English remains the top choice of Hong Kong parents when it comes to choosing a second language for their children to learn, though Putonghua is gaining popularity, according to a survey by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB).

The survey also showed that many parents are willing to spend more time with their children to help them learn a second language because they think children can learn faster that way and it will enhance parent-child relationship.

Last month, the party interviewed 338 parents whose children were below 16 years of age over the phone.

About 75 percent of them chose English as the second language they would like their children to learn and 16.6 percent chose Putonghua.

To help their children learn new languages, the parents bought books (45 percent), audio-visual discs (32.5 percent) or signed them up for language courses (22 percent).

About 78 percent said they would learn the language with their children because that would make their children learn more effectively and enhance their relationship.

As analyzed by DAB district councilor Starry Lee Wai-king, most parents want their children to learn English well, showing that they consider proficiency in English an important trait. However, as ties between Hong Kong and the mainland become closer in recent years, an increasing number of parents would like their children to have a good command of Putonghua as well.

"We encourage parents to learn languages with their kids or even teach them personally and we are glad to see that parents are very much willing to invest in learning foreign languages," she said.

As the summer holiday approaches, she suggested schools and social services groups organize more activities to nurture an interest in reading among children.

In this connection, the DAB is planning an online course next month using filter software to provide decent reading materials to teenagers.

(HK Edition 07/05/2008 page1)