This paper explains how, in 2001, failing rates on the writing and oral sections of the first Language Proficiency Assessment Test for Hong Kong's inservice or prospective English teachers shocked the Education Department and the public, creating general concern about failing English standards among Hong Kong students. Government officials and school administrators declared that immediate remedial measures must taken to stem this tide, moving the issue of language in education into the spotlight. This paper suggests that in the midst of such an overwhelming language crisis, it is important to be open to different perspectives in order to better understand the whole issue and devise appropriate measures to deal with the problem. It focuses on the fundamental question of whether the English standard is actually falling, as the public believes, what standard English in Hong Kong is like, the role of "social psyche" in standard English, and what can be done about the issue. It concludes that English to Hong Kong students is only a second language, mostly used vocationally in reading and writing, noting that language can be creolized. It suggests that by understanding these facts, it might be possible to establish another perspective on the issue of declining English standards among Hong Kong students. (Contains 29 references.) (SM)