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Does the switch of medium of instruction facilitate the language learning of students? A case study of Hong Kong from teachers’ perspective / Angela Choi Fung Tam
// Language and education 2011, Vol25, N.5 2011p. 399-417 The medium of instruction (MOI) and its impact on improving the language proficiency of students has become a debated issue worldwide. The policy-makers of post-colonial Hong Kong believed that the general Chinese competency, Chinese writing and Pu¬tonghua proficiency of students would be improved through the use of a Putonghua- medium-of-instruction (PMI) rather than the Cantonese medium, the mother tongue of students and teachers. Therefore, using Putonghua to teach the Chinese language has been promulgated as a long-term goal by the Curriculum Development Council. Early studies have placed an emphasis on using standardized tests to assess students’ learning outcomes with the use of PMI, but unfortunately the findings have been inconclusive. Despite teachers’ involvement in implementing the MOI policy, there is a dearth of stud¬ies examining the perspective of teachers regarding the language learning of students under PMI. This paper aims to explore this important issue in greater depth through a case study of a high school, which has implemented PMI to teach the Chinese language for 10 years. The findings indicate that there are mismatches between the stated educa¬tional policy intentions and the language learning of students in various aspects. Further studies and follow-up measures on the language policy and education are suggested
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Leadership Practices to Support Teaching and Learning for English Language Learners / Alyson McGee, Penny Haworth and Lesieli MacIntyre.
// TESOL Quarterly Volume 49, Issue 1, March 2015. 2015pages 92–114. With a substantial increase in the numbers of English language learners in schools, particularly in countries where English is the primary use first language, it is vital that educators are able to meet the needs of ethnically and linguistically changing and challenging classrooms. However, despite the recognition of the importance of effective leadership for successful teaching and learning, there is a lack of research into leadership of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). This article reports on a research project investigating leadership practices which support ESOL teaching and learning in two New Zealand schools, where English language learners are a minority in the classroom. A number of successful leadership practices for ESOL emerged, including establishing clear goals, enabling leaders to be role models, providing ESOL professional learning, and empowering teaching and learning for ESOL. A number of challenges to successful leadership were also revealed, such as the marginalisation of ESOL and a business as usual approach, with English language learners expected to fit into existing practices. This article concludes that as numbers of English language learners continue to grow in schools, a strong focus on developing leadership practices and capacity to support ESOL teaching and learning is essential.
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Narratives of second language identity amongst young English learners in Hong Kong./ Sharon Besser and Alice Chik.
// ELT journal. 2014, Vol. 68, No. 3. 2014.p. 299-309. This article reports on an exploratory study responding to the problem of understanding how young learners position themselves as speakers of a foreign language. A group of 24 Hong Kong primary-school children (ages 10–12) who are in the process of simultaneously learning English and developing narratives of identities as English speakers, participated in a photo-elicitation project. Two distinct narratives of identity were found. ‘Cosmopolitans’ seemed to draw on multiple resources, largely based on their access to the social and economic benefits of using a great variety of English learning opportunities and popular culture media. ‘Pragmatists’ had fewer resources and were more uncertain about their future learning opportunities. This study demonstrates the importance of considering how educational policy, cultural values, and distribution of resources may impact on young learners studying in similar contexts. Implications are explored and suggestions made for ways teachers can support and foster identity development.
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The student experience of English-medium higher education in Hong Kong / Stephen Evans and Bruce Morrison
// Language and education 2011, Vol25, N.2 2011p. 147-162 Research conducted in the 1980s and 1990s pointed to a widening gap on Hong Kong university campuses between institutional language policy, which stipulated the use of English, and classroom practice, which often involved the use of Cantonese to explain and discuss English written materials. This article presents the findings of a multidimensional study which sought to uncover patterns of in-class and out-of-class language use at one officially English-medium institution between 2000 and 2010 and to identify the challenges that its mainly Cantonese-speaking undergraduates experience when listening to and speaking English for academic purposes. The findings were derived from two campus-wide questionnaire surveys and an interview-based longitudinal study of the student experience of English-medium higher education. The findings indicate that the gap between policy and practice has closed noticeably in the past decade in consequence of the increasing internationalisation of the student body and institutional initiatives to enforce the medium-of-instruction policy. While there is a closer, though not watertight, alignment between policy and practice in lectures and seminars, the evidence suggests that students have little need or desire to speak English outside the classroom, apart from situations in which international students or non-Cantonese- speaking students from mainland China are present
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