The Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (LPAT ; ) is an assessment examination for the

language proficiency Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to use language with a level of accuracy that transfers meaning in production and comprehension. There is no singular definition of language proficiency: while certain groups limit its scope to ...

of teachers in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. According to regulations, any teachers teaching

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

Putonghua Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...

(a.k.a. Mandarin Chinese) in Hong Kong, where

Cantonese Chinese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...

is mostly spoken, must have passed the LPAT, i.e. achieved a grade of not lower than Level 3 in each part of the assessment.

Introduction

The LPAT examination is jointly held by the

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), previously known as the Hong Kong Examinations Authority (HKEA) before 2002, is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government responsible for the administration of public examination ...

(HKEAA) and the

Education Bureau The Education Bureau (EDB) is responsible for formulating and implementing education policies in Hong Kong. The bureau is headed by the Secretary for Education and oversees agencies including University Grants Committee and Student Fina ...

(EDB) of the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

. There are two assessment examinations held annually in March and September, candidates are required to apply for the examination in beginning of October(?-no later than one month-?) before the examination commence and application is open to public. However, after 2006, the examination will be held once only in March. Since the Academic Year of 2004, all new language teachers are required to have the minimum requirement of LPAT met before they can start teaching full-time. HKEAA administer the oral and written portion of the examination, while the classroom language assessment is administered by the EDB.

English Language

The English language examination consists of five papers: # Reading (Comprehension), # Writing, # Listening, # Speaking, and # Classroom Language Assessment.

Putonghua

The Putonghua examination consists of four papers: # Listening and Recognition, #

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

, # Oral, and # Classroom Language Assessment.

External links

EDB, Government of HKSAR: Language Proficiency Assessment

Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority - Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers
{{Language tests Education in Hong Kong Language tests

Introduction

English Language

Putonghua

See also

External links