议会主席李怡颖表示，她同意学生的学业表现不应被视为排除他们可以用英语授课的严格门槛。“12 岁孩子的思维和能力处于动态成长阶段，具有极高的可塑性，” 她说。“学生是否能有效地用英语学习，取决于创造良好的学习环境、学校的细致培养和个人的毅力，而不是他们年轻时的考试成绩。” 现行安排允许学校采用 “校内分层教学法”——在最多两门非语言科目中使用英语作为教学媒介。此前，机构仅采用中文或英文作为其 MOI。同时，蔡还表示，公立小学和中学在未来两年应预期进一步削减资源，因为政府减少开支，并且这一决定不会受到其财务状况近期改善的影响。“当我们去年削减大学的资源时，也削减了他们三年的资源；中小学教育也将如此，” 她说。“我们必须在三年内完成资源优化的过程。因此，我们将在未来两年内继续这样做。” 在本学年，香港公立学校最大的资金来源之一——扩展运营费用补助金已削减 10%。当局去年宣布了支出削减的提议，称包括教育局内部预算在内的总削减将从 2024-25 年到 2027-28 年达到 7%。蔡还提到了一项提议，要求教师获得有效期为三年的执业证书，表示阅读与其专业相关的书籍可以算作专业发展。她表示，要求教师更新证书与现有要求相符，即在三年周期内完成至少 150 小时的继续专业发展，并且关键学习阶段的持续时间，驳回了五年更新的建议。“现在即使你们（教师）愿意阅读书籍，我也将其视为专业发展，有些课程甚至是在线进行……但这些书籍当然应与他们的教学和专业相关，” 她说。她表示，离开教育行业一段时间的教师在重新加入学校之前，必须在大学完成至少 60 小时的专业发展课程，以更新他们在该领域的最新发展。她表示，将开发一个电子平台供教师申报继续专业发展课程。“教师并不觉得专业发展麻烦；他们只是对注册和记录所学内容的工作感到烦恼。电子平台是为了方便这些事务，” 她说。</p>
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香港教育负责人表示，可能会允许更多学生在课堂上使用英语