A possible language profile of S6 school leavers in 2012

The change from a 3-year to a 4-year curriculum has provided universities in Hong Kong an opportunity to reflect on the existing practice and consider more thoroughly undergraduates' needs in the current and future global environment, and, approaches to teaching and learning that can address such needs efficiently and effectively. Having completed education under the new education system, S6 school leavers in 2012 may enter universities with a different profile. For English Language Centres, when designing language courses for the 4-year curriculum, course developers should consider also this possible difference. Though a more reliable and valid comparison can only be conducted after 2012, comparison data on student performance in the new and old systems at junior levels would still provide useful input to language course developers when prioritising their course content. This small-scale study interviewed and surveyed school principals and teachers to collect their perceptions of student profile in the two systems. Samples of student performance in the two groups were also compared to triangulate findings in the perception study. This paper will present major findings of the study and suggest a possible language profile of the 2012 S6 school leavers.