published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Task-based language teaching has a high profile within contemporary ELT. There are, however, few empirical studies of how teachers actually implement tasks in Chinese primary school contexts. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring how four teachers in two primary schools in Nanhai, Guangdong implement communicative activities in a top-down national innovation. This study involves three areas of investigation. The first area describes classroom practice. A particular focus is on activity types and the degree of communicativeness of activities. The second area analyzes how the practice reflects the general understanding of task-based pedagogy: the extent to which classroom activities are congruent with features of task? The third area concerns factors influencing communicativeness of lessons. Extensive data are drawn over a period of an academic year with four selected teachers (Betty, Rose, Paul and Jane). A total of 55 observations were conducted. Methods of documenting classroom data include a quantitative instrument based on COLT observation scheme (Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching) and qualitative field notes. The tool used to analyze the degree of communicativeness is derived from a well-recognized framework proposed by Littlewood. 64 semi-structured interviews were conducted to gauge participants’ perception of task-based teaching. Teachers, school principals and focused-group students were interviewed. The main findings are as follows. It is found that Betty and Rose use mainly focus-on-forms activities, Paul uses meaning-form-focused and Jane meaning-focused activities, suggesting, respectively, a low, medium and medium-high degree of communicativeness. Further analysis of activity features indicates that Betty and Rose’s teaching are teacher-centered, decontextualized and without a clear communicative goal and outcome, and thus not congruent with task features. Paul’s activities share features of non-communicative teaching and TBLT. Paul tried to integrate some communicative elements in his approach, although the majority of Paul’s activities still focus on the practice of language form. Jane’s activities, message-focused, student-centered and contextualized, reflect general features of tasks. Three sets of contextual and participant factors are found to influence TBLT implementation in the two case schools: 1) contextual, 2) teacher factors and 3) those related to pedagogical practice, including planning and instructional factors. The significance of this study is threefold. Firstly, I propose an adapted version of Littlewood’s communicative framework. This version contributes to the existing literature as it is a useful tool to analyze communicativeness of classroom activities in school context. Secondly, this study extends our knowledge of the kind of factors that influence TBLT implementation. Lastly, this study adds insights into character teachers cope with changes in the new English curriculum and the kind of classroom activities in Nanhai primary schools. It is hoped that these findings carry some resonances in other EFL contexts in East Asian Region. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The present study investigates the impact of a school play on the identity formation of six English as a Second Language (ESL) learners attending a local EMI secondary school. Data pertaining to students’ perception of their participation in the school play was collected through semi-structured interviews and diary entries over a period of four months. The findings show all participants generally view the group experience and the social interaction in the school play community as the major factors boosting their sense of belonging and engagement with the community at large. A number of generally positive (and evolving) multiple identities have been identified in the study as a result of the of social, cultural and symbolic capital accumulated by acquiring the English speaking proficiency needed on the stage. However, there is a slight difference between participants who assume a more major role and those who take up a minor role in regard to their level of engagement in the school play. Some informants acknowledge the difficulty in gaining a legitimate membership in the school play. Nevertheless, the general findings all point to the view that the school play supports the participants in the process of becoming a member of an ESL Community of Practice. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study investigates critical thinking skills of secondary school students in Hong Kong. It focuses on one specific subject of Liberal Studies, that has been one of the four core subjects in the New Senior Secondary curriculum since 2009. Most Hong Kong schools that use English Language as the medium of instruction conduct the lesson and assessment in the students’ second language. The assessments (public examination) include two written examinations (Paper 1: Data-based questions and Paper 2: Extended-response questions) and one Independent Enquiry Studies task accomplished under the guidance of a teacher. Critical thinking is regarded as one of the core skills that students need to master and demonstrate during the lessons and assessments (CDC, 2007). According to the Curriculum guide (CDC, 2007), the design of the curriculum and assessment framework for this subject “has taken into account overseas experiences in cross-disciplinary studies, pertaining in particular to critical thinking, life education, values education and civic education, with due consideration given to their relevance in the Hong Kong context”. Yet, the guide fails to examine the possible difficulties and challenges for Hong Kong students to acquire and demonstrate critical thinking through their second language. This study attempts to analyze whether predominantly Cantonese-speaking students can acquire and express critical thinking in an English-medium classroom. One of the central arguments of this paper is that while the mastery of critical thinking is rather abstract, whether a student can acquire critical thinking skills is assessed by more concrete measurements (written public examinations) which are largely dependable on the student’s ability to communicate effectively in English. Therefore, this study draws on first-hand data from the 2013 Liberal Studies Practice Paper. Sample scripts chosen by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority and the relevant marking guidelines are employed to aid the discussion. / published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education