Despite the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region) government's determination to implement the "mother tongue education" policy amid strong social resistance one year after the handover, English remains a prestigious language in society. The need for Putonghua (Mandarin/Standard Chinese) is also increasing following ever-expanding…

The new call to action on foreign language competence is addressed to administrators and academic officers of higher education institutions. Based on recent reports on education, it is proposed that American colleges and universities are not succeeding in equipping students to live and communicate in an international world, and that the problem…