Astute observers would have noticed that the willingness to use English among Hong Kong people has been on the decline in recent years. On a rare return visit to my old school a few years ago, I was surprised to find that the notices on the boards were mostly in Chinese. When I was there, not a Chinese word could be seen on the school's campus, not even in the tuck shop.

I can still remember the headmaster at that time raising a controversy among the faculty by lacing his morning sermons with a few Cantonese phrases to the delight of the boys. Now, they have done away with the ritual entirely.

Hong Kong is a different city from the one I knew when I was one of the boys. It came as no surprise when I read the headline on a South China Morning Post (SCMP) story: Hong Kong's English-language skills branded "pathetic". If it's true, it doesn't bode well for Hong Kong, which tries so hard to brand itself an international city.

Some commentators dismissively argued that in Hong Kong's free market economy, people will learn English when there's a need for it in the market. I disagree.

Students in Hong Kong are exam oriented. If poor English is not seen as a hindrance to passing exams and getting into universities, they won't spend the time and efforts in mastering the language, irrespective of what the market needs.

Of course, the need is always there. English is the language for international finance and commerce. Hong Kong is a thriving international financial and global trade hub. The demand for office workers proficient in both the local dialect and English will only increase.

Those parents who insist on sending their children to international schools despite the very high cost know that proficiency in English is essential to getting good paying jobs. And they also know that learning a second language is not like acquiring a vocational skill which can be achieved at a later stage in life.

Subjectively, Hong Kong fares a lot better than many other Asian cities in terms of English usage. You can at least get what you want ordering in English at any MacDonald's restaurant in Hong Kong. Try that in Shanghai, and all you will get is a blank stare.

I am sure that the frontline workers at the retail and catering sectors know enough English to get by. But that's not good enough. Young people in Hong Kong need to raise the standard of their English to compete for the better-paid jobs in business and finance.

Joseph Luc Ngai, a director of McKinsey and Co in Hong Kong, was quoted in the SCMP article as saying that Hong Kong job applicants were weak not only in English but also in Chinese. He added that Hong Kong people would need to improve their English to maintain an advantage over mainlanders in the job market.

The question is how. Getting an all-English education seems like the most direct and effective ways, as many parents of well-to-do families believe. But those children cannot be expected to excel in Chinese, which educators say is also important for finding jobs.

This raises another question: what's wrong with the old education system? In the past, English was the medium of instruction in many Hong Kong schools. Students learn their Chinese from reading pop fictions and kung-fu novels they rented at side street books stores.

Nobody complained about the language skills of Hong Kong people then.

The author is a veteran current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 11/20/2013 page9)