ENGLISH CENTRE
| Researcher : Benson P |
| Project Title: | UTELI Conference: Redefining the EFL Classroom in the Vitrual Age Autonomy and the Teacher's Role in Self-access and Internet-based Learning |
| Investigator(s): | Benson P |
| Department: | English Centre |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 02/2002 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Researcher : Desloge PD |
| Project Title: | Creating a digital media resource to support a networked teaching and learning environment |
| Investigator(s): | Desloge PD, Wong LLC |
| Department: | English Centre |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Leung Kau Kui Research and Teaching Endowment Fund - Teaching Grants |
| Start Date: | 01/2002 |
| Abstract: |
| To generate a bank of digital meida to support innovation in a networked teaching environment and assist language teachers to exploit the University's IT infrastructure. |
| Researcher : Hogue TA |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hogue T.A., Strategies for Confident Conversations and Presentations: an experiential approach, The Challenges of the 4 year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Lam ASL |
| Project Title: | Contemporary Asian poetry in English: The development of poets and their voices |
| Investigator(s): | Lam ASL |
| Department: | English Centre |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 01/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) To delineate the multilingual circumstances in four Asian territories (India, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong) as background for the study. 2) To provide a review of the contemporary corpus of poetry in English in each location. 3) To identify 10 poets currently publishing in each location and to elicit from them their biographical experiences concerning their development into poets writing in English and thereby to construct a theoretical model for the development of poets in multilingual settings. 4) To analyze the poetic output of the 40 poets thus identified with a view towards understanding the intercultural nature of their poetic voices. 5) To consider how such voices contribute to an understanding of the nature of Asian literary communities and integrate such an understanding with the discourse on Asian Englishes. 6) To suggest how such findings can enhance the inculcation of intercultural awareness and the teaching of Asian poetry in places such as Hong Kong. |
| Researcher : Lewkowicz JA |
| Project Title: | Writing a thesis in a second language: helping students understand and meet expectations |
| Investigator(s): | Lewkowicz JA |
| Department: | English Centre |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Leung Kau Kui Research and Teaching Endowment Fund - Teaching Grants |
| Start Date: | 01/2002 |
| Abstract: |
| To identify any mismatch between research students' interpretation of thesis writing and supervisor expectations in order to help students bridge gaps that may exist and to improve research training for MPhil and PhD students. |
| Researcher : Smith GPS |
| Project Title: | Summer Meeting of Society for Pidgin and Creole Languages (SPCL) 2007 Chinese Pidgin English Chap Books: What do they tell us? |
| Investigator(s): | Smith GPS |
| Department: | English Centre |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 06/2007 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Researcher : Storey AM |
| Project Title: | An exploration of students' discourse choices in fifth-year tutorial interaction in a problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum |
| Investigator(s): | Storey AM |
| Department: | English Centre |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Leung Kau Kui Research and Teaching Endowment Fund - Teaching Grants |
| Start Date: | 01/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| Purpose of project The purpose of this study is to investigate the communicative demands of PBL in the clinical years by exploring: how second language students manage their interaction in PBL tutorials in the HKU MBBS curriculum; and how students develop into medical professionals who are also effective communicators. This research builds on a previous study of the communicative demands of PBL in Medicine which led to the development of the first year course English for Problem-based Learning in Medicine. What was lacking in the previous research was a clear idea of how students, in progressing through their medical education, move from “novice” PBL participants to “expert” participants, and from experiencing communication difficulties to achieving communicative success. Key issues / problems being addressed Second language learners experience specific language problems in PBL tutorials in Medicine. For example they often have difficulties presenting new medical knowledge to their fellow students, and engaging in such key communicative functions as probing, negotiating and critiquing. While basic language proficiency is clearly a factor in communicative success, students' discursive choices and language learning opportunities are constrained by a range of other factors, such as beliefs about teaching and learning, personality, preferred learning styles, social skills and group dynamics. It is likely that, as students move beyond basic lexical and grammatical concerns in their studies, such factors will play a role in determining communicative outcomes. This research aims to investigate the factors influencing student interaction and individual performance in PBL tutorials, with a view to profiling what constitutes successful interaction and performance. Our preliminary research questions are: 1. What are the factors that affect successful development of student performance? 2. How do these factors interact at different stages of the students' development? The project will lead to: • an understanding of how second language students manage the demands of PBL in the HKU context; • an understanding of how students develop into medical professionals who are effective communicators; • inter-disciplinary collaboration between medical educators, medical students and language specialists; • the provision of input into curriculum development; • a contribution to the growing body of knowledge on PBL in Medicine. |