Reviewof ‘Persistent Use of Mixed Code ：An Exploration of Its Functions in Hong Kong Schools’

熊劍琴

Low W.M. and Lu D.（ 2006）. Persistent Use of Mixed Code： An Exploration of Its Functions in Hong Kong Schools. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 9（2）. 181-204

Low and Lus article mainly talks about how mixed code are used in the context of home setting and school setting by examining the views of Chinese students and Chinese teachers who teach in Hong Kong， aiming to find the purpose of using mixed code in Hong Kong schools.（Low and Lu， 2006，p181）

The methodology of this article was a questionnaire and the data was collected from some secondary schools in Hong Kong. （Low and Lu， 2006， p185）.Participants involved in the research is 160 teachers and students， which are divided into two groups. （Low and Lu， 2006， p185） Group one are 80 teachers from different secondary schools in Hong Kong. Group two are 80 students from two different academic levels. （Low and Lu， 2006， p185）. The questionnaire which was conducted for the teachers was written in English， whereas the questionnaire which was conducted for the student subjects was translated into Chinese.（Low and Lu，2006，p186）. The question design was used in the article was derived from Gibbons book which was published in 1979.（Low and Lu，2006，p186）.

After analyzing the data， it is found that for the teachers， they use mixed code more frequently at home than at school.（Low and Lu，2006，p187）. For students， they use mixed code more frequently in school than at home.（Low and Lu，2006，p194） The purpose of using mixed code is to illustrate a particular point when people are discussing academic matters or talking about sensitive issues like taboos.（ Low and Lu，2006，p196）.

On the whole， this article is valuable in both academic aspect. In the academic aspect， the main contribution this article makes is it provides some insights for the function of mixed code in Hong Kong schools. Though similar researches about mixed code have been studied for a long time， attentions paid in Hong Kong secondary schools were much less.（Low and Lu，2006，p184）. This article analyses the different purposes of using mixed code between the students and the teachers in Hong Kong schools， which may also be used in other schools where plenty of mixed code are frequently used， especially in mainland China such as Shanghai and Guangdong whose cultures are familiar with Hong Kong.

Though this article is valuable in academic aspects， there is a problem in the research process. First of all， the data collected is not as accurate as expected. As mentioned above， the questionnaire for teachers are written in English but they are translated in to Chinese for students， so when analyzing the questions， It is hard to insure the original English response and translated Chinese ones were equivalent， and any mistakes or unequivalence made in the translation may affect the accuracy of the data identified.（Low and Lu，2006，p201）. In addition， the data analyzing in this article were not convinced because the process of analyzing the data seems subjective. The people who analyzed the data were the first author of the article. If there were two persons having different views， they would discuss about the point until reach an agreement. It is unreasonable for the same person to analyze his or her own essay because it may cause subjective results.

Generally speaking， though the data used in the research seems subject and not convinced enough， it is no doubt that the two writers answered the research questions based on the data analysing and questionnaires， which are contributively in both academic and practical aspects of using mixed code in Hong Kong schools.

（作者單位：江西省華東交通大學(xué)理工學(xué)院 330100）