Setting attainable and appropriate English language targets in multilingual settings: a case for Hong Kong

Many countries of Kachru's 'expanding circle' retain models of English which are based on native-speaker models; China, Japan and Korea provide good examples of this. The Hong Kong government has adopted the policy of making its citizens trilingual in Cantonese, Putonghua (Mandarin) and English and biliterate in Chinese and English. There is concern, however, that these aims are not being met, possibly because native-speaker models are being set as targets for Hong Kong's school children. It is being increasingly argued that such models are both unattainable and irrelevant in multilingual settings such as Hong Kong and that these should be replaced by local bilingual models. This article will explore the feasibility of this approach in Hong Kong and in other comparable settings.