published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

As in many parts of Asia, the learning of English is highly valued by parents in Hong Kong as it is regarded as a path to upward social mobility. Children in Hong Kong who speak Chinese as a first language typically begin to learn English when they start kindergarten at age 3. This study investigated the teaching and learning of English in Hong Kong kindergartens through two interrelated studies. The objective of Study 1 was to examine the patterns of English language teaching in different kindergartens. On the basis of the findings of Study 1, three kindergarten teachers were selected for a multiple case study in Study 2 to gain a deeper understanding of their English teaching practices and their students? engagement in the learning of English. About 38 % (n=256) of the kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-nurseries in Hong Kong were surveyed in Study 1. The results from the survey indicated that (i) the teaching of English to 5-year-olds was widespread and there were many cases of teaching of English to 3-year-olds; (ii) the English instruction time was relatively limited; (iii) English as a specific subject was taught by “specialist” English teachers with varying academic and professional backgrounds; (iv) in schools that allocated relatively less time for English instruction, teachers did not usually have professional qualifications to teach preschool children and/or English; (v) there were varying degrees of collaboration between “specialist” English teachers and local non-English speaking teachers; (vi) a wide variety of teaching materials and pedagogies were deployed; (vii) written homework assignments to improve children’s English were common; and (viii) teachers exerted efforts to create a bilingual (Chinese – English) environment at school. Study 2 was a multiple case study in which three teachers - one with a professional qualification in early childhood education, one with professional qualifications to teach English as a Second Language, and one untrained - were purposefully sampled. Six English lessons of each of the three teachers amounting to a total of 475 minutes of teaching were videotaped. Their teaching practices and the children’s engagement in learning were observed, and the classroom learning environment was assessed. Teachers were interviewed individually, parents completed questionnaires about the home language learning environment, and children’s English proficiency was assessed in individual sessions. Teachers’ pedagogies were found to be related to a host of contextual factors. Teachers’ professional training was associated with the extent to which they implemented a child-centered pedagogy. Part-time English teachers had limited collaboration with local teachers, which in turn affected their teaching preparation and practice. A textbook-led English teaching schedule and the relatively limited instruction time induced a product-oriented pedagogy. Children’s limited English proficiency coupled with the minimal language support at home formed a vicious cycle reinforcing the product-oriented pedagogy, which adversely influenced children’s engagement in learning. This study contributes significant knowledge to the field by illustrating the challenges in teaching English in Hong Kong kindergartens. Implications of the findings for early childhood language policy, teacher training and classroom practices are discussed, and future research directions are suggested. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The primary purpose of this study is to explore the lexical inferencing of Chinese learners of English as foreign language in terms of the intent, the clue use, the procedure, the processing type, the adaptability, and the success of lexical inferencing as well as the subsequent lexical knowledge acquisition. All together 781 Chinese EFL learners at four stages of English learning (senior secondary year-2, tertiary beginning, tertiary middle, and tertiary final) participated in this study. 726 respondents answered a questionnaire of lexical strategies to unknown words in reading and clue use in lexical inferencing. 55 participants thought aloud the process of inferring the meaning of 12 target words while reading an article, and reported their knowledge of target words in a surprise test one week after the think-aloud activity. Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively to rank various lexical strategies and types of clue use. The think-aloud protocols of lexical inferencing were analyzed qualitatively to identify the type and amount of clue use, the event sequence of lexical inferencing, the processing type & adaptability, and the outcome of lexical inferencing. Their subsequent knowledge of target words was coded and analyzed. All these items of lexical inferencing also were processed quantitatively to explore the overall view of Chinese EFL learners‘ lexical inferencing, and the similarities & differences of learners at different stages. The findings reveal that Chinese EFL learners frequently used a number of lexical strategies, and lexical inferencing was the most frequently used. They used various types of clues, especially sentence meaning, morphology, and discourse meaning in their lexical inferencing. Some features of clue use, such as abundant imagined morphological clue and L1 grammar clue, revealed the impact of the Chinese language. There were also some variations in the clue use of learners at different stages. The results of this study show that major lexical inferencing procedure was ‘Guess > Accept’ at senior secondary stage and ‘Guess > Evaluate > Accept’ at three tertiary stages. There was an obvious upward shift of processing type from the ‘pure top processing’ of senior secondary to more advanced processing of tertiary stages. The overall adaptability of Chinese EFL learners‘ lexical inferencing was not high. There was an increasing tendency of high adaptability from the stage of senior secondary to tertiary final. The findings show that one fourth of lexical inferencing outcomes were ?Correct‘, while one third were ?Partially Correct‘. There was an increase tendency of ‘Correct‘ or ?Partially correct’ inferences and vocabulary knowledge acquisition from senior secondary stage to tertiary final stage. Measurable vocabulary knowledge was acquired in lexical inferencing. Further explorations reveal that Chinese EFL learners‘ procedural & declarative knowledge might potentially explain the performances of their lexical inferencing. This study culminates with some pedagogical implications for vocabulary learning and reading, and some suggestions for further research on lexical inferencing. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study aims to further enhance and develop an ��English Corner�� program implemented at a Hong Kong Chinese-as-the-medium-of-instruction (CMI) primary school. The ��English Corner�� in this particular school refers to an area in the playground where students can voluntarily participate during recess in speaking English to their peers that are previously selected and identified by the English teachers as more competent in their oral proficiency. This research with an evaluative approach focuses on: (1) the participation level in lower and upper primary grades (2) why the students in lower and upper primary grades choose to participate (3) English teachers�� perceptions and effectiveness of the program (4) the quality of the oral interactions in lower and upper primary grades In order to answer these questions, questionnaires were distributed to two classes of students, one in lower primary and one in upper primary. Focus group interviews with students were also conducted. In addition, interactions in the ��English Corner�� were observed, audio-recorded and transcribed. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with English teachers in the school. A variety of linguistics and interactional features such as the types of questions, the use of feedback and negotiating strategies during communication breakdown are deliberately focused in determining the quality of the oral interactions between younger and older learners. The findings, first of all, revealed the unavailability of a vast percentage of the non-participating students among the older learners which reflects the importance of having a more thorough and considerate planning before carrying out such program. The results also reflect the differences not only in motivational styles among younger and older learners but also their reactions towards rewards. Moreover, even though the English teachers are all supportive of this school-based curricular implementation, a lack of clear objective is evidently discovered. Various teaching beliefs have also led to different perceptions of the practicality of the program which further prove the need for adjustment and more thorough planning in the near future. Finally, the conversations in upper primary levels were found to be comparatively more communicative and meaningful with a higher percentage of referential questions, more probing used, equal participation, more feedback and the significance of mutual understanding in communication breakdown which imply that younger learners may not be ready when it comes to this kind of free-style conversational activity. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the roles that assessment plays in promoting learning. Formative assessment is considered to be a powerful device for improving students’ learning. However, its learning potential has been less extensively explored in contexts where summative assessment dominates, as summative assessment is considered to undermine the effective implementation of formative assessment. Abandoning summative assessment completely in real classrooms is not possible; therefore, how to implement formative assessment along with summative assessment becomes important. This study explores students’ responses to classroom English assessment in the Chinese high school context, a context typically dominated by summative assessment, in an attempt to identify features of formative assessment, and to examine whether and to what extent summative assessment can be used formatively. The study chooses to explore classroom assessment mainly from the perspectives of students, as they are a critical factor in the learning process. A qualitative approach was adopted to investigate this topic in five classes from two high schools in China. Participants were six teachers teaching five different classes and their forty-eight secondary students (aged 16-18). Data were collected from multiple sources, including classroom observations, the draw-a-picture technique and interviews. The study identified various assessments in classrooms, from informal ones integrated into the classroom teaching to formal tests. This thesis focuses on the three most prominent assessments in the two schools: oral presentations, dictation, and tests and related test follow-up. The in-depth exploration of these three methods reveals students’ affective responses to assessment and their understandings of the relationship between assessment and learning. Assessment was found to be an emotionally charged issue, and students responded to it with both negative and positive feelings. The complex roles of assessment have also been unraveled. At the informal end, students did not distinguish clearly between assessment and learning activities. At the formal end, tests were considered to be a tool to summarize students’ language learning achievement; and there was also the potential to use summative tests formatively, in particular through test follow-up. On the basis of the findings presented in the thesis, this study identifies three key related issues which form the framework of this research, namely, assessment tasks, feedback or judgment, and potential follow-up actions. This framework presents the assessment process and how assessment could be used to improve student learning. Central to this framework is students’ active engagement with assessment. The significance of this study is threefold. First, it contributes to the theoretical understanding of formative assessment, including the potential variations of classroom assessment and the potential interplay between formative and summative assessment. Second, it provides insights into students’ responses to assessment, including their affective responses, what they perceive assessments are, how and to what extent assessments contribute to their learning and factors affecting their perceptions. Finally, situated in a context dominated by high-stakes tests, this study uses empirical evidence to develop a contextual perspective of formative assessment; hence, the findings enrich our knowledge about implementing formative assessment in a context dominated by summative assessment. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

In the context of social and economic globalisation, the nature and uses of literacy have been profoundly impacted by information technologies, giving rise to an increasing variety of multimodal, digitally mediated texts, practices and relationships called new literacies. This study explores how new literacies were taken up by teachers and students in English Language (English as a Second/Foreign Language) classrooms in Hong Kong primary schools. Set within a government funded project aimed at promoting new literacies in Hong Kong schools, the study specifically explores the discursive tensions amongst the English Language curriculum and new literacies practices and pedagogies, and how students and teachers negotiated these tensions and appropriated new literacies practices as they planned and enacted a new literacies task within a curriculum unit. The research design involved a critical policy text analysis and a multi-case study within a poststructuralist discourse analytic approach illuminated by Lacanian psychoanalytic theories of fantasy and enjoyment. Extracts of key policy texts and New Literacies Project texts were selected for critical discourse analysis. The multi-case study of three new literacies curriculum units, enacted by three classes of students and their teachers in two local Hong Kong primary schools, focussed on various new literacies practices. Data collected for the multi-case study included recordings of lessons and planning meetings, participant observation with field notes, observations of material and virtual contexts such as computer labs and online sites, students’ classroom work and digital products, and teacher and student interviews. In the process of mapping the discursive constructions, tensions and contradictions of new literacies across policy texts and classroom enactments, three ‘economies’ emerged in the findings. Tensions between the knowledge economy of globalised educational and curriculum policies emphasising language forms and linguistic skills, and the attention economy of new literacies involving students’ creative multimodal production and consumption and the accumulation of attention in online interactions, were negotiated by students, teachers and the Project researcher (myself) in the three school cases. A key, if unanticipated finding, however, was the emergence of an economy of enjoyment, involving the transgression of classroom social norms and the subversion of symbolic authority in students’ digital products and online interactions. Enjoyment was also found in the ways some students were captivated by online interactions and the pursuit of celebrity identities, and in teachers’ intense commitments to and anxieties around particular discourses and subjectivities. The study concludes with a discussion of the significance of psychoanalytic notions of enjoyment in new literacies in curriculum policy and practice, and suggests implications for research and practice of new literacies in the context of globalised educational policies. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study investigates whether principles of learner autonomy are integrated into ELT textbooks used in Hong Kong primary schools. Primary quantitative data were generated through an analysis of textbooks, and the supporting qualitative data came from interviews with teachers and lesson observations. Two sets with a total of twelve English language textbooks published for Primary Four, Primary Five and Primary Six students by Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. and Pearson Hong Kong were evaluated. Five teachers participated in the interviews while lesson observations were conducted with three of them. The results show that principles of learner autonomy are included in the textbooks to some extent. Out of the five key principles of learner autonomy, only self-assessment is achieved fully. The other key principles are partly achieved (i.e. self-selecting learning strategies, self-selecting materials and classroom activities) or not achieved (i.e. self-setting goals and self-reflection). There is currently not enough attention given in these primary ELT textbooks to promoting learner autonomy. In addition, it is found that there is no great difference in the degree of learner autonomy promoted across educational levels. The findings also suggest that different authors have different levels of awareness of promoting learner autonomy. This study concludes that a set of guidelines about the incorporation of principles relating to learner autonomy would facilitate authors and publishers in designing textbooks. / published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics