Mandarin is not a core subject, so they have little motivation to learn it. This forces teachers to lower their expectations and simplify their teaching materials. "From 1998, as Mandarin is included in the HKCEE exams, we will see if motivation improves, says Xia Xuan, principal of the Mandarin-medium Sun Fong Chung kindergarten.
「一九九八年之後，普通話將成為中學會考科目，看動機會不會強些」，以普通話教學為特色的孫方中幼稚園園長夏璇說。