published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

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

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