The Putonghua performances of university students in Hong Kong : problem areas and countermeasures in teaching

Abstract

This study analyzes the performances of 2,861 students who took the Putonghua Proficiency Test (Putonghua Shuiping Kaoshi, PSK) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the academic year 2007-2008. Among the sub-skills of Putonghua, students performed best in speaking, followed by listening, and performed worst in reading aloud and Putonghua basic knowledge. It was found that students had difficulties in pronunciation when reading aloud and in mastering the basic knowledge of pinyin and Putonghua vocabulary. To enhance the Putonghua proficiency of university students in Hong Kong, more efforts should be put into the teaching of Putonghua pronunciation and vocabulary. At the same time, more opportunities should be provided for Putonghua communication in an authentic environment. 本研究以2007-2008年度参加香港理工大学普通话水平考试的2,861名学生为受试 对象，分析他们在普通话基础知识、说话、聆听、朗读这四个范畴的表现。结果 显示，学生在说话项目中表现最好，聆听次之，而朗读以及普通话基础知识则较 差。其中，朗读错误集中在语音上，而普通话基础知识的明显不足则体现为对拼 音和词汇的掌握欠佳。为了提升香港大学生的普通话至更为精准的程度，我们认 为有必要进一步重视普通话语音与用词教学，同时创设更多机会让学生在真实情 境下使用普通话进行口语交际。