CENTRE FOR APPLIED ENGLISH STUDIES
| Researcher : Chan CSC |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Chan C.S.C., Developing communicative competence: Reflections as a learner of Modern Greek, Modern English Teacher. UK, 2010, 19. |
| Chan C.S.C., Exploring tasks in ESP contexts: Motives and identities, Postgraduate Research Conference, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong, 2009. |
| Chan C.S.C., Sociocultural aspects of task-based language learning in ESP contexts, Paper presented at the 3rd Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics Research Forum. Hong Kong, 2009. |
| Chan C.S.C., Thinking out of the textbook: Toward authenticity and politeness awareness, TESOL Classroom Practice Series. Alexandria, VA, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc., 2009, 9-20. |
| Researcher : Chan LHY |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Tse L.K., Chan L.H.Y. and Leung G.P.H., Integrating disciplinary content and language to prepare students for PBL in Pharmacy (poster presentation), The 6th International Conference on PBL in dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, December . 2009. |
| Researcher : Chan LSW |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Loong Y.C.W. and Chan L.S.W., A Study on the Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) of Dentistry Students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course, 2010 International Conference and Workshop on TEFL & Applied Linguistics, Department of Applied English, Ming Chuan University. 2010. |
| Researcher : Cheung LML |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Cheung L.M.L., Book review of Spencer-Oatey, E-Learning initiatives in China: Pedagogy, policy and culture (Education in China: Reform and Diversity). , Asian EFL Journal, March issue.. 2010, 12(1): 290-291. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Can you paraphrase? Scaffolding knowledge construction in online discussions., The 5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level, 16th – 17th October, 2009, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Loong Y.C.W. and Tse L.K., Discpline-specific English language support for PBL curriculum, The 6th International Conference on PBL in Dentistry, 13th – 15th November, 2009, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Loong Y.C.W. and Tse L.K., Learning outcomes: The evaluation of an English in the Discipline course for fourth-year dentistry students., The 5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level, 16th – 17th October, 2009, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Paraphrases: Linguistic devices used in computer-supported collaborative knowledge construction., CELC Symposium, 26th – 28th May, 2010, National University of Singapore, Singapore. . 2010. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Winner, Outstanding Oral Presentation Award. , The 6th International Conference on PBL in Dentistry, 13th – 15th November, 2009, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Winner, Travel Award for CELC Symposium 2010, CELC Symposium 2010, 26th -28th May, 2010, National University of Singapore, Singapore.. 2010. |
| Cheung L.M.L., “Exploring corpora applications in English in the Discipline courses”, English in the Discipline Development Week, 24th May, 2010, Centre for Applied English Studies, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. . 2010. |
| Loong Y.C.W., Tse L.K. and Cheung L.M.L., English in Dentistry: Challenges in assessment of writing., ELC Symposium: The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, June. 2010. |
| Researcher : Cole III SF |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Cole III S.F., Putonghua's spread in Hong Kong: Four teachers' experiences of learning the national language as adults, In: Wai Lan Tsang, Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics. Hong Kong, Centre for Applied English Studies, University of Hong Kong, 2010, 12(2): 83-108. |
| 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. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Desloge P.D., Moving towards a digital workflow seminar, June 2010, Centre for Applied English Studies, University of Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Fong NSN |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Fong N.S.N., An analysis of the mediating roles of computers in scaffolded learning in a second language classroom, Global Perspectives, Local Initiatives: Reflections And Practices In English Language Teaching”, Centre For English Language Communication Symposium 2010, National University Of Singapore, Singapore. May 26 to 28. 2010. |
| Fong N.S.N., Building Connections Between Language Needs and Subject Knowledge: A Pilot of an English in the Discipline Course in the University of Hong Kong , The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, June 2. 2010. |
| Researcher : Gardner DP |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Gardner D.P., How Are We Doing? Evaluating a Self-access Centre, 1st International Foreign Language Teaching Conference: Independent Learning. 2010. |
| Gardner D.P., Longman Activate: Learning English Through Sports Communication (Textbook). Hong Kong, Longman, 2009. |
| Gardner D.P., Longman Elect: Learning English Through Sports Communication (Teachers book). Hong Kong, Longman, 2009. |
| Gardner D.P. and Miller L., Longman Elect: Learning English Through Sports Communication (Textbook). Hong Kong, Longman, 2009. |
| Gardner D.P., Longman activate: Learning English Through Sports Communication (Teachers Book). Hong Kong, Longman, 2009. |
| Gardner D.P., Plenary Lecture: Looking In and Looking Out: Managing A Self-Access Centre, 1st International Foreign Language Teaching Conference: Independent Learning . 2010. |
| Gardner D.P., Transferable Approaches, CAES Seminar. 2009. |
| Researcher : Hui-Bon-Hoa ML |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Adjudicator. The Hong Kong Schools' Speech Festival. 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Adjudicator. The Hong Kong Schools' Speech Festival. 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker and adjudicator. St. Paul's School (Lam Tin). 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. "An approach to poetry." De Hong's Teachers' College, Mangshi, Yunnan. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. "On globalization". HKMLC Queen Maud Secondary School. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. NSS Literature in English Learning and Teaching Series: Exploring Drama. HKSAR Education Bureau. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. NSS Literature in English Learning and Teaching Series: Exploring Fiction. HKSAR Education Bureau. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. NSS Literature in English Learning and Teaching Series: Exploring Film. HKSAR Education Bureau. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. NSS Literature in English Learning and Teaching Series: Exploring Poetry. HKSAR Education Bureau. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. Parents' forum: "How to learn English." HKMLC Queen Maud Secondary School. 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. Student's forum on writing short stories. Ming Yin College. 2010. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. Teacher training session : "Teaching English through songs and poems (2)." Christian Alliance S.W. Chan Memorial College. 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. Teacher training session : "Teaching English through songs and poems(1)". Christian Alliance S.W. Chan Memorial College. 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. Teachers' Forum 2009. "The NSS English language curriculum: The language arts modules." South China Morning Post. 2009. |
| Hui-Bon-Hoa M.L., Invited speaker. Teachers' seminar. "Learning English through storytelling, poems and songs." i Learner. 2010. |
| Researcher : Hyland KL |
| Project Title: | The presentation of self in scholarly life: the academic homepage |
| Investigator(s): | Hyland KL |
| Department: | Centre for Applied English Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 04/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| The purpose of this research is to investigate the personal homepages of 100 academics to determine how they use language to construct an identity online in the context of the university as a workplace. While every social encounter entails projections and attributions of identity, the personal homepage makes a particularly forthright and public statement of how one wishes to be seen. It is the identity claim par excellence and for academics provides a platform for global visibility and a declaration of academic standing. Although an increasing number of faculty members maintain some kind of presence on the World Wide Web, few guidelines govern the style and content of these homepages, and few requirements ask academics to maintain a web presence of any kind. Faculty members’ homepages can serve the university in several ways: offering online resources for students, displaying credentials of the scholars who make up the community, and functioning to advertise and promote departments, courses, and the individual instructor. Part of the allure of maintaining a homepage, however, is to control one’s representation online. The homepage shows us an individual supported by an institutional server and linked into a network of academic colleagues, publications, interests, courses and students, all of which are carefully selected to assert his or her professional credibility. Equally, however, its subject is also someone with other interests: with a personal life, hobbies, experiences and social relationships which are often excluded from the academic self-representation projected online in the context of a university managed space. The question arises of how far individual academics submerge these other facets of their identity to present a self which corresponds to a professional depiction, and what this professional depiction consists of. This study therefore seeks to explore the discursive construction of identity on academic homepages to determine what constitutes such an identity and how this varies according to particular contextual factors. Is the ‘academic identity’ legitimized through publication on university websites a uniform and unvarying depiction of self? How does this depiction differ in terms of discipline, gender, academic rank, and university status? What latitude do such sites allow for the depiction of personal and social aspects of self which do not seem immediately relevant to a professional identity? The 100 homepages will therefore be stratified to explore the potential effects of these contextual factors and an analysis of each one will be conducted using discourse analytical techniques and drawing on a theoretical orientation informed by social constructionism. The proposed research addresses a number of key issues in applied linguistics and the social sciences. Most centrally, it seeks to illuminate the notion of identity in academic life. Identity is an extremely topical, yet highly contested, term. While it essentially refers to who and what we are, how we experience and manage our sense of self is far more complex. For some observers it is what unifies our experience and brings continuity to our lives; while for others it is something fragile and fragmented, vulnerable to the complexities and dislocations of globalization and post-industrial capitalism. Current conceptions of identity see it as a person’s relationship to his or her social world constantly negotiated through language and in academic environments it has tended to be seen as the ways that individuals work to reproduce or challenge dominant practices and discourses (Ivanic, 1998). The issue of agency is therefore central to this debate, and the exploration of the language and content of homepages may help reveal something of the constraints of institutional homogenization (Thoms & Thelwall, 2005) and the personal proclivities of individual academics (Dumont & Frindte, 2005) to show how far academics negotiate self-representation in university web-spaces (Hess, 2002). The study will also help reveal something of the idea of community and disciplinary variation (Hyland, 2004). The concept of community essentially draws attention to the idea that we do not use language to communicate with the world at large, but with other members of our social groups and that each of these has its own norms, categorizations, sets of conventions and ways of doing things (Bartholomae, 1986). Adopting a voice associated with a particular field of study thus involves aligning ourselves with its social and institutional practices and these tend to exclude the performance of certain identities and favour identities which imply an autonomous, asocial, and impersonal professional. It is through our use of community discourses that we claim or resist membership of social groups to define who we are in relation to others. Almost everything we say or write, in fact, says something about us and the kind of relationship we want to establish with our interactants: how academics chose to present themselves as credible members of a particular discipline on their homepage can therefore help reveal not only individual proclivities, but also something about disciplinary membership and practices. A third key issue of the proposed research is to investigate the personal homepage itself, extending the analysis of homepage design undertaken into those of adolescents (Chandler & Roberts-Young, 1998) and Fortune 500 companies (Liu, et al, 1997), to understand how academics understand the possibilities and constraints of this medium. Faculty-designed homepages often reveal a struggle between personal and professional representation, with pages generally housed on a university server and indexed and searchable in various ways from the main university site. So although faculty members who design their own homepages can offer a multidimensional self-portrayal, they often work to create a product that may be exploited within the university web space. The faculty member’s homepage is therefore complex—both personal and institutional, and both an advertisement for the individual and for the department and university. Such homepages thus work to construct the individual in the context of his or her role as worker. The study seeks to go beyond simple analyses of content (Dumony & Frindte, 2005) or a focus on power relations (Thoms & Thelwall, 2005) to show how discourse choices, hyperlinks, textual and visual representation, and online archives of teaching materials or scholarship, faculty members reveal the ways in which self-designed homepages remain shaped by institutional culture. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hyland K.L. and Tse P..., “The leading journal in its field”: Evaluation in journal descriptions., Discourse Studies. 2009, 11 (6): 703-720. |
| Hyland K.L. and Tse P..., Academic Lexis and Disciplinary practice: corpus evidence for specificity. , International Journal of English Studies. 2009, 9 (2): 111-130. |
| Hyland K.L., Community and individuality: performing identity in Applied Linguistics., Written Communication. 2010, 27 (2): 159-188. |
| Hyland K.L., Constraint vs Creativity: identity in academic writing. , In: Gotti, M. , Commonality and Individuality in Academic Discourse.. Frankfort, Peter Lang, 2009, 25-52. |
| Hyland K.L., Constructing proximity: relating to readers in popular and professional science. , Journal of English for Academic Purposes. . 2010, 9 (2): 116-127. |
| Hyland K.L., Different strokes for different folks: Evidence of specificity in EAP. , Annual Conference of British Assn of Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes. (BALEAP). University of Reading.. 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., Disciplinary specificity: discourse, context and ESP. , In: Johns, A., Paltridge, B. & Belcher, D., New Directions in ESP. Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Press, 2010, 26-46. |
| Hyland K.L., English for Professional Academic Purposes: writing for scholarly publication., In: D. Belcher, English for Specific Purposes in Theory and Practice.. Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan, 2009, 83-105. |
| Hyland K.L., Genre analysis: Theory, analysis and pedagogy., University of Modena, Italy. 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., Genre and academic writing in the disciplines. , In: Chiung-Wen Chang , Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on ESP and Its Teaching.. China., Wuhan University Press, 2009, 3-15. |
| Hyland K.L., Genre and academic writing in the disciplines. , International Conference on ESP and its teaching. Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.. 2009. |
| Hyland K.L., Getting published in Applied Linguistics. , Seminar series, University of Malaya.. 2009. |
| Hyland K.L., Identity construction in applied linguistics. , Hong Kong Association of Applied Linguistics Seminar series. Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. . 2010. |
| Hyland K.L. and Diani G..., Introduction: Academic Evaluation and Review Genres, In: Hyland, K. & Diani, G., Academic evaluation: review genres in university settings. London, Palgrave-MacMillan, 2009, 5-15. |
| Hyland K.L., Let’s Be Specific: Disciplinary Writing and EAP. , IATEFL English for Specific Purposes Special Interest Group Conference. Bilkent University, Turkey. . 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., Metadiscourse: mapping interactions in academic writing., Nordic journal of English Studies. 2010, 9 (2): 125-143. |
| Hyland K.L., Reflecting on teaching writing: applying research to the classroom. , 27th International Conference on English Teaching and Learning in the R.O.C. Kaohsiung, Taiwan. . 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., Reformulation in academic writing: shaping disciplinary argument. , British Assn for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference.2009. Newcastle University. . 2009. |
| Hyland K.L., Researching writing., In: B. Paltridge and A. Phakiti, Continuum Companion to Second Language Research Methods.. London, Continuum, 2010, 191-204. |
| Hyland K.L., Specific purposes programmes. , In: Long, M.H. & Doughty, C., Blackwell Handbook of Language Teaching.. Oxford, Blackwell, 2009, 201-217. |
| Hyland K.L., Specificity in EAP., 5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level. Polytechnic University , Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Hyland K.L., Teaching and Researching Writing 2nd edition. . London, Longman, 2009, 261. |
| Hyland K.L., Transferring knowledge: Proximity in professional and popular science. , CLAVIER Conference on knowledge transfer. University of Modena, Italy. 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., Writing and revising for publication Strategies for publishing in Academic Journals. , Beijing Foreign Studies University, China. . 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., ‘The leading journal in its field’: Evaluation in Journal Descriptions. , American Assn for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference.2010, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.. 2010. |
| Hyland K.L., “Dinosaur teens were keen on sex”: proximity in professional and popular science. , CAES Seminar Series, Hong Kong University. . 2010. |
| Researcher : Lai CMW |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lai C.M.W., In-service teacher development for facilitating learner autonomy in curriculum-based SALL , 1st International Foreign Language Teaching Conference: Independent Learning, Gaziantep, Turkey. 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. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lam A.S.L., 'Rendezvous with glow worms' and 'Vanilla in the stars', Poetery reading at "Imagined communities revisited: Identity, nationalism and globalization", the 13th Biennial Symposium on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region, Kuala Lumpur. 2009. |
| Lam A.S.L., All waters are one, Poetry reading and panel discussion at the "My Pacific Ocean Experience" Seminar with Gary Snyder and other visiting and Hong Kong poets organized by the International Writers Workshop, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong. 2009. |
| Lam A.S.L., Asian writing, Invited seminar speaker at the book launch of Speaking for myself: An anthology of Asian women's writing by Penguin (India) and the India International Centre sponsored by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Calcutta, India. 2010. |
| Lam A.S.L., Birds flying east, Muse. 2009, 34: 84-85. |
| Lam A.S.L., Commendation Certificate in recognition of outstanding achievements in international arts and cultural activities, Home Affairs Bureau, Hong Kong Government. 2009. |
| Lam A.S.L. and Ng S.P., Defining Asian poetry in English: Corpuses, communities and identity., Invited paper persented at "Imagined communities revisited: Identity, nationalism and globalization", the 13th Biennial Symposium on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region, Kuala Lumpur. 2009, 1-14. |
| Lam A.S.L., Every other day, In: Abidov, Assam, Fish and snake poetry anthology. Toshkent, Muharrir Nashriyoti, 2009, 6-11. |
| Lam A.S.L., Frangipani, Muse. 2009, 32: 76. |
| Lam A.S.L., Interview by Chun-hon Yu, Power up Hong Kong. Hong Kong, TVB, 2009. |
| Lam A.S.L., My cerebral child, Poetry reading at the book launch of Speaking for myself: An anthology of Asian women's writing by Penguin (India) and the India International Centre sponsored by the Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Calcutta, India. 2010. |
| Lam A.S.L., Review of Tumasik: Contemporary writing from Singapore by Alvin Pang, Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature. 2010, 4(1). |
| Lam A.S.L., Sakura, sakura, Muse. 2009, 34: 86-87. |
| Lam A.S.L., Sakura, sakura, Poetry reading at "One by one" presented by Outloud, Fringe Club, Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Lam A.S.L., Shakespeare and my poetry, Invited lecture for a course on Shakespeare at the Singapore Management University, Singapore. 2010. |
| Lam A.S.L., Techniques I use in writing a poem - Vanilla in the stars, Invited seminar speaker at "Writing Across cultures: A symposium for students and teachers of creative writing" organized by the Department of English at the City University of Hong Kong in conjunction with the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2010. 2010. |
| Lam A.S.L., Two foreign men talking, Muse. 2009, 32: 76-77. |
| Lam A.S.L., Vanilla in the stars, Poetry reading with Filipino poets, the University of the Philippines, Manila. 2010. |
| Lam A.S.L., What the body needs, In: M. Manz & M. Zeller, Foodscape: A Swiss-Chinese intercultural encounter. Hong Kong, MCCM Creations, 2009, 94. |
| Researcher : Lau KK |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lau K.K., Learning to Become a Professional in a Textually-Mediated World: Placement as a Site of Negotiation, Re-Contextualisation and Hybridisation of Practices, Invited seminar given to staff of School of Arts and Social Sciences, SIM University, Singapore. 2009. |
| Lau K.K., Tricks of the Trade: Spicing up your Teaching by PowerPoint 2007., Workshop given at the Centre for Applied English Studies, the University of Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Martyn E.R., Lau K.K., Lee J.C.Y. and Wong L.L.C., English in the discipline: Meeting diverse needs in large faculties, ELC Symposium, The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Lee JCY |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Martyn E.R., Lau K.K., Lee J.C.Y. and Wong L.L.C., English in the discipline: Meeting diverse needs in large faculties, ELC Symposium, The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Legg MG |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Legg M.G., Conceptualizing a new English for General Academic Purposes Course, The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Loong YCW |
| Project Title: | 11th International Pragmatics Association (IPrA) Conference Identity in English Academic Writing as Understood by Postgraduates in the University of Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Loong YCW |
| Department: | Centre for Applied English Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 07/2009 |
| Completion Date: | 07/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | A Study on the Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Dentistry Students in an English for Academis Purposes (EAP) course |
| Investigator(s): | Loong YCW, Chan LSW |
| Department: | Centre for Applied English Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 09/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) has long been a popular research topic among linguists, psychologists and language teachers both in the first and second language contexts (Levenston, 1979). Various vocabulary presentation and consolidation strategies in ESL/ EFL situations have been particularly actively researched in the last two decades (Gu, 2003). While some researchers focused on the number of exposures needed in reading for new vocabulary to be learnt (e.g. Saragi, Nation & Meister, 1978 and Herman, Anderson, Pearson & Nagy, 1987), others looked into the effectiveness of rich and informative contexts on vocabulary acquisition (e.g. Zahar, Cobb & Spada, 2001). There were also researchers investigating the effectiveness of specific vocabulary recall strategies like the vocabulary notebook strategy (e.g. McCrostie, 2007) and memory strategy (e.g. Atay & Ozbulgan, 2007). With the number of Chinese ESL/ EFL learners estimated at 200 million at least (Yang, 2006), research with a special emphasis on the use of VLS among Chinese students also keeps increasing in the past decade. Gu and Johnson (1996) investigated the vocabulary strategies used by L2 learners of English in China and the relationship between strategy use and learning outcomes in terms of vocabulary size and language proficiency. While learners reported using a wide variety of VLS, contextual guessing, skillful use of dictionaries, note-taking, paying attention to word formation, encoding and activation of newly learnt words were found to be positively correlated with both vocabulary size and language proficiency. In a more recent study among tertiary students in China, Gu (2002) found that female students, using more often and using a wider range of VLS, significantly outperformed their male counterparts in terms of vocabulary size and language proficiency. While academic major is a factor for the number of strategies adopted, it is not an important one. Science students outperformed arts students in size, arts students outperformed science in language proficiency test. Wei (2007) also set out to investigate Chinese college students’ patterns of VLS, the relationship between VLS and gender, major, and self-rated language proficiency level as well as problems related to vocabulary learning in general. Results indicated that contextualized activation and management strategies were seldom used which affected long-term retention and use of vocabulary negatively. While no difference in strategy use was found between males and females, significant differences existed in self-reported language proficiency level and major. In a study of Taiwan EFL university students’ use of VLS, Liao (2004) also found English-majored students tended to use VLS more frequently than non-English majoring students. Research on VLS among university students in Hong Kong has been very little. Fan (2003) studied more than 1,000 newly admitted local tertiary students in seven institutions. Using self-reported questionnaires, she compared findings from her study with previous studies on VLS. Hong Kong students did not use repetition strategies more often than the other VLS. In fact, one of the least often used strategies is another rather mechanical one which is learning from wordlists. Association strategies were not favored by Hong Kong students and this applied also to those proficient L2 learners. More proficient students, however, are found to be using various kinds of VLS more often than those who were less proficient. Very little work on VLS, however, has been done since Fan’s study in 2000. While most previous studies seem to indicate that use of VLS and the range of VLS used is related to general language proficiency, no empirical research has been conducted on the use of VLS/ the range of VLS used in learning specific technical vocabulary like medical and dental terminology among students in Hong Kong. Using about 60 Year 1 students from the Faculty of Dentistry in a required English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course with an emphasis on learning medical/ dental terminology as subjects, this research aims to study their use of VLS in learning dental/medical terminology, the effects of VLS training on students’ acquisition of a bank of dental/medical terminology, and how students perceive the usefulness of the VLS training and individual strategies. The specific research questions of the proposed study are: (1) What are the VLS strategies most and least frequently used by the students before receiving VLS training in the course? (2) What are the VLS strategies most and least frequently used by the students after receiving vocabulary strategy training in the course? (3) What are the effects of vocabulary strategy training on the students’ acquisition of dental / medical vocabulary as demonstrated in a post-course vocabulary test? (4) How do the students perceive the usefulness of VLS training on acquiring new dental/medical vocabulary? Results from the proposed study should enrich the current information regarding the use of VLS among tertiary students in Hong Kong. Specific data regarding HKU dentistry students’ most and least frequently used strategies, students’ perceived usefulness regarding specific strategies and the effect of strategy training in their medical/ dental vocabulary acquisition process will be available. Results from the proposed study should also provide pedagogic implications for EAP teachers of the Dentistry Faculty and other clinical-disciplinary faculties (e.g. medicine, nursing, Chinese medicine etc) in HKU regarding their instructions of vocabulary learning strategies. (Please refer to attachment for the bibliographic information of the references cited above.) |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Cheung L.M.L., Loong Y.C.W. and Tse L.K., Discpline-specific English language support for PBL curriculum, The 6th International Conference on PBL in Dentistry, 13th – 15th November, 2009, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Loong Y.C.W. and Tse L.K., Learning outcomes: The evaluation of an English in the Discipline course for fourth-year dentistry students., The 5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level, 16th – 17th October, 2009, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Loong Y.C.W. and Chan L.S.W., A Study on the Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) of Dentistry Students in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course, 2010 International Conference and Workshop on TEFL & Applied Linguistics, Department of Applied English, Ming Chuan University. 2010. |
| Loong Y.C.W., Academic Writing for ESL/ EFL Learners, People's University of China (Renmin University), Beijing, China. 2010. |
| Loong Y.C.W., Tse L.K. and Cheung L.M.L., English in Dentistry: Challenges in assessment of writing., ELC Symposium: The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, June. 2010. |
| Loong Y.C.W., Identity in English Academic Writing as Understood by Postgraduates in the University of Hong Kong, 11th International Pragmatics Association (IPrA) Conference. --, 2009, --. |
| Loong Y.C.W., Teaching Vocabulary Effectively in Hong Kong Secondary School Context. 2009. |
| Smyth P.D. and Loong Y.C.W., Measuring gain in Business English Skills: The Business Communication Assessment, Centre for Applied English Studies seminar. 2010. |
| Smyth P.D. and Loong Y.C.W., The Business Communication Assessment: Developing a test to show gain in English, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB): Assessment conference. 2010. |
| Researcher : Martyn ER |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Martyn E.R., Lau K.K., Lee J.C.Y. and Wong L.L.C., English in the discipline: Meeting diverse needs in large faculties, ELC Symposium, The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Ng SP |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lam A.S.L. and Ng S.P., Defining Asian poetry in English: Corpuses, communities and identity., Invited paper persented at "Imagined communities revisited: Identity, nationalism and globalization", the 13th Biennial Symposium on Literatures and Cultures of the Asia-Pacific Region, Kuala Lumpur. 2009, 1-14. |
| Researcher : Pao D |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Tse L.K., Pao D. and Tsang W.L., How ESP can we get in the new curriculum?, The Challenges of the 4-year curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, June. 2010. |
| Tse L.K., Pao D., Storey A.M. and Tsang W.L., Medical Terminology: Principles and Pedagogy, CAES Seminar, September. 2009. |
| 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 |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Ansaldo U., Matthews S.J. and Smith G.P.S., China Coast Pidgin: Texts and contexts, In: Ansaldo, U., S. Matthews & G. Smith, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages . 2010, 25: 31. |
| Ansaldo U., Matthews S.J. and Smith G.P.S., Pidgins and Creoles in Asian Contexts, In: Ansaldo, Matthews and Smith, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages . Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins, 2010, 25: 199. |
| Researcher : Smyth PD |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Smyth P.D. and Loong Y.C.W., Measuring gain in Business English Skills: The Business Communication Assessment, Centre for Applied English Studies seminar. 2010. |
| Smyth P.D. and Loong Y.C.W., The Business Communication Assessment: Developing a test to show gain in English, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB): Assessment conference. 2010. |
| 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. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Storey A.M., Chan L.K. and Tse L.K., Discourse Of Clinical Training, The 11th International Pragmatics Conference, The University of Melbourne, July. 2009. |
| Storey A.M., Displaying professional expertise in medical case history presentations in PBL tutorials: a discourse analytic study, 8th Interdisciplinary Conference on Communication in Medicine and Ethics, Boston University, USA. 2010. |
| Storey A.M., Teaching and Learning of Communication for undergraduates: how good are we?, Frontiers in medical and Health Sciences Education: "Making sense in communication". 2009. |
| Tse L.K., Pao D., Storey A.M. and Tsang W.L., Medical Terminology: Principles and Pedagogy, CAES Seminar, September. 2009. |
| Researcher : Sung CC |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Sung C.C., Conference Report of English as the Asian Language of Business and the Professions Symposium, Asian Englishes. 2009, 12(2): 110-112. |
| Sung C.C., Dean's List, Faculty of Arts, CUHK. 2010. |
| Sung C.C., Hong Kong Pre-service Teachers’ Perspectives on Teaching Native Accents and Target Language Cultures in ELT, 3rd Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics Research Forum, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 2009. |
| Sung C.C., Meeting the Challenge of Globalization: Culture and English Language Teaching, Symposium on English as the Language of Asian Business and Professions (ELABP), Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 2009. |
| Sung C.C., Overseas Research Student Award Scheme Scholarship, Lancaster University, UK. 2009. |
| Sung C.C., Review of Leadership Discourse: Interactions of Humour, Gender and Workplace Culture by Stephanie Schnurr, Discourse and Communication. Sage, 2010, 4(1): 87-89. |
| Sung C.C., Review of World Englishes: The Study of New Linguistic Varieties by Rajend Mesthrie and Rakesh M. Bhatt, Changing English. Routledge, 2010, 17(1): 107-109. |
| Sung C.C., Teaching Students about Culture and Cross-cultural Communication Skills in English Language Teaching Classrooms in Hong Kong, 5th Annual Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Researcher : Tsang WL |
| Project Title: | The Mandarin Interlanguage Corpus |
| Investigator(s): | Tsang WL, Yeung Y |
| Department: | Centre for Applied English Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 01/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| Purpose The purpose of the proposed project is to compile a Mandarin interlanguage corpus, where both written and spoken language patterns from Mandarin learners of different first languages (L1) can be identified and tracked. Key issues and problems to be addressed Since the boom in the development of corpus linguistics in the 1980s, different types of corpora have been compiled, for example, general corpora (e.g. The British National Corpus (BNC)) and specialised corpora (e.g. The HKUST Computer Science Corpus) (see the categorisation in McEnery, Xiao and Tono (2006)). These corpora are predominantly on English, the main language of international communication (e.g. The BNC and The International Corpus of English). In the meantime, Mandarin Chinese, which is another key international language with a growing number of learners of different nationalities, is trying to catch up with its development of corpora. In addition to the effort shown in various overseas universities (e.g. The Lancaster Corpus of Mandarin Chinese, The UCLA Written Chinese Corpus and The Sheffield Corpus of Chinese), many institutions in China, which is the largest provider of Mandarin language courses, have been contributing to Chinese corpus compilation. As reviewed by Feng (2006), the notion of corpora appeared on the mainland as early as the 1920s, in the form of small-scale non-machine-readable corpora (e.g. The Applied Glossary of Modern Chinese). With the development of corpus linguistics worldwide, the notion has become in the spotlight in the research arena since the late 1980s. Again, many corpora were or have been compiled (see Feng (2006) and Zhan et al. (2006) for their detailed reviews of the development of corpora in China). The majority of the corpora are of the general monolingual written type, serving as databases of written Mandarin Chinese in various genres (e.g. newspapers, literary texts, and textbooks). While some spoken corpora were constructed (e.g. The Contemporary Beijing Spoken Chinese Corpus, as recorded in Yang (2006)), their advancement has been far behind that of the written counterpart, as shown in the aforementioned reviews. Therefore, spoken corpora certainly deserve much more investigation, as noted in Yang (2006), Jia (2006), Zhou (2007) and Yang (2008). Not only general spoken corpora but also interlanguage corpora (or learner corpora), one type of specialised corpora, are not fully developed yet. Both Yang and Zhan et al. record The Chinese Interlanguage Corpus (or The Corpus of the Chinese Language as Interlanguage) as the only example of interlanguage corpora (but, disappointingly, it is not accessible to the public or available on the Internet). According to their descriptions, the corpus started in 1995 and consists of written texts from foreign students. On the other hand, the most recent and still ongoing one, open to the public at the same time, should be The Inter-Media HSK Essay Corpus compiled by the Centre for Language and Information Processing at the Beijing Language and Culture University. As the name of the corpus denotes, it is based on written texts, basically students’ texts written during the HSK examination. Such development of written interlanguage corpora is not surprising in that the techniques are established through the investigation of general corpora. Meanwhile, this also implies that a decent spoken interlanguage corpus is yet to be compiled. Discussions have been ongoing (e.g. Wang and Li, 2001; Yang et al., 2006; Zhang, 2005), which helps emphasise the value and significance of the establishment of a spoken interlanguage corpus. Added to it is the importance of Mandarin as a second language, which in turn suggests that the development of a Mandarin interlanguage corpus, written, spoken, or both written and spoken, is of utmost importance. With the foundation laid by the previous projects on Mandarin corpora, the present project aims to compile a corpus with both written and spoken output from Mandarin learners of different first languages in a two-year Certificate course on Mandarin. References: Feng, Z. W. (2006). Evolution and present situation of corpus research in China. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 11(2), 173–207. Jia, M. (2006). Corpus linguistics on the mainland. Journal of Fuyang Teachers College (Social Science), 113(5), 65 – 66. McEnery, T., Xiao, R., &Tono, Y. (2006). Corpus-based language studies: An advanced resource book. London; New York: Routledge. Wang, Y. J., & Li, J. M. (2001). Our tentative ideas concerning the establishment of a corpus of Chinese interlanguage speech [in Chinese]. Chinese Teaching in the World, 55(1), 87–92. Yang, J. (2008). Issues in corpus linguistics on the Mainland in the last ten years. [in Chinese]. Journal of Xiangtan Normal University (Social Science Edition), 30(1), 105–107. Yang, X. J. (2006). Survey and prospect of China’s corpus-based research. In A. Wilson, D. Archer, and P. Rayson (eds.) Corpus linguistics around the world (pp. 219–232). Amsterdam; New York: Rodopi. Yang, Y., Li. X. L., G, Y. W., & Tien, Q. Y. (2006). Tentative ideas of constructing Chinese learners spoken corpus [in Chinese]. Chinese Language Learning, 3, 58–64. Zhan, W. D., Chang, B. B., Duan, H. M., & Zhang, H. R. (March, 2006). Recent Developments in Chinese Corpus Research. In the Proceedings of the 13th NIJL International Symposium, Tokyo (pp.19-30). Available from: http://www.tokuteicorpus.jp/result/index.php Zhang, J. Q. (2005). Ideas about constructing Putonghua interlanguage speech corpus [in Chinese]. Journal of Wuzhou Teachers College of Guangxi, 21(2), 46–49. Zhou, Y. J. (2007). The application of corpus linguistics and its growing trend in China. Journal of Qiqihar University (Phi & Soc Sci), 5, 138–140. |
| Project Title: | The 10th annual conference of the Japan Second Language Association The Mandarin Interlanguage Corpus: Basic Construct |
| Investigator(s): | Tsang WL |
| Department: | Centre for Applied English Studies |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 06/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 06/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Cheung S.C., Matthews S.J. and Tsang W.L., Transfer from L3 German to L2 English in agreement and tense‐aspect, The 6th Conference on Multilingualism and Third Language Acquisition. 2009. |
| Tsang W.L., The Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, Editor-in-chief , English Centre, 2010. |
| Tsang W.L., The Mandarin Interlanguage Corpus: Basic Construct, The 10th annual conference of the Japan Second Language Association. 2010. |
| Tse L.K., Pao D. and Tsang W.L., How ESP can we get in the new curriculum?, The Challenges of the 4-year curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, June. 2010. |
| Tse L.K., Pao D., Storey A.M. and Tsang W.L., Medical Terminology: Principles and Pedagogy, CAES Seminar, September. 2009. |
| Researcher : Tse LK |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Cheung L.M.L., Loong Y.C.W. and Tse L.K., Discpline-specific English language support for PBL curriculum, The 6th International Conference on PBL in Dentistry, 13th – 15th November, 2009, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Cheung L.M.L., Loong Y.C.W. and Tse L.K., Learning outcomes: The evaluation of an English in the Discipline course for fourth-year dentistry students., The 5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level, 16th – 17th October, 2009, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Loong Y.C.W., Tse L.K. and Cheung L.M.L., English in Dentistry: Challenges in assessment of writing., ELC Symposium: The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, June. 2010. |
| Storey A.M., Chan L.K. and Tse L.K., Discourse Of Clinical Training, The 11th International Pragmatics Conference, The University of Melbourne, July. 2009. |
| Tse L.K., Pao D. and Tsang W.L., How ESP can we get in the new curriculum?, The Challenges of the 4-year curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, June. 2010. |
| Tse L.K., Chan L.H.Y. and Leung G.P.H., Integrating disciplinary content and language to prepare students for PBL in Pharmacy (poster presentation), The 6th International Conference on PBL in dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, December . 2009. |
| Tse L.K., Pao D., Storey A.M. and Tsang W.L., Medical Terminology: Principles and Pedagogy, CAES Seminar, September. 2009. |
| Tse L.K., Transforming experience and learner transformation: An analysis of first year medical students’ PBL reflections. , 8th Interdisciplinary Conference on Communication, Medicine, and Ethics (COMET 2010), School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, USA, June. 2010. |
| Tse L.K., Transforming students’ College English experience: Issues and suggestions based on class observations and discussions with teachers at ZUCC. , Invited talk given at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, PRC, June. 2010. |
| Researcher : Voller PW |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Voller P.W., Kjisik F., Aoki N. and Nakata Y., Mapping the terrain of learner autonomy: learning environments, learning communities and identities. Finland, Tampere University Press, 2009. |
| Researcher : Wang W |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Wang W. and Cao G...L., A qualitative study of two English teachers’ beliefs and practices in a context of curriculum change in Guangzhou, China, In: Chen, J.P., Innovating English Teaching in China: Selected Papers from 2006 CELEA Annual Conference and the 3rd International Conference on CLT in China . Beijing, China, Foreign Language Teaching and Reserach Press, 2010, 261-275. |
| Wang W., Developing a bibliography on English language education in China: Experience sharing, CAES Language Education SIG Project Meeting. 2010. |
| Wang W., Developing a bibliography on English language education in China: Experience sharing, CAES Postgraduate Writing SIG Project Meeting. 2010. |
| Wang W., Exploring teachers’ experiences in curriculum implementation in China: Case studies of four secondary school English teachers, Koln, Germany, LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2009, 212. |
| Wang W., Growing in communities of practice: From candidature to work, Alumni Forum, Postgraduate Research Conference 2009, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong. 2009. |
| Researcher : Wong LLC |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Martyn E.R., Lau K.K., Lee J.C.Y. and Wong L.L.C., English in the discipline: Meeting diverse needs in large faculties, ELC Symposium, The Challenges of the 4-year Curriculum for English Language Centres in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. 2010. |
| Wong L.L.C., Electronic portfolios for learning and assessment, Paper, the 5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level, Hong Kong. 2009. |
| Wong L.L.C., In-service professional development and teacher technology integration, Paper, the 7th Asia TEFL, Bangkok, Thailand. 2009. |
| Wong L.L.C., Innovation and change: Information technology and in-service teacher professional development. Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy Thesis, Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong.. 2009. |
| Wong L.L.C., Integrating e-Portfolios into a professional English course, Paper, The 7th Asia TEFL, Bangkok, Thailand. 2009. |
| Wong L.L.C., Integrating e-Portfolios into a professional English course, Paper, the 44th Annual International TESOL Convention, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 2010. |