HKEAA links rise in student errors to GenAI, notes 'fragmented reading' and Hong Kong-style English

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority has identified increasing Chinese character errors and grammatical mistakes in Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams, suggesting generative AI's popularity may be contributing to students' "fragmented and colloquialized reading patterns."

In its newly published Chinese language subject report, the authority noted students' language abilities varied significantly amid massive daily information flow and GenAI proliferation. The report stated these factors may make reading more fragmented and colloquialized, making information organization and truth discrimination skills more urgent than ever.

The English language subject report highlighted widespread grammar and vocabulary deficiencies, including use of Hong Kong-style English such as "grandfather taught father taught me" and "people is very easy to call Uber."

For Chinese reading comprehension, many students showed superficial understanding, failing to analyze text structure deeply. The authority emphasized that modern life's pace makes focused reading difficult, and recommended reducing reliance on condensed "instant" online information while cultivating deep reading habits.

In English oral exams, weaker candidates frequently used formulaic expressions like "I agree with you" regardless of context and directly read from question prompts. Common spelling errors included confusing "world" with "word" and "fill" with "feel," while some struggled with basic vocabulary like "towel" and "apartment."