In Hong Kong of China, there is no uniform Chinese language teaching book because there are various species of Chinese teaching books to choose for teachers to teach Mandarin Chinese in different schools. The document that has the function of standardizing the teaching process, difficulty levels and teaching demands is primary schools Chinese language course outline formulated by the Hong Kong Education Department.
According to the outline, the number of the Chinese words in the Chinese teaching books of different grades is limited. From the grade one to grade six, the numbers of the words should be respectively 460, 960, 1490, 2080, 2340 and 2600. According to the figures, some of the foreign learners who learn in Chinese learning programs can see that the number of the words that the students in Hon Kong is obviously less than that in the mainland. However, if the above number of words is demanded to be able to write, it is almost the same with the number of words in the mainland schools.
According to the Curriculum Standards in mainland China in 2002, the teaching books of grade one and two demand students to know 1600 to 1800 characters, among which students should be able to write 800 to 1000 characters. For students of grade three and four, they should know accumulated characters of 2500 and write 2000. The students of grade five and six should have the ability of learning characters independently and know accumulated 3000 characters and be able to write 2500 characters.
Nevertheless, the educators of the primary school in Hong Kong also process some trials and practice in the teaching methods for knowing Chinese characters. After that, some methods are put forward such as tolearn Chinese characters by following the rhythm, reciting poetry and even with the help of the life experience as well as multi-media. Since the time of the teachers in Hong Kong are fully scheduled and some limitations in the courses offered, it is difficult for the teachers to save enough teaching time to take specific measures to teach like the way in the inland China.
As a result, the main stream of Chinese language teaching in schools in Hong Kong is still to learn Chinese characters by following the texts and lessons. The teaching of words is the combination of recognizing, reading and writing at the same time. The most popular teaching way in Hong Kong is still the repeatedly dictation.