Book imports vs English schools

I STRONGLY advocated the introduction of English-medium schools but after reading the letter “English schools not the answer”, I agree with the views of the writer.

Both my children attended national schools for 11 years before going to Australia for their tertiary education. They were able to graduate with good results and both are holding senior positions in two of the Big Four accounting firms in Australia. They did not experience problems while studying in universities in Australia.

Some of my nieces and nephews who attended Chinese-medium schools and national schools also went to Britain, the US and Australia and graduated with good results.

However, all their parents sent them for English tuition to help them to improve their English when they were in primary and secondary school.

I spoke to my children in English which helped them to develop good communications skills in English.

Children from rural areas don’t have the benefit of tuition to help them with their English.

The introduction of imported English books for preschoolers, Years One and Two pupils, and Forms One and Two students and using the Common European Framework of Languages curriculum (CEFR) beginning from 2018 is the better direction to take to improve the standard of English in schools. However, teachers teaching this curriculum must be well trained in order to ensure the success of the scheme.

Schools should hold more activities like debates and elocution in English to help them express themselves in English.

The introduction of imported English books and CEFR from 2018 is the right direction in improving the standard of English.