Introduction
Since 2002, with a view to promoting the importance of language education and creating a facilitating language learning environment for students and the workforce, SCOLAR has been organising and supporting various inter-school and community projects on the promotion of Chinese (including Putonghua) and English through partnership with various stakeholders such as government departments, non-governmental organisations and private sectors.
Through innovative and educational activities, the projects on the promotion of the Chinese language aim at arousing primary and secondary students’ interest in reading and writing in Chinese, and enhancing students' proficiency in writing through extensive reading. The projects on the promotion of Putonghua aim at creating a positive atmosphere for learning Putonghua in the community and a more conducive Putonghua environment outside the classroom.
Since the 2012/13 school year, SCOLAR has been sponsoring Programme on Supporting non-Chinese Speaking Children in Learning Chinese to encourage non-Chinese speaking (NCS) children to start learning Chinese language at an early stage and to arouse their interests in doing so. Through the launching of the Vocational Chinese Language Programme for NCS School Leavers in the 2015/16 school year, post-secondary institutions/training organisations have been invited to organise vocational Chinese language courses which aimed at enhancing NCS school leavers' capability of listening, speaking, reading and writing in Chinese and helping them obtain qualifications recognised by the Hong Kong Qualification Framework so as to enhance their employability.
The territory-wide project on the promotion of the English language, which was entitled "English Alliance" in the 2008/09 school year, aims at providing primary and secondary school students with pleasurable English language learning experiences so as to arouse their interest in the language, help them to develop an appreciation of the language, and to boost their confidence in using the language.
Application for "English Alliance 2023/24 and 2024/25", "Promotion of Chinese 2023/24 and 2024/25", "Promotion of Putonghua 2023/24 and 2024/25" and "Programmes on Supporting Non-Chinese Speakers in Learning Chinese 2023/24 and 2024/25" was closed on 3 February 2023. Assessment results will be announced tentatively in the third quarter of 2023.