Learning Environment
Adaptation to Hong Kong
It is not uncommon to see new comers striving their best to integrate into a new society by learning the local language. In Hong Kong, you have to understand at least a basic level of Cantonese to survive. Most of our informants also underwent a similar process in adapting to Hong Kong – and lucky for them, they have learned Cantonese at a very young age.
(Islamic) For Islamic school students, Aayasha has studied Cantonese since primary school. Anse has studied it since kindergarten and believes her life is easier in Hong Kong when she has acquired Cantonese, She also studied it in local primary school which allows her to be fluent in Cantonese like any other Hong konger. Somawia also came to Hong Kong when she was 1 year old. But her case is quite intriguing: she spoke fluent Cantonese when she was young, but after moving to Pakistan for 3 years, she forgot most of her Cantonese because she lacked opportunities to practice and use it frequently.
(Local) As for local school students, Faraz and Shamas followed their parents and came to Hong Kong at the age of 8 and 6 respectively. Their father has worked in Hong Kong since 1980s and in the hope of family reunion, Faraz and Shamas are in Hong Kong now – the reason is as simple as that. Wishing them to integrate into the society and be able to communicate with Hong konger fluently, Faraz and Shamas’ parents sent them to a local primary school where the main medium of instruction is, of course, Cantonese. At first Faraz and Shamas did not know any Cantonese words and hardly speak good English as well, hence they both started their education as a P1 student. It was a tough experience for them to start off their academic experience in a local school. But it turned out worthwhile since they could acquire Cantonese at a young age. The language shift is evident and amazing. It then was no surprise for them to be admitted in a local secondary school as well, for their great competency in Cantonese.
School Time
The learning environment, including facilities and activities provided by the school, is created and maintained by teachers, classmates, and our informants in harness. To a large extent, it does influence one’s language use, and perhaps even its identity construction.
Interaction with Teachers and Classmates
Most students in class will speak the language that they are comfortable with. During English class, Hong konger students may discuss in Cantonese every now and then.
(Islamic) Just like the rest of us, Anse, Aayasha and Somawia will speak in Urdu privately with classmates in Chinese lessons when the teachers do not notice. They will also speak Urdu with teachers in casual time – though teachers still try their best to encourage them to speak in either Cantonese or English during class.
(Local) Likewise, Faraz and Shamas also shared with us that their Chinese teacher advised them not to code-swtich between Cantonese and English, probably for the sake of coming public examination. They also grab every opportunity to speak in Cantonese – in fact, they took the initiative to ask us whether the interview could be conducted in Cantonese as they have practiced hard and want to be more fluent.
Arguably, the teachers’ support and the whole of learning environment foster their preference in using Cantonese, the language which is essential in living in Hong Kong. Teachers encourage them to speak in English or Cantonese, regardless of the school’s backgrounds in local or Islamic studies. It is possible to argue that teachers understand the significance and status of these two languages in Hong Kong, and for the sake of students, it is optimal if they can master the languages. Informants, too, often abide by this norm and behave like a student and do what are expected from them: to speak either English and Cantonese, though some of them, especially those from Islamic school, cannot resist the calling from their own mother tongue, will communicate with their Pakistani friends in Urdu from time to time.
However, the difference is shown regarding their interaction with their classmates and friends.
(Islamic) Anse, Aayasha and Somawia do not find themselves different from other classmates because they understand and respect each others’ differences. Though they mostly communicate with their classmates in Urdu, they are quite flexible and will use Chinese if some of them cannot speak Urdu.
(Local) Faraz and Shamas, on the other hand, use Cantonese as the main language to interact with their classmates. And they know a bit Mandarin too since their school has a considerable number of new immigrants. Their best friends are actually from Shantou and Chongqing -- so when they communicate with their friends, they will speak in Chinsee. We can see that when informants speak to their classmates or friends, they usually talk in the language that they are most comfortable with. And they would switch to Urdu when they are at home because not all their family members know Cantonese or English.
Arguably, one’s identity can somehow be reflected by its language choices, and language choices of people often depend on different circumstances. When one is in academic environment like during class, they are mostly aware of the role as a student and fulfill the expectations of such professional or academic identity. And when one is in a casual setting, they will identify themselves with social circle around them. In these occasions, our informants assume their identities as a friend and perhaps use a more friendly register for interaction. Their choice of vocabularies may vary as well, depending on who they are talking to.
Apart from Studying...
(Islamic) Anse, Aayasha and Somawia are in Drama Club. When asked whether there was any cultural or religion elements added in to plot, they replied, "the story is written by our teacher, and we have roles that are specifically designed for us". Somawia has also participated in doing voluntary work which provides her with more opportunities to meet and interact with local Hong konger, though she brings along a translator who can speak Cantonese to go with her and reply on her behalf. In addition, there is a Multicultural Day in their school. Students dress up in their traditional clothes and have booths serving traditional food of different ethnicities. These activities make them feel that they are the same, regardless of race and color.
(Local) Faraz and Shamas, on the other hand, are passionate about playing basketball and were in basketball team since P2 and P3. Sadly, they were discriminated against for a while at the beginning in the team because there were only 3 to 4 minorities in the team. But things did get better when they had developed a tight bond with one another. As of now, Shamas still devotes himself in the basketball team in school while Faraz focuses more on study now. This also makes Shamas the only minority in the team. But this certainly does not, and will not, stop him from doing what he loves. There are not many festivals celebrating Pakistani or Islamic festivals in the local school they are attending. But they do have culture week like booths featuring cultures around the world or introducing traditions of different ethnicities -- all of which are enjoyable.
Prayer Room? Prayer Hall?
As minorities in Hong Kong, especially with a religious belief, all of our informants have certain religious practices to follow – they are required to pray 5 times a day. In fact, both Islamic and local schools have offered them some degree of assistance.
Given the overwhelming population of students believing in Islam, the Islamic school requires students to gather in prayer hall before lunch -- though it is optional for non-Muslims who can choose not to go. The local school also provides a prayer room for our informants to follow their praying routine every time before lunch hour. Faraz also shared an episode with us about how religion plays a role in choosing which school to attend. He mentioned that he was originally admitted by a school which required him to buy a bible. Their family strongly opposed it, saying it would violate their Islamic belief and insisting on changing to another school which has no such prerequisite. It is therefore evident that religion does play a role in influencing their choice of learning environment and schools which can cater to their needs are more preferred to accommodate their religious identities.
"How is your learning environment?"
(Islamic) Informants from Islamic school described their learning environment as a friendly one -- such positive feedback possibly arises from the genuine acceptance of one another's differences and identities. However, one mentioned that her Chinese got worse since she entered the Islamic school, saying that there were fewer opportunities for her to communicate with her friends in Cantonese, and English gradually took place and became the main language used in daily conversation with teachers, classmates and friends. But still, it is "fun and interesting" to study here -- because it allows them to "multi-task" in a way to use multiple languages in school time. Such learning environment is beneficial to their future development because they would build up their confidence by growing up in an inclusive atmoshpere, which is essential for their personal development. Also, since they can master and switch to different languages any time they want, it also provides them with an competitive edge in terms of language proficiency which is arguably valuable in today's multilingual workplace.
(Local) Faraz and Shamas are generally satisfied with their learning environment, but wish to have more foreigners whose mother tongue is English to be their classmates. They believe it would be a precious opportunity for them to practice more in English, which would then result in a truly more linguistically and culturally diverse learning environment. Above all, even though they do not understand dialects, our informants find them interesting. Since their primary schoolmates are all Hong kongers and speak Cantonese only, they are now exposed to more languages and dialects in school.
Multifaceted Identities: academic, social, religious, cultural...
Having said that identity is constantly renegotiating in different interactions with various interlocutors, from lecture time to casual chitchat, we shall not dismiss another dimension of it – that is, identity is also generally perceived as one’s ethnicity or nationality. Do our informants consider themselves Pakistanis, Hong konger, or rather world citizens who appreciate linguistic and cultural diversity? For instance, Faraz and Shamas from local school consider themselves as Pakistanis while Anse, Aaya and Somawia from Islamic school see themselves as more of Hong konger. The differences in perception of their identities or ethnicities arguably can be illustrated by contrast in the learning environment. It is possible that the three girls are very comfortable with communicating with people of same ethnicity and are generally accepted by these group of people, they are more receptive towards different perspectives and believe a linguistically or culturally diverse environment can be truly appreciated and understood by the masses. On the other hand, the two boys from local school were, and have been, the minorities within their social group and learning environment. This may arguably become a barrier for them to consider themselves as part of Hong konger and convince them that they should further keep their guard up to preserve their identity as Pakistanis.
We may also employ here the idea by Bourdieu (1991) that the learning environment can be seen as their habitus and in each school, there is a set of “dispositions” as “norms”. Without being consciously coordinated, these norms incline students to react in a way in line with the schooling environment. Myers Scotton (2006) also explained that language attitudes have both instrumental and emotional bases, students would gauge the “symbolic value” of different ways of speaking in the “linguistic marketplace”, i.e. the school. Also, John Myhill (1999) suggested as his ideology, language-and-territory, that in each territory, i.e. schooling in our case, only one particular language “should be the one used in public circumstances and intergroup communication”. Therefore, when speaking a particular language has become a “norm”, it would encourage them to speak that language unconsciously, i.e. local school students speaking more Cantonese, Islamic school students speaking more English in class.