Cat 1 vs Cat 2

cay12366

If parents' native language is Chinese and the kid is raised up by English only, is it still considered as Cat 2?  Thanks.

蜜蜜

If your kid can only speaks in English and could not understand any Cantonese, then he/she is Cat 1.

WYmom

As far as I know, the school will also consider if parents speak English or Chinese, and where the child was born.  If parents can speak Chinese and child was born in HK, he/she will be Cat 2.

lottieclee

And whether you are Cat 1 or Cat 2, it is always wise to find backup if you are considering ESF.

I applied to 4 kindergartens for my son and with Year 1 application, we have applied to 6 schools, including ESF primary and both their PIS.  I would tell you many ESF parents apply to all 3 ESF schools, so they can choose which one they want to go to.  And we are encouraged to do so during parents information sessions.

[ 本帖最後由 lottieclee 於 11-11-17 10:30 編輯 ]

FennieMan

yes, if parents can speak Chinese and child was born in HK, he/she will be Cat 2 .

原帖由 WYmom 於 11-11-17 08:32 發表
As far as I know, the school will also consider if parents speak English or Chinese, and where the child was born.  If parents can speak Chinese and child was born in HK, he/she will be Cat 2.

mirimiri

But I know few cases that both parents are local HK and speak Chinese, but their kids are cat 1, coz they claimed their kids only speak English.....

原帖由 WYmom 於 11-11-17 08:32 發表
As far as I know, the school will also consider if parents speak English or Chinese, and where the child was born.  If parents can speak Chinese and child was born in HK, he/she will be Cat 2.

debbieip

但我覺得, 有時我地都不清楚知道小朋友係cat1 or cat 2....
而我朋友問ESF 幼稚園老師, 佢話CAT 1 / CAT 2 都係要INTERVIEW PASS 左先得! 佢話INTERVIEW時係一樣咁
IN, IN 完所有人, PASS的小朋友先排CAT 1 優先, 有位剩就到CAT 2! 如果係CAT 1 但INTERVIEW FAIL 都係唔得!
所以最緊要係要有INTERVIEW! 讀有聯繫的幼稚園十分重要!

bbirene

Category One
Children who speak English as a first or alternative language but do not speak Cantonese and/or read and write Chinese characters.


But actually if the parents are local Chinese, they won't believe your child cannot speak Cantonese.   As I know one example, even the parents and the child with foreign passports (born in HK), and claimed that the child cannot speak Cantonese, he is also regarded as Cat 2.

[ 本帖最後由 bbirene 於 11-11-17 12:33 編輯 ]

cay12366

How do we find out whether school put us a Cat 1 or Cat 2?  Thanks.

josechan

我舊老細係個local, cantonese fluent 到可以鬧人, 英文亦都好native (外國生活好多年), 打去 esf 用英文問有冇位, 叫佢即刻去IN, 好快就話收, 老細自己都話ESF 當佢係 Cat 1, 咁當然佢個仔係英文好過中文..好多!

MandyB

I can't agree with you as I knew a few parents whose kids studied in local kinders before they got admitted in ESF Kinder.  The parents are local Chinese and speak perfect Cantonese but claimed their kids could not.   When they applied for ESF P1, they did not report to the school that their kids had attended in local kinders prior to joining ESF Kinders.  Of course they were categorized as Cat 1.  Finally their kids got admitted in ESF Primary.

charlielola

我有朋友起英國出生,識講中文,佢先生係英國人,個仔都識講中文, 而家讀緊Wu Kai Sha K1, 佢問過校長, 佢地依個case將來esf會唔會當個仔係Cat 2而影響入KJS, 校長話一定會計佢係Cat 1, 因為父母既母語係英文, 就算佢地識講中文都無問題

所以可以推論出esf係好睇父母既語言背景而決定其子女係Cat 1 or Cat 2

蜜蜜

My daughter was a Cat 1 and both me and my husband are local. She is now in ESF Year 1. See what u believe then.

蜜蜜

But I must say I did not lie andy daughter was truly only able to speak in English and could not respond to any Cantonese at that time.

lovelyteresa

hey 蜜蜜，how can you keep your kid not speaking or understanding cantonese in 2 years' time?  all of your friends and relatives are not speaking english?  i think it's quite hard for my kid as some family members will talk to her in cantonese though parents and maid speak english only...and i'm planning to teach her mandarin (teacher of course, not by myself)...for sure mandarin speaker is still in cat1, but most hk kids can understand cantonese right?

蜜蜜

um..my family, including my mom & dad (that is her grandfather and grandmother) talked to her only in English at that time until she got an offer from ESF year one. but i cannot denied that she can respond simple cantonese like 坐底, 唔得, 係喎...but, she wouldn't respond if u did not call her name before saying that. and she wouldn't answer in cantonese anyway.

[ 本帖最後由 蜜蜜 於 11-11-17 16:05 編輯 ]

蜜蜜

One more thing to add, they might test your kid to see if he/she understand Cantonese during the interview. But not every ESF primary will do this.

karenchan99

I heard CWBS used the candies to test the kid, asked the kids "do you want a candy" in Cantonese.

wcllks

原帖由 蜜蜜 於 11-11-17 15:37 發表
But I must say I did not lie andy daughter was truly only able to speak in English and could not respond to any Cantonese at that time.

I agree with 蜜蜜 that we should not lie about the language proficiency of our kids. My kid successfully got in an ESF primary (a few years ago). When she was in kinder (also ESF), I intentionally spoke only English to her. She could speak Cantonese but could not read and write Chinese characters. Because of that, English was considered as my kid's first language. I do not know exactly whether she was classified as Cat 1 or Cat 2, but I tend to believe it was the former.

elmostoney

question:  my child is not in an ESF kinder nor a kinder with historical ties to ESF.  He got a letter for interview.  Does it mean he has a good chance?