Inaugural Conference
on Language Teaching
and Learning:
Cognition and Identity
Programme Book
28-29 June, 2019
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Proceedings
Table of Contents
About the Conference ................................................................................................ 2
Programme Rundown ........................................................................................... 3 - 7
Abstracts
Keynote speeches ............................................................................................... 8 - 11
Presenters (A-Z by Primary Author) ............................................................... 6 – 79
Organising Committee ................................................................................................. 80
Contact list of Authors .......................................................................................... 81 - 85
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About the conference
The conference aims to bring together scholars in the fields of teacher education and
applied linguistics, graduate students, educators and practitioners, in Hong Kong and
beyond. The conference aims to explore the various aspects of language teaching and
learning and how they relate to the overall cultural, social and political discourses, in
the era of neoliberalism and globalization. The conference will provide a forum for
both theoretical and empirical research, to explore the space teachers and learners
can create in a full institutional and social context, with consideration of the
interaction between language, power, and society.
Our theme: "Transforming Language Education
and Research, Empowering Teachers and
Learners"
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Narrative Knowledging In Language Teacher Identity Research Professor Gary BARKHUIZEN (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Language teacher identities (LTIs) are cognitive, social, emotional, ideological, and
historical – they are both inside the teacher and outside in the social, material and
technological world. LTIs are being and doing, feeling and imagining, and storying. As
such, narrative approaches to investigating LTI are appropriate. In this presentation, I
explain and exemplify the concept of narrative knowledging (NK) in relation to
research on language teacher identity. NK refers to the meaning making that takes
place during the process of telling, co-constructing, and re-telling research-related
stories. It is therefore both cognitive, since it involves reflection and learning, and
social, since it involves an audience. In research, NK takes place in various ways, at
different stages, and among different people, including research participants and the
researcher. Narrative data from two studies, one with a single English teacher in
Auckland, New Zealand, and the other with a group of experienced language teacher
educators in Bogotá, Colombia, will be used to illustrate NK and to examine in detail
the nature and development of LTI.
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Taking Stock: An Analysis of the Contemporary Status of
Language Teacher Cognition Research Dr Simon BORG (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway)
Teacher cognition is an umbrella term which refers to the unobservable dimensions
of becoming, being and developing as a teacher. When it first came to prominence in
the field of language teaching some 20 years ago it was defined in relation to three
key ideas – teacher thinking, teacher knowledge and teachers’ beliefs – but since then
new concepts such as teacher identity and teacher emotion have emerged and have
also become a central part of efforts to understand teachers’ mental and emotional
lives. Recent contributions to the field have also questioned the value of conventional
approaches to language teacher cognition research which, for example, study
teachers as individuals (rather than as part of a social system) and which use
questionnaires to study beliefs. It is, therefore, an appropriate time to take stock and
to consider the current status of this important domain of inquiry in the field of
language teaching. I will begin by outlining very briefly the emergence of language
teacher cognition, then comment on some trends evident in teacher cognition
research over years, before turning my attention to more recent proposals for the
direction the field should be taking. Overall, while the intellectual rigour and
methodological sophistication of this recent work is valuable, it should be seen as an
additional set of options for researchers to consider rather than a template for
contemporary teacher cognition work more generally. When applied rigorously,
conventional ways of studying language teacher cognition still have a role to play in
helping us understand the many unseen forces that shape what teachers do.
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Informing and Transforming Language Teacher Education
Pedagogy: Responsive Mediation in Learning-to-Teach Professor Karen JOHNSON (The Pennsylvania State University)
This plenary provides an insider’s look at the meaningful role that L2 teacher
educators and L2 teacher education play in the professional development of L2
teachers through systematic, intentional, goal-directed, theorized L2 teacher
education pedagogy. Empirical evidence is provided of the moment-to-moment,
asynchronous, and at-a-distance responsive mediation that takes place in a cohesive
practice that I have designed, repeatedly implemented, and subsequently collected
data on in my own L2 teacher education program. Responsive mediation is positioned
as the nexus of mindful L2 teacher education and proposed as a psychological tool for
teacher educators to both examine and inform the ways in which they design, enact,
and assess the consequences of their own L2 teacher education pedagogy.
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Translanguaging Pedagogies: The Multimodalities-
Entextualization Cycle (MEC) as a Curriculum Genre to Plan CLIL Lessons Professor Angel M. Y. LIN (Simon Fraser University, Canada)
How do we help students to make ‘alien’ words and ways of speaking/writing/thinking
in foreign/additional languages/school registers their own? Lemke (1990, 173)
proposes, ‘Students will begin to grasp semantic and conceptual relationships in
colloquial language first. Then they will substitute scientific, technical terms for
colloquial words. … Along the way their version of scientific language will be… a sort
of hybrid of colloquial and technical registers. The teacher will need to use these
different varieties of language as well, and keep them straight for the students. In
order for this to work, and in order to increase students’ fluency and flexibility in using
the foreign register of science when dealing with topics that are initially equally
unfamiliar, they need practice in translation as well.’
In this paper, I shall discuss how translanguaging pedagogies (Garcí and Li, 2014) can
facilitate students’ expansion of their communicative repertoires by planning spaces
for translanguaging and trans-semiotizing (Lin 2015b) and spaces for target language
use in different stages of a curriculum genre (Rothery 1996). The Multimodalities-
Extextualization Cycle (MEC) (Lin 2015b) is an example of such a curriculum genre.
While Stages 1 and 2 in the MEC allow for the uninterrupted flow of meaning-making
and pedagogical support through translanguaging and trans-semiotizing, the third
stage allows students to have a space to practise orienting their meaning making
towards the discourse and cultural patterns required by the school for successful
participation in future assessment tasks and for expanding their repertoires. In this
stage, scaffolding needs to be provided (e.g. useful vocabulary, sentence patterns,
writing/speaking starters). The MEC in principle can be reiterated without an end-
point to emphasize the equal importance of all the multiple linguistic and multimodal
resources. The MEC is thus proposed as a heuristic tool for teachers to think about
how to design systematic scaffolding in Content-based and CLIL classrooms.
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PRESENTERS
Shifting Instructional Stance: Tracing The Development Of Student-Focused Teaching Michael AMORY (The Pennsylvania State University)
Although a shift from a teacher- to a more student-centered approach to teaching has
highlighted students as active agents in their own learning, it deemphasizes the role
of the teacher and, from a Vygotskian Sociocultural Theoretical (SCT) perspective, the
purpose of education. From an SCT perspective, the focus of teachers should be on
intervening in the developmental process in order to help students understand, use,
and internalize concepts (or mediating artifacts) through practical goal-directed
activity - an approach I refer to as student-focused. With that, this presentation will
first detail an SCT perspective on education and teaching. Following, I conduct a
microgenetic analysis to empirically document the unfolding development-in-activity
of two pre-service teachers’ emerging conceptualization of a student-focused
instructional stance as they participate in an initial learning-to-teach experience and
the various goal-directed activities that it provides. Informed by SCT, the activities
required of all pre-service teachers consist of the following: classroom observations;
materializing the subject matter (in this case, writing academic emails) into an initial
lesson plan; “practice” teaching the lesson (video-recorded); rematerializing the
lesson plan; teaching the “actual” lesson in an undergraduate academic composition
course for international students (video-recorded); participating in a stimulated recall
session of the “actual teach” with the methods instructor (audio-recorded); and
writing a 5-7 page reflection paper on their experience. Through the mediating effects
of situated practical activity and the responsive mediation provided by the teacher
educator and peer teachers, each pre-service teacher, albeit through different
developmental trajectories, begins to develop a conscious awareness of a student-
focused instructional stance and its instructional implications. This study points to the
crucially important role of teacher educators introducing new tools or signs to push
the qualitative transformation of teachers’ mental activity and in modeling and
strategically mediating practices in pre-service teachers’ initial learning-to-teach
experiences.
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Exploring Japanese Returnees’ Psychological Adaptation
Process And Language Learning Experience: Qualitative Trajectory Modeling Approach Takumi AOYAMA (University of Warwick, UK; Shimane University, Japan)
Although a number of studies have been conducted in the area of L2 motivation
research, not much attention has been paid to learners’ experience of learning English.
This study aims to investigate a complex and dynamic life trajectory of three Japanese
“returnees”, people who have lived outside Japan because of their parents’ jobs and
returned before the age of 20. Under the influence of Japan’s alignment with
globalisation, returnees are now regarded as one social category (Goodman, 2011;
Sueda, 2014), and it is often assumed that returnees have advantages in learning
English over those who do not have foreign experience in childhoods. However,
studies reported that returnees experience difficulties in adjusting to the Japanese
educational system because of the differences between the educational settings in
Japan and the countries they have lived in.
Up until now, no study has focused on the relationships between returnees’ process
of adaptation and English learning experience. Therefore, the study explores
trajectories of returnees’ adaptation process to the Japanese context and its
relationship with language learning experience.
Informants are three Japanese female university students who lived abroad in their
childhood, and they were recruited at a university located in the Tokyo metropolitan
area. Data was collected through in-depth retrospective interviews asking about their
language learning experience. Recorded interviews were analyzed using the
Trajectory Equifinality Model (Sato, Hidaka, & Fukuda, 2009), a qualitative
methodology which depicts complex and dynamic human life trajectories by exploring
similarities and differences in each person’s life trajectory.
As a result of analysis, the study concludes that, although informants have different
backgrounds, their adaptation process was strongly affected by similar social factors
such as exam-oriented nature of language education, as well as common values and
beliefs in Japan, and those social factors have strong impacts on the informants’
language learning process.
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More than just Language Proficiency: Designing a
Speaking Test for Study Abroad Candidates Daniel BATES (Asia University, Tokyo)
Study abroad programs represent an opportunity for students to significantly improve
their English skills by living, communicating and studying in English speaking countries.
These programs represent a significant investment from both universities and
students so evaluating a students’ readiness for such a program is of vital importance.
This presentation describes the process behind the design of a new schematized
speaking test to assess the capabilities and cultural understanding of students at a
university in Japan who have applied to participate on a study abroad program in the
United States. A more holistic approach to assessing students’ preparedness for
studying abroad is becoming increasingly popular among universities and allows
students to show their abilities and knowledge beyond just TOEIC scores. To
distinguish itself from other language proficiency tests, this test was designed with
that concept in mind, not only assessing a students’ English language capabilities, but
also creating items that evaluate how prepared a student is for studying abroad. It can
be argued that engagement and comfort levels are just as important as language
ability for studying abroad successfully, thus the rubric for this assessment covered
five distinct areas; English ability, Degree of Detail, Participation, Cultural Fit and
Comfort. The challenge was to create a range of test items that would allow students’
to have sufficient opportunities to display these observable traits and make
meaningful assessments of their intercultural awareness. The reasoning behind the
test’s structure, items and rubric is explained in detail in this presentation with
reference to other research completed in the field of holistic assessment and
evaluation.
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Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety: a Preliminary Study
of its Implications to EFL Final-Year Secondary Students and First-Year University Students from Macau and Beijing Ka Lon, Alan CHAN (The English Language Centre, University Of Macau)
Ut Meng, Riko LEI (Beijing Foreign Studies University)
It has long been identified that foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is correlated
with language learners’ self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings and behaviours related to
language learning process (Horwitz et. al., 1986), and thus FLCA is believed to have
influence on learners’ performance in class and in assessments. To date, different
research has been conducted concerning its effects to learners and language learning.
However, few studies have been done in the context of China and Macau, and neither
are there studies that investigate the effects of FLCA to both final-year secondary
students and first-year university students. This study aims at investigating how FLCA
affects Chinese learners’ behaviours and performance in English learning, as well as
studying the correlative influence that FLCA has on both counterparts.
The current study is a preliminary study administered to English learners from a local
university in Beijing and in Macau respectively, and from an EFL secondary school in
Macau. All the respondents are invited to complete an adapted questionnaire from
Horwitz et al.’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). Four factors
are investigated: communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, test
anxiety, and anxiety of English learning. Additionally, their test scores are collected for
investigating how much their anxiety level is correlated to their test performance. The
internal consistency coefficients are used to measure the reliability of the scale, and
the correlation between the learners’ anxiety level and their performance.
The results of the study are believed to shed new light on the relationship between
students’ recognition of one’s own language learning beliefs and their performance
both in class and in assessments. The findings will further provide implication to
language instructors about potential measures that can be taken to deal with learners’
language anxiety and hence, bring benefits to future language teaching and learning.
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Confronting Difference: Learning to Teach in a
Borderland School Cheri CHAN (University of Hong Kong)
The objective of this paper is to examine cross-cultural perspectives in teaching.
Specifically, I “tell and retell” (Clandinin & Caine, 2012) one English language education
student-teacher’s (Marley) experiences of grappling with “feelings of discomfort for
what is different” (Pericles Trifonas, 2003, p. 129) when she was placed in a
“borderland” school for her practicum. I examined how these experiences shaped and
reshaped her understandings of what it means to enact culturally responsive
pedagogy (Giroux, 2005; Nieto, 2009).
The “borderland” school in this study is located between the mainland city of
Shenzhen, China and Hong Kong. The phenomenon of cross-border schooling
emerged in the last decade as a result of thousands of children being born to Mainland
parents in the post-handover era between 2001 to 2012. There are around 28,000
children who cross the border to attend schools in Hong Kong. With the broadening
spectrum of diversity in schools, attending to the question of how to enact inclusion
and social justice in educational practices has become an important issue.
The study adopted an interpretive research design. Narratives were drawn from a
larger virtual mentoring project, created for student-teachers learning to teach ESL to
engage in professional conversations with practising teachers during their practicum.
The goal was to offer a safe and hybrid “third space” (Gutiérrez, Baquedano‐Ló
pez, & Tejeda, 1999; Zeichner, 2010) for teachers to examine complex issues
concerning ESL teaching together, including how to attend to the needs of diverse
language learners in Hong Kong.
Findings indicate for transformation to happen, teacher candidates have to be
empowered to challenge divisive practices that may be deeply embedded in schools
as institutions, which reinforce social inequities. Participating in a virtual mentoring
community offered Marley social and cultural resources to engage in doing “boundary
work” as an ESL student-teacher.
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Disrupting Schooling Inequities Through Interdisciplinary
Critical Approaches To Teacher Education in Hong Kong & Asia Benjamin “Benji” CHANG (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Iris Man Wai CHEUNG (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Mel Hye-Ri YANG (Jeomgok Elementary School, S. Korea)
Michelle Lai Ying CHANG (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Renu KAUR (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Sarah Suet Ting CHEUNG (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Shynar BAIMAGANBETOVA (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Sibyl Jiayi MIN (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Will Wing Chiu CHAN (Pat Heung Central Primary School, Hong Kong)
This presentation applies interdisciplinary critical approaches to teaching and teacher
education with the aim of disrupting schooling inequities found in Hong Kong, and
other regions of East, Southeast, and Central Asia. Transgressing typical demarcations
between practitioners and scholars, this presentation brings together a diverse panel
of EdUHK students, teachers, and teacher educators in primary and secondary
classroom settings who are teaching English and Chinese varieties.
The background of the teachers involved is a recently-developed program in Hong
Kong that helps develop diverse undergraduates, often the first in their family to
attend university, to be more transformative teachers and researchers in their
everyday practices. The program is The Project for Critical Research, Pedagogy &
Praxis (PCRP), which is an 'educational pipeline' that begins with training early
undergraduates in critical teaching and research skills, and then branches off into pre-
service/in-service teaching, postgraduate studies, and collaborative research projects
(Chang, 2017). This pipeline project utilizes feminist, critical, and sociocultural
theories of learning, pedagogy, and community engagement (Chang, 2013; Gutierrez,
2008; Lau, 2013; Luke, 2018), in an effort to challenge the large disconnects that many
EdUHK students have been reporting. These disconnects include just trying to
individually matriculate through the university institution, and trying to practice
holistic and constructivist pedagogies in Hong Kong and other schooling contexts they
experienced in South Korea, mainland China, Thailand, and Kazakhstan.
This presentation examines challenges for the PCRP educators as they tried to disrupt
common curricula and discourse around cultural deficit, 'teaching to the test,' and
banking models of education within their schools, which often included essentialising
notions of 'Confucian Heritage Culture' that marginalized students from both Chinese
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and non-Chinese backgrounds (Ryan & Louie, 2007). Data collection includes
participant observation, field notes, and small group discussions through a
participatory action research approach (Bautista, Bertrand, Morrell, Scorza, &
Matthews, 2013).
In examining the pedagogies, methodologies, and overall experiences of the PCRP
participants, this presentation helps to reframe what is considered 'Chinese' or 'Ethnic
Minority' language and culture within the context of classrooms and language
teaching, and addresses more sustainable efforts towards promoting equity and
humanization in schooling.
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Dimensions of Informal Language Teaching as YouTubers
Chin-Chi CHAO (National Chengchi University)
YouTube has provided entertainment and language learning materials to language
learners all over the world. However, there has not been sufficient research on the
work of language teaching YouTubers. Focusing on language teaching (LT) YouTubers
as a currently prevailing phenomenon, this qualitative case study is interested in the
complexity and core behind their practice and identity work through investigating a
group of three YouTubers who wish to provide viewers with quality LT experience
through the videos that they create and produce in two Chinese teaching YouTube
channels. Data collected include 3-month continuous observation of their video works,
in-depth interviews, and weekly informal discussions. Analysis was informed by the
literature of language teacher identity and the concept of participatory culture on
social media. The result shows that the kind of identity work behind these participants’
practices includes their identities as native/non-native speakers, former teachers and
learners, and members of imaged social media community, with the three participants
contributing differently to the team’s joint identity as a legitimate language teaching
professional. Furthermore, YouTube, as a social media characterized by participatory
culture, affords the practitioners with the opportunity to critically respond to
inappropriate ideology toward the target language and culture. These critical
responses can be the unspoken core of the LT YouTuber’s practice and identity work
that potentially set them apart from classroom teachers as they know they have a
unique space to influence others, the society, and the world at large. This also suggests
that LT YouTubers' work is not as simple as just providing entertainments.
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Professional Identities of Translation And Interpreting
Teachers: A Narrative Multiple-Case Study Bacui CHEN (Lingnan Normal University/Hong Kong Baptist University)
Peter HUANG (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Recently, Chinese authorities released a strategic plan “Double First-class”
(shuangyiliu in Chinese pinyin), namely “building world-class universities and first-
class disciplines”, in an effort to promote the internationalization of its higher
education and globalization of its talents. Since teacher development relates to
discipline improvement and university upgrading, it has aroused much more attention
than before. BTI (Bachelor of translation and interpreting) education is relatively new
in mainland China compared to the west. However, the rapid development and fast
expansion are not merited by its teaching quality. As a large proportion of BTI teachers
are formerly EFL (English as Foreign language) teachers at universities or former
translation and interpreting practitioners, they now face the dilemma of both
improving teaching and conducting research. Adopting a narrative multiple-case study
approach, this study examines how experiences of BTI teachers and their interactions
with leadership, with colleagues, and with students etc. form their teacher identities;
and how their identities change under current mainland China’s specific social and
institutional context. It will provide deep insights into BTI teacher identity, have
important implications for the design of pre-BTI teacher training program and offer an
initial framework for future research into BTI/MTI teacher.
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A Case Study of an EFL Writing Center’s Effectiveness
Fenghua CHEN (Nantong University; University of New Hampshire)
Effectiveness of writing centers in the western culture has been interpreted and
evaluated with local features. Some scholars compare and equal their writing center
effect with classroom writing instruction or writing skills, thus grades in composition
course or holistic composition quality has been measured. Others interpret the
effectiveness as an extra support for students, correspondingly, retention, counts and
satisfactory of students and faculties have been assessed. Traditionally, research on
writing centers was primarily based on qualitative, observational approaches
analyzing the effectiveness of writing centers. Even though some scholars adopted
quantitative approaches, the validity and reliability of their research were in doubt.
Based on the literature of writing center assessment and theoretical explanation of
constructing a writing center in China, the author argues that students’ English writing
competence, students and tutors’ satisfactory, and writing center visits need to be
evaluated.
In this paper, I focus on answering the question What factors affect students’ overall
satisfaction level of their EFL writing center experience. I will use a survey to explore
crucial factors (including tutees’ expectation of the conference, types of assistance
tutees get from tutors, long-term use of knowledge and skills, reasons for using the
writing center, tutors’ competence, conference variables: generalist feedback,
specialist feedback) to positive perception of writing center experience. This question
helps to know the problems emerged and lessons learned on the implementation of
the writing center model on first-year English major students in a Chinese university.
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Acquiring Lexical Threshold As Learning Outcome Of
Listening Curriculum Sonia CHEUNG (The University of Hong Kong)
With internationalization of education, there is an increase in international students
in English speaking countries, teachers who speak English as a second language as well
as the use of English as an additional language at tertiary level (Miller, 2014). Given
school graduates attain a threshold level, they will likely be able to independently
grasp the opportunities outside the classroom for language learning because advances
in technology lead to possibilities for autonomous listening practice. This paper
presents an empirical study that investigated the relationship of vocabulary
knowledge and repetition to listening comprehension. Data included a listening test
paper containing elements of repetition completed by 73 secondary school students,
as well as a vocabulary test consisting of three parts. The results reveal that linguistic
cues in the form of repetition were aids to listening comprehension for the learners
who acquired or approached the lexical threshold. Rhetorical devices such as synonym,
paraphrasing and redundancy might have a negative effect on listeners. For weak
listeners, repetition did not decrease item difficulty. Additionally, vocabulary test in
the format of a C-test appeared a better predictor of listening comprehension (r =.85)
than productive vocabulary test (r =.76) and receptive vocabulary test (r =.66). In other
words, language proficiency and active vocabulary knowledge are determinants to
success in the context of task-based listening assessment. The results of this study will
provide some insight on the role of lexical threshold on listening comprehension. Input
can be processed in the learners’ mind where their prior vocabulary knowledge come
into play during comprehension. While listening is widely seen as a receptive skill and
listening syllabus design is often skill-based, this study argues for a processing
approach to materials design and development together with lexical threshold as one
of the learning outcomes.
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A Narrative Inquiry into Shifting Identities of Trade
Teachers’ Learning to become Content and Language Integrated Learning Teachers in a Vocational School in Hong Kong Alice CHEUNG (The University of Hong Kong)
English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI) has been highly valued in Hong Kong, due
to its previous British colonial rule. Internationally, it is the dominant language being
used as the medium of instruction (MOI) in Content and Language Integrated Learning
(CLIL). CLIL in English is also spreading across Hong Kong mainstream schools and
tertiary education, including vocational schools. This move means trade teachers in
vocational schools who normally adopt Chinese as the MOI will need to take on a new
linguistic identity and join a new CLIL community of practice. It raises a number of
concerns, which can be unsettling and challenging.
There is little known about the transition from mother tongue teaching to CLIL in
English as a second language, particularly in a vocational education context in Hong
Kong. A deep and sensitive examination into the trade teachers’ experiences and their
voices is deemed necessary. My study therefore aims to explore the experience of one
trade teacher, Henry, working in a vocational school to understand how his lived
experience interplay with contextual complexities and tensions, which trigger his
identity shifts in the complex process of becoming CLIL teacher.
A narrative inquiry approach is used as the research methodology to afford access to
Henry’s voice. In the process of inquiry, his story was co-constructed through face-to-
face conversations, reflective journals, observational field notes from classroom
teaching, and his interactions with significant members such as students, supervisors,
other teachers, the English native speaking trainer, his family members and the
researcher, in multiple communities over a period of nine months. His story was
studied by thematic analysis using a theoretical framework by Wenger’s (1998) theory
of Communities of Practice (CoP) to untangle the interconnectedness between
identity and learning.
Analysis illustrates that Henry’s identities were shaped by unfavorable past learning
experiences, which largely influenced his attitude towards CLIL and EMI teaching.
Support and challenges from significant members of multiple communities, and
conflicts with institutional narratives were key to his struggles, which induced his
identity shifts to cope with the power disparities experienced. Through Wenger’s idea
of ‘learning as becoming’, Henry formed a new evolving self after gaining the
knowledge and experience from the training. He acquired evolved identities as he
refashioned his points of views towards CLIL teaching and English learning.
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The stories shed light on the theoretical significance of CoP theory in understanding
identity shifts, and practical significance which questions the applicability of CLIL in a
trade-specific context. The study also has implications for institutional MOI policy and
understanding teachers’ MOI training. What touched me most, with my triple roles as
researcher, coordinator and former head of English department, is the powerful role
that narrative inquiry played in building relationship with Henry. Together we
overcame tensions and developed mutual trust in bringing out the ‘beauty’ of an
evolving self, not only that of Henry, but also of myself as researcher.
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Social Identity and Teaching Writing in an EFL Context
DANG Trung Dung (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Lantolf (2000) claims that the most fundamental concept of sociocultural theory is
that the human mind is mediated. Lantolf and Pavlenko (2001) argue that instead of
acting alone, in a cultural vacuum, individuals within the activity theory seen as agents
who engage in goal-oriented actions with cultural tools, both symbolic and material,
as members of a particular sociocultural community. The paper explicates theoretical
concepts of activity theory and social identity in relation to teaching essay-writing in
an EFL context, and discusses the relationship between them. The most important
point that deals with language teaching in this context is that learners as agents are
different in terms of motives for being in the writing class and the same task can result
in different activities.
Chinese TESOL Learners’ Experience in Becoming an English Language Teacher at UK Universities Dangeni DANGENI (University of Glasgow)
Chinese overseas students are generally described in the literature as ‘passive learners’
as a characteristic ascribed to their cultural heritage. However, literature reveals
limited studies on their individual differences in learning, engagement and
development over time so far. Aiming at investigating the experience of learning
engagement and conceptual change of Chinese learners at three UK universities
studying a master programme in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages), this project attempts to represent the voices of this cohort and seeks an
in-depth understanding of their development in becoming an English teacher in their
one-year master’s study. A combination of qualitative methods in a longitudinal
design was adopted: a) monthly audio diaries offer insights from participants’ personal
experience upon learning engagement, b) ‘River of Experience’ interviews with
Chinese TESOL learners enable a comprehensive appreciation of what their entire
journey means through engaging in the programme, c) interviews with academic staff
to facilitate the understanding of their learning engagement and conceptual change
in this pre-service English Language Teacher Education programme from another
perspective. Thematic Analysis was employed as an inductive data analysis approach.
The preliminary findings from this study indicate emergent influential factors to
facilitate learning engagement and conceptual change including: a) the specific
approaches available both within and out with the programme b) the role academic
staff and their teaching approaches played in their learning experience and cognitive
development, c) the vital engagement experience and moments of conceptual change
in becoming an English language teacher.
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A Contrastive Analysis of Stance Construction In Student
And Professional Academic Writing DONG Jihua (The University of Auckland)
Stance expressions play an essential role in effective communication between writers
and readers in academic discourse. These expressions contribute to the articulation of
tone and assertiveness in writing, and are also used to create linkages between ideas
within the text and with other texts. Employing stance expressions appropriately
according to disciplinary conventions can pose considerable challenges to novice
writers in particular (Feak & Swales, 2011; Hyland & Milton, 1997; Mauranen & Bondi,
2003).
This study explores differences in the use of stance expressions in the discipline of
engineering in novice and expert writing, using two self-built English-language corpora.
The first consists of course papers written by Chinese postgraduate engineering
students and the second published research articles. The results demonstrate that
student writing contains greater use of attitude stance expressions, but more limited
use of hedges and reference stance expressions. As a result, students’ writing is
infused with a higher affective presence than professional writing, and may be
perceived as possessing a more affirmative tone. Owing to the low use of reference
expressions creating linkages to the literature, students’ writing may be perceived as
insufficiently situated within the target discourse community. These discrepancies
may be explained by differences in intended readership, students’ lack of exposure to
the range of stance resources, and their insufficient experience in producing this type
of academic text. The findings have pedagogical value in that they identify particular
challenges related to the use of stance expressions by L2 postgraduate writers in China
which could usefully be addressed in learning materials and classroom instruction.
27
Toward Understanding Volunteer Adult ESL Instruction:
An Activity Theoretical Investigation Nicolas DOYLE (Pennsylvania State University)
Although volunteer adult ESL teachers provide language instruction for nearly 12
million adult immigrants in the US (Durham & Kim, 2018), this context has been
“overlooked and understudied” (Matthews-Aydinli, 2008) in much of the research on
L2 learning and L2 teacher education. This lack of research is of concern as the majority
of volunteer adult ESL teachers are placed into classrooms with little to no prior
training or experience teaching language or adults (Chao & Kuntz, 2013; Pennycook &
Coutand-Marin, 2003; Perry & Hart, 2012). In order to develop meaningful and
effective professional development for these teachers, we need to better understand
the nature of teaching and learning in volunteer-taught adult ESL classes (Crandall et
al., 2008). Activity theory (Engeström, 1987) provides a useful framework for doing
this by locating teachers within the social and professional worlds in which they live
and work (Johnson, 2009). By examining the instructional activity systems embedded
in volunteer-dependent adult ESL institutions, we can better understand how to
develop training approaches that will help volunteers navigate adult ESL instruction.
This presentation shares findings from the first stage of an activity theoretical analysis,
which seeks to document and explain the various instructional activity systems
operating within the volunteer adult literacy center under study. Data collected and
analyzed include interviews with volunteer teachers, students, and administrators,
and field observations. Findings provide insight into the inner workings of the
instructional activity at the site and indicate that pre-determined teaching materials
control the ways tutors interact with students, teachers must rely on themselves and
are left to develop and deliver courses without guidance, and classes offered often
don’t meet students’ stated needs. These, along with other key findings, will serve as
the basis for designing professional development interventions that are responsive to
the systemic and local needs.
28
Investigating Teachers’ Beliefs about the Teaching Of
Reading Through The Questions They Ask Ma. Joahna ESTACIO (De La Salle University-Manila)
Defined by cognitive psychologists as one’s representation of reality that guide both
thought and behavior (Abelson, 1979, Anderson, 1985, Rokeach, 1968 in Johnson,
1994), beliefs is a construct under teacher cognition which has been studied
extensively. Perhaps due to its established impact on how it affects classroom
practices, some researchers claim that teachers’ beliefs is essentially the most
important psychological construct in relation to teaching and teaching education
(Fenstermacher, 1979, Pajares, 1992, Pintrich,1990, in Johnson, 1994).
Borg (2011) defines teachers' beliefs as “propositions individuals consider to be true
and which are often tacit, have a strong evaluative and affective component, provide
a basis for action, and are resistant to change…which are a key element in teacher
learning and have become an important focus in research” (pp. 370-371).
However, despite using various methods of data gathering, previous researchers on
teachers’ beliefs have reported inconclusive findings. This serves as an impetus for the
current study to examine teachers’ beliefs through the lens of teachers’ questions.
The researchers argue that by nature, questions are indications of people’s beliefs
about what they deem important in life or in professional practice, as well as are
regulative acts and evidence of reflection. Thus, analyzing questions will enable
identification and description of certain beliefs held by the teacher-participants. Using
thematic analysis, the study presents four main themes that reveal several beliefs of
teachers related to reading instruction.
29
On the Status of English in EU after Brexit: A
Sociolinguistic Perspective FENG Jiangao (Shanghai International Studies University)
The ongoing process of Brexit has aroused heated discussions about its influence since
the result of the referendum vote was released on June 24th, 2016. The status of
English in the European Union after Brexit is also an issue of concern. This paper, based
on a framework consists of key concepts in sociolinguistics, i.e., language policy,
language attitude and language identity, analyses the controversy over the status of
English in EU following the Brexit referendum in 2016. On the basis of literature and
resources online, it discusses the language policy about English of EU and countries
within, the language attitude toward English of European people, and the local, global,
and multiple identity constructed through the language. It is found that the status of
English in EU after Brexit will be confronted with multi-layered factors, however, its
status in EU will not be significantly shaken in a short run.
30
An Ethical Analysis of Native-Speaking English Teachers’
Identity Construction in Mainland China Universities Grace GUO (University of International Business and Economics)
Gong CHEN (University of International Business and Economics)
Lifeng Miao (China Agricultural University)
Despite growing numbers of studies on native-speaking English teachers’ (NETs)
identities in other contexts like Hong Kong and South Korea, there has been a paucity
of research attention to NETs’ identity construction against mainland China’s
institutional and sociocultural contexts. Informed by Foucault’s (1985) notion of ethics
and the four axes of ethical self-formation, this study explores how a group of NETs
employed at a university construct their identities in relation to the teaching practice
and the institutional and the sociocultural contexts. Data have been collected through
in-depth interviews and classroom observations to understand their teaching
practices, their opinions and views of being a language teacher in Chinese universities,
and their struggles and freedom in identity negotiation. Findings suggest that
participants hold different views towards and have different purposes of being NETs
in Chinese universities. They unanimously perceive increasing challenges and
dilemmas to position themselves as professional language teachers both from
students who regard them not fully emotionally engaged in teaching, the local
language teachers who question their academic qualification and therefore the value
of their teaching experiences, and the changing institutional contexts. While some
participants build resistant identities, others are found to counter the disadvantages
and negotiate favorable identities by bringing into play their rich working experiences
and cultural resources in teaching practices and by cooperating with the
administrative personnel to participate in wider academic activities and community
services. The study has implications for changes to the current management system
and culture at institutional level and also for NETs themselves.
31
A study on the Relationship between ESP Teachers’
Knowledge of Students and Teaching Efficiency in China Jiyan HAN (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies)
Knowledge of students in PCK (pedagogical content knowledge) has become a topic
of much interest in recent thirty years. With regard to knowledge of students, the
extant literature mainly seeks to highlight its immense contribution to teaching a
particular subject so as to integrate teachers’ knowledge of students with such aspects
in PCK as knowledge of subject matter, pedagogy and environmental contexts.
However, little attention has been drawn to what elements it contains and how to
improve ESP (English for specific purposes) teaching efficiency from the perspective
of teachers’ knowledge of students. Hence, the aim of this study is to fully explore the
relationship between ESP teachers’ knowledge of students in PCK so as to provide
answer to above questions. By employing qualitative and quantitative approaches, the
study is conducted to investigate eighty ESP teachers in a higher vocational college in
southern China through interview, questionnaire and classroom observation. The data
analysis is performed through SPSS 24.0 software, using the method of independent
sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. Simultaneously, enter regression analysis and
correlation analysis are adopted to clear what factors influence ESP teaching efficiency.
The findings show that there is a significant relationship between ESP teachers’
knowledge of students and teaching efficiency, and the more ESP teachers know
about students, the higher teaching efficiency they could score. The current situation
of ESP teachers’ knowledge of students and the method that ESP teachers can employ
to enrich their knowledge of students are discussed in a way that provides insights
into improving teaching efficiency in China and other similar L2 contexts.
32
Exploring effects of foreign language enjoyment and
anxiety in Japanese students at an English-medium university Aya HAYASAKI (University of Birmingham)
Traditionally, Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) has been regarded largely as negative
emotion. However, recent studies imply that anxiety should be viewed from broader
perspectives, considering its positive aspects, interrelations with other emotions, and
changes over time and in various contexts. Here, the present research attempted to
investigate emic views of anxiety-provoking experience in Japanese learners of English
who studied at an English-medium university in northern Japan. Qualitative approach
was applied through online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to analyse
the learners’ narratives regarding their experiences while studying English for
Academic Purposes (EAP) and while studying abroad (SA), both of which are in the
university programme. The findings show that the learners generally had both high
levels of anxiety and enjoyment in both EAP and SA classrooms, but anxiety-provoking
episodes, at least in the long run and in their retrospect, seemed to work more
positively than negatively. They encouraged the development of various coping
strategies, which led to more achievement and increased self-confidence. Enjoyment
in the classroom were found through creative and interactive activities and supportive
and sociable peers and teachers, which seemed to contribute to making the tension
more euphoric. On the other hand, enjoyment per se, without sufficient feeling of
tension, might result in increasing boredom and decreasing productivity. These
emotions were found to be socially constructed rather than an internal state; thus,
each learners’ perceived competence might be more important than their actual
competence. This study supports the significance of anxiety as a positive contributor
to L2 learning experience and its interrelationships with other factors such as positive
emotions or motivation, suggesting further qualitative and longitudinal investigation.
33
Empowering International Student Teaching Assistants
(TAs) Through An Action Research Endeavor Takaaki HIRATSUKA (Tohoku University)
Over the last few decades, the number of international teaching assistants (TAs)
teaching undergraduate courses, including second language courses, has increased
remarkably, as has their responsibilities within those courses. This increase in the
number of international TAs on campus is born partly from efforts to promote
internationalization at universities. Despite this, there are few empirical studies about
them; in particular, research on the experiences of international TAs in the context of
Japan is scarce, and longitudinal reports on their TA experiences even scarcer. For
many TAs, however, the position is an introduction into being an educator at the
university level. It is therefore important to accumulate more research on this issue
with a particular focus on their professional development as pre-service/novice
teachers. In this research, I used an action research methodology to better understand
and improve the quality of life for three international student TAs who were employed
to assist in the delivery of three undergraduate-level English courses which I
supervised. Data were gathered from them throughout the semester, using interviews,
picture drawing, and classroom field notes. Overall, there was an agreement among
the participants that the action research experience enabled them to feel empowered
as teacher professionals in that they reported increases in both their collaboration
with me (the course instructor) and the frequency and quality of their engagements
with their students. They also noted that the feedback they received from and
provided to me became more insightful and wide-ranging. I will conclude this
presentation with my recommendations for future research that aims to shed more
light on the professional development of international TAs and the improvement of
university courses in which they are employed.
34
Autonomy, Agency And Identity in (T)EFL learning:
Understanding BA TEFL Students’ Experiences in a Mainland Chinese University Over Two Decades Peter HUANG (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Bacui CHEN (Lingnan Normal University/Hong Kong Baptist University)
This presentation reports on two studies conducted at two different times in a
mainland Chinese university (LU) over two decades, to explore and compare learner
experiences and pathways of different cohorts of students enrolled in LU’s BA TEFL
degree programme, under the changing socio-educational circumstances. “(T)EFL
learning” refers to learning (learning to teach) English as a foreign language. In the
initial study, the first author conducted an ethnographic study to explore the long-
term development of autonomy among these TEFL students, drawing on data
collected from 2005 to 2007 (Huang, 2013). The study addressed two broad questions:
How do students develop their autonomy within the long-term process of EFL and
TEFL learning? What is the relationship among agency, identity, and autonomy in the
two processes of EFL and TEFL learning in the Chinese EFL context? The study
contritbuted to our understanding of how students go through a transition from more
reactive autonomy to more proactive autonomy over four years in university, in
response to constraints upon and affordances for autonomy in a particular setting.
Over the past decade, China has been taking efforts to enhane the international
competitiveness of its higher educational system, through, for example, building
“world first-class universities and disciplines”. Although LU is not a key university
aiming to become a world-class university, current socio-educational discourses have
been shaping students’ conceptualizations of tertiary education and their
development pathways. The rapid development of economy and technology (e.g.
WeChat) have also impacted on access to educational resources. These motivated us
to revisit LU, from 2016 to 2018, to examine the evoluation of learner experiences and
development pathways in a changing world. These new experiences, examined in the
context of rapid socio-educational transformation, would give expression to
continuities and changes in autonomy, agency and identity in (T)EFL learning."
35
A Narrative Study On The Construction Of Teacher
Professional Identity Through Local And International Practicum Mariah IBRAHIM (Teacher Education Institute, Malaysia)
Mohamed Jafre Zainol Abidin (Universiti Sains Malaysia)
The study of teacher identity amongst pre-service teachers has become significant in
the field of teacher education as the importance of hearing the voice of teacher
trainees is vital for understanding the early construction of teacher identity leading to
positive teacher experience and retainment in the teaching profession.
The interest of this study was to focus on the areas of teacher identity as a trademark
of teacher professionalism and the participant’s engagement during practicum. The
research attempted to seek understanding on how the construction of professional
identity of a teacher trainee was developed through a period of local and international
practicum.
The research was part of a project conducted by a university in Malaysia, which
integrated an international practicum stint for selected students during their final year
of a B. Ed. TESL programme to experience both a local and a foreign context for
teaching. Besides completing their practicum in schools in Malaysia, the trainees went
on to experience another 12 weeks of teaching in schools in the Maldives. This study
focussed on the journey of one of the participants.
Drawing on Wenger’s social theory of identity, this narrative study examined the
journey of Yasmina, a teacher trainee, throughout her local and international
practicum as she negotiated meaning into her becoming of a teacher. This narrative
research provided insights into the construction of teacher identity as she embarked
on a journey that challenged her views of teaching through her engagement with the
different communities of practice. Her story highlighted the tensions and challenges
she faced, as well as reconciliation, as she constructed her own teacher professional
identity."
36
Language Education, Ideologies and National Identity:
Corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of Chinese Language Textbooks from Mainland China and Hong Kong Issac IU (The Unviersity of Auckland)
The education system in mainland China is said to be highly-politicized since the
establishment of the PRC while Hong Kong‘s education system tends to be
depoliticized. Although these two regions are part of the same country, their historical
background and socio-political environment are diverse. On one hand, Chinese
Language Education in mainland China is centralized with the “One Guide – One Text”
policy. On the other hand, in Hong Kong, there is heated debate over government’s
censorship of Chinese history textbooks and raised the public’s attention on
government’s political moves in education. In addition, the issue of identity conflict in
Hong Kong became white-hot. Chinese Language Education, as an important vehicle
for fostering patriotic or national education, is therefore being concerned.
This research aims to discover the submerged dominant ideologies with a focus on the
cognitive structuring of national identity in the Chinese Language Textbooks for junior
secondary school published in mainland China and the Hong Kong SAR for school
education. Six textbooks from China and six textbooks from Hong Kong will be
examined using a corpus-assisted Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework,
implementing a mixed-method approach to analyse the textbook corpus by employing
corpus linguistic analytical techniques focusing on language at word, sentence and
paragraph level.
The study reveals that the Chinese language textbooks published in mainland China
and the Hong Kong SAR are diverse in their intended to construct students’ national
identity, Chinese identity in particular. A large part of the learning content in textbooks
from China involves topics pertaining to Confucian beliefs which contribute in
constituting students’ cultural identity; textbooks from Hong Kong forge a Chinese
identity relying on a large amount of classical Chinese literature, but they do not
intend to efface cultural characteristics of Hong Kong.
37
Efficacy Of Translanguaging As A Pedagogy In Language
Learning Classrooms Chin Yew KIEU (University of Edinburgh)
Traditionally, language learning classrooms have adopted the monolingual language
policy where only the target language is legitimised as the medium of instruction and
student communication within the classroom (García & Sylvan, 2011). However, this
position has been challenged through the proposal of translanguaging as an approach
to bilingual/multilingual education (Cenoz, 2017; Creese & Blackledge, 2010, 2015;
Duarte, 2016; García, 2013; García & Lin, 2017; García & Sylvan, 2011; Lasagabaster &
García, 2014; Lewis, Jones & Baker, 2012). Research on translanguaging have also seen
increased frequency in recent years, arguing on its transformative and pedagogical
capabilities in the education of bilinguals/multilinguals (Jaspers, 2018; Poza, 2017).
As translanguaging gains recognition as a pedagogical approach in
bilingual/multilingual contexts, the current ongoing study sought to investigate its
efficacy in language learning classrooms to bring about the learning of target named
languages. This study conducted a literature review of fifty research articles published
between 2014 to 2018 which employed empirical measures in the study of
translanguaging in language classrooms. The articles were categorised according to a
number of factors to differentiate the contexts of the language classrooms.
A preliminary synthesis of the contexts and findings of the articles revealed a skewed
cluster of pedagogic benefits and applicable contexts for translanguaging as a
pedagogy. Limitations to generalise translanguaging to other language classrooms in
bilingual/multilingual contexts were discussed while research gaps essential to the
acceptance of translanguaging as a pedagogy were also highlighted. The relationship
between translanguaging and named languages was also re-examined pertaining to
current research findings to enrich the theory of translanguaging.
38
Scoring Reliability for Translation Tasks in Japanese
University Entrance Examinations Studied with Generalizability Theory SatoshiKUROKAWA (The University of Tokyo)
This paper aims to assess translation tasks utilizing the Generalizability theory to
examine whether they satisfy scoring reliability criteria in high-stakes tests. With the
aid of this theory, the variance components and the generalizability coefficient were
estimated, and the number of items and raters necessary for highly reliable
measurement of the entrance exam were simulated.
In high-stakes tests, scoring reliabilities are of critical importance for choosing a
successful applicant. In East Asian countries in general, and in Japan in particular,
enrollment in an established university can decide a person’s success throughout his
or her entire career as well as that person’s social status. However, translation tasks,
which may not exhibit scoring reliability, are traditionally used in Japanese university
entrance examinations. Many researchers have criticized these translation tasks for
this reason. Nevertheless, established universities still use them in their entrance
examinations. Existing research studies have investigated the scoring reliability of
translation tasks. However, these studies did not apply strict scoring rules to the tasks,
allowing each rater to freely assess the task using intuition. Empirical study is needed
of the scoring reliability of translation tasks with plausible scoring items.
In all, 135 Japanese high school students participated in this research. After this group
completed their translation tasks, two well-trained raters assessed each translation
task using a translation rubric that was based on the rubric of the most successful cram
school in terms of its graduates passing university entrance examinations, the Toshin
cram school.
The results indicated that one rater and four items are required to meet scoring
reliability in high-stakes tests (G =.91). Thus, it is evident that translation tasks can be
used for high-stakes tests, such as the Japanese university entrance exams.
39
A Diagnostic Approach To Focused Written Corrective
Feedback Icy LEE (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Na LUO (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Pauline MAK (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Despite the large amount of time second language (L2) teachers spend responding to
errors in student writing, their written corrective feedback (WCF) practice does not
seem to be effective in helping students improve written accuracy. As a result, it is
suggested that teachers should re-think the conventional WCF approach that
addresses all written errors comprehensively in favour of an alternative approach that
targets specific error categories – i.e. focused WCF. Research on focused WCF that can
inform classroom practice, however, is limited since much of it has been conducted in
experimental / quasi-experimental classrooms that bear little resemblance to
authentic classroom contexts. Such research has little pedagogical relevance to real
classroom situations, giving teachers little idea about how best to go about focused
WCF. This provides the impetus for the present study, which is part of a larger research
project that investigates the implementation of focused WCF in secondary classrooms
in Hong Kong. As part of the larger study, the present investigation aims to provide
baseline data about students’ error patterns so as to inform a diagnostic approach to
focused WCF. Conducted in two Secondary 3 (one band 1 and one band 2) classrooms
with 121 students, this study utilizes a picture writing test that generates useful
diagnostic information about the S3 students’ relative strengths and weaknesses with
regard to written accuracy, also revealing the severest error patterns among the
students. Error analysis was performed on the 121 student texts collected from the
participating students, using error codes generated from a pilot study. The error
patterns of the students are presented and pedagogical implications for a diagnostic
approach to WCF practice are discussed.
40
Researching Language Teacher Cognition – a Discursive
Psychological Approach Li LI (University of Exeter)
Language teacher cognition has become a significant research area in the last decade
to promote learners’ active participation in learning, to address the important role of
teachers in developing effective pedagogy and to enhance teacher learning. Majority
of this research is framed in a cognitive framework, adopting research methodology
to gain understanding of teachers’ mental lives.
In this talk, I challenge the cognitive perspective and approach towards teacher
cognition and bring interaction to the centre of the domain of teacher cognition.
Teachers are active thinkers and in their planning and teaching, they interact with the
context in which they teach through the decisions made in the moment by moment
progression of a lesson. Consequently, teacher cognition should not be treated as
static traits that remain constant, but as a result of interactions with others in different
settings. This talk demonstrates the relationship between interaction and what
teachers think, know, believe and do in professional contexts, and illustrates how
cognition manifests itself in social interaction. Using a methodology informed by CA
principles and theoretical underpinnings, the analysis offered in this paper provides
in-depth understanding of what teachers' cognition-in-interaction (Li, 2017). Results
suggest a discursive approach towards teacher cognition offers a finer-grained
understanding of the phenomenon. Implications for teacher learning and effective
pedagogy are discussed."
41
Identity, Social Networks and Pragmatic Decisions of L2 Chinese Learners in Study
Abroad Context: A Language Socialization Perspective
LI Wendong (Shanghai International Studies University)
Second language socialization in study abroad contexts has been a robust field of
inquiry, but how multilingual learners’ identities mediate their pragmatic socialization
process is a theme that remains rarely explored. The present study seeks to examine
how eleven CSL (Chinese as a second language) learners from Belt and Road Initiative
countries construct their identities and how that impacts on their Chinese pragmatic
socialization and pragmatic subjectivity in sojourns abroad. Qualitative data were
elicited by multiple instruments including (1) role play (RP) and recall protocols; (2)
semi-structured interviews; (3) learners’ self narratives and (4) participant observation
and field notes.
Drawing on identity and investment model (Norton, 2013), results suggested that
contingent on different interactional situations, learners’ multilingual and
multicultural identities were dynamically constructed and re-constructed in the
process of contestation and negotiation with their multilingual resources. Their
differing subject positionings might stimulate the enactment of imagined identities
and imagined communities and affect their investment in various capitals, which
consequently led to the emulation or resistance of certain pragmatic norms. Learners’
pragmatic subjectivity was not reducible to a dichotomy of resistance or
accommodation, but was subject to learners’ multilingual investment and was
reproduced in the pragmatic socialization process. These findings captured the
dynamic, complex and evolving changes occurring in participants’ pragmatic
subjectivity during pragmatic socialization abroad, and revealed how pragmatic
subjectivity was mediated by their multilingual identities and affected further
socialization. The study thus calls for greater sensitivity to learner agency and
subjectivity in their pragmatic choices.
42
Developing Blog for Learning English Essay Writing:
Student’s Perception LISTIANI (Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto)
Learning requires a medium to help learners learning. Blog can be designed to assist
the learners in learning. Learning English essay writing can use a blog as its learning
medium to share its theory and to train writing practice. Finding out what the students
perceive toward the implementation of the blog and their reasons is needed to be
done. As it is discussed in this paper, investigating student’s perceptions toward a blog
conducted after the implementation of the blog in English essay writing class is
presented in this paper. This survey study was one of research results under the
research and development of a blog designing for learning English essay writing. The
representatives of fourth semester students in one of private universities in Central
Java province in Indonesia consisting of 8 students were the subjects of this research.
They were selected since they experienced the blog in learning English essay writing
in essay writing class. A questionnaire was used to collect the students’ perception
data. It consisted of 7 (seven) questions revealing the accessibility of the blog and the
fulfillment of students’ needs for learning the materials, and the questionnaire also
collected whether the blog facilitated classroom interaction, assisted the students
learning inside and outside the class, and provided the clarity of materials description.
The results showed that 100% of students had positive perception toward the blog
consisting of 52% chose agree and 48% selected very agree. The reasons were that the
blog used very simple, quick and easy steps to access the content; provided complete
materials; used understandable language and detail explanation; and met the syllabus
requirements; provided additional learning sources; needed simple tool; made
students ready for class; helped to review the materials, and met students’ interest
on technology.
43
Exploring Bilingual Learners’ Desires In English-Medium
Studies: Evidence From A Thai Private Bilingual School LIU Yiqi (The Open University of Hong Kong)
The last two decades have seen huge changes in the focus of English language
education in non-Anglophone countries and jurisdictions around the world. English as
a medium of instruction (EMI), as opposed to English as the object of instruction has
been burgeoning in many Asian societies. While there is fruitful research on English
language teaching and learning in Asia, less attention is drawn to the students’
experiences and perceptions about using English to learn academic content. Drawing
on data collected in a bilingual secondary school in Bangkok, Thailand, the current
study explores EFL learners’ perceptions, desires and discursively constructed
identities in the EMI academic program. It is found that while the EFL students actively
invest in EMI studies under multiple and sometimes contradictory desires shaped and
reshaped by desires of their parents and the State as well as themselves, they seem
to embrace the hegemony of white, native English. It is therefore suggested that
critical and egalitarian multilingualism should be added as an element in the English-
medium academic programs in Asia-pacific secondary education.
44
A Narrative Inquiry of a Chinese Teacher’s Identity
Experience in a Cross-cultural School Context in Hong Kong Winifred MA (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Peter HUANG (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Along with the rapid development of globalization, a growing expansion of
transnational education have spread in many parts of the world (Resnik, 2012; Starr,
2014), including Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, a multilingual society with cross-cultural
complexity (Trent, Gao & Gu, 2014), some schools have implemented a type of
“glocalized” curriculum (Luk-Fong, 2005), in which teachers and students from mixed
cultural backgrounds work concordantly toward a better future (Patel & Lynch, 2013).
The new situation creates more challenges for teachers and it is important to see how
teachers cope with the challenges in the workplace by examining how they “form
sense of themselves – teacher identities” (Holland & Lachicotte, 2007, p.103).
The study investigates the experiences and perceptions of an experienced Chinese
teacher in a cross-cultural primary school with “glocalized” curriculum in Hong Kong.
According to Danielewicz (2001), forming a teacher identity is a process in which a
person negotiates with the society based on his experience within a specific context,
time and place. In addition, Gaudelli (1999) suggests that the elements of identity (e.g.
gender, previous occupation, cultural and religious background, etc.) influence
teacher pedagogy. Therefore, the research objectives are to explore how the Chinese
teacher’s identity is shaped and negotiated in the specific context, and the
relationship between her teacher identity and teaching pedagogy. Using a narrative
inquiry approach, we attempt to understand the Chinese teacher’s experience
through in-depth interviews with her and classroom observations. The preliminary
findings indicate that the teacher needs to shift her identities to survive change. In
addition, the relationship between teacher identity and classroom pedagogy can be
seen as crux of practice in the classroom. Implications for theory and practice will also
be discussed in the future presentation.
45
Family Background and Extracurricular English Learning:
Ethnography of Language Ideologies and Language Management in China MA Yan (Shanghai International Studies University)
Parents in China now are of great enthusiasm to outsource extracurricular lessons and
activities to ensure their children’s English learning. This study draws on one year of
ethnographic observations and interviews with parents and children in 4 families in
Shaoxing, a small city in East China, to explore how parents in different social classes
differ in their ideology and investment practice towards their children’s English
education. Through comparative analysis, the study reveals though all the families
acknowledge the importance of English and there are great similarities among families
in the same social class, differences are distinct among those in different social classes
with regard to how they perceived the importance and what measures they take. The
results also reflect China’s sociocultural and socioeconomic factors that underlined
the heated wave of English learning as well as the social, cultural and economic
conditions of different families that exert a decisive influence on their children’s
learning experience.
46
Subject-Operator Disagreement in English Existential
Constructions: A Corpus-Based Analysis of American English and Hong Kong English Chi Wui NG (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Attributed to disparate goals as well as tenets of prescriptive grammar and descriptive
grammar, disagreement exists between the two in that prescriptive grammar rules
may be violated in descriptive grammar; one concrete instance is subject-operator
disagreement in English existential constructions (Fowler, 1908, 2009). Findings of
antecedent studies unanimously lent support for substantial deviation of learners’
actual language usage from the prescriptive rule of subject-operator agreement (e.g.
Martinez-Insua & Palacios-Martinez, 2003).
The present study is intended to follow up to identify any changes in patterns of
subject-operator disagreement in recent years and look specifically into subject-
operator disagreement in English existential constructions in Hong Kong English. A
quantitative research design was exploited, and data of American English and Hong
Kong English were collected from the Corpus of Contemporary American English and
the PolyU Learner English Corpus respectively. After calculation of the frequency of
occurrence as well as that of subject-operator disagreement in each variety of English
existential construction in each register, the percentage of occurrence of subject-
operator disagreement was computed.
It was discovered that subject-operator disagreement in English existential
constructions was rare amongst American English speakers yet more frequent
amongst speakers of Hong Kong English. Whilst such disagreement occurred more
frequently in English existential constructions with plural notional subjects and
singular verbs produced by both groups of speakers, patterns of disagreement of the
two groups varied substantially in terms of register.
Rarity of subject-operator disagreement in English existential constructions produced
by American English speakers possesses a disposition to suggest that language use of
those speakers is still influenced by the prescriptive rule of subject-operator
agreement in English existential constructions while pervasiveness of subject-
operator disagreement in English existential constructions produced by speakers in
Hong Kong English indicates disparities between those speakers’ language use and
prescriptive rules.
47
Affective and Social Aspects of Motivation Strategies in
Self-directed Learning NIE Yanwei (Shantou University)
Self-directed learners take greater responsibility for their language learning, which
requires them to play various roles of planners, motivators, administrators, assessors,
and evaluators. Given so many new roles to take, the shift of identities from passive
learners to self-directed leaners entails considerable challenges, in which motivation
is the key to success as it sustains the long-term process of constructing new identities
as self-directed learners. Dörnyei (2001, 110) proposes five groups of self-motivation
strategies: commitment control, metacognition control, satiation control, emotion
control and environmental control. Since each self-directed leaner is a unique
individual, they have their own problems in maintaining motivation and adopt
different strategies in tackling them.
This study aimed to investigate how self-directed leaners at a key Chinese university
preserved their motivation until they achieved their intended goals. Two concerns
triggered the study: Firstly, the majority of Chinese students learn English in a teacher-
centered classroom, with little experience in self-directed learning. The cultivation of
new identities tends to be challenging for them. Secondly, while much research has
underlined the significance of social and affective aspects of motivation strategies,
little is known about what strategies Chinese self-directed learners like to use.
Therefore, the current study enrolled 46 students to take part in the questionnaire
survey, with 10 of them contributing ideas in the follow-up focus group interview. The
research findings reveal that self-directed learners in China apply diverse motivation
strategies. While strategies concerning affect are widely used, the most frequently
used strategies deal with the social aspects. To be specific, self-directed learners in
China are favorable of listening to consultants’ and peers’ language learning
experiences, studying in pairs or groups, and seeking competition from their peers."
48
Promoting Reflective Practice Among Malaysian Pre-
Service ESL Teachers Via The Use Of A 5-Step Copora Reflective Framework: A Case Study Wei Ann ONG (Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia)
Suyansah SWANTO (Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia)
Asma ALSAQQAF (Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia)
Teachers who engage in reflective practice have been found to be more efficacious,
more willing to experiment with novel learning methods, and more likely to survive
the initial years of teaching. While past research has lamented the descriptive and
emotive nature of the reflections made by pre-service teachers during their teaching
practice, studies have also called for pre-service teachers to be given explicit
instructions on how to engage in reflective practice. This paper presents the results of
an exploratory study into the use of a 5-step Cognition-Practice-Observation-
Rationalisation-Action (CoPORA) framework, which was coached to a group of 13 pre-
service ESL teachers in Malaysia before they underwent the second phase of their
teaching practice in primary schools. The data for this study was gathered via the
analysis of the respondents’ post-lesson reflective entries and focus group interviews.
Compared to the data in the baseline study, more reflective entries of the respondents
have moved from the level of pre-reflection and surface reflection to pedagogical
reflection as a result of the use of CoPORA. In the interview, the respondents
expressed that they welcome the use the CoPORA framework as it gave them a
structure for them to reflect on their lessons with a critical depth. Nevertheless, the
respondents pointed that they still need help in rationalising the issues that they have
observed in the classroom and in suggesting relevant actions to solve the issues. This
study suggests that the use of the framework can be used in a collaborative setting,
either among peers or with a mentor and supervisor, so that the reflective framework
can be a platform for teachers to help each other in reflecting and brainstorming
actions that can be taken to tackle the concerns that arise in a lesson.
49
Translanguaging Practices In An ELF Transnational
University In China: A Multimodal Analysis Wanyu OU (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
GU Mingyue Michelle(The Education University of Hong Kong)
This article investigates multilingual students’ language practices in an
internationalized university in China where English works as the lingua franca for
students and teachers. In this study, we explored a spatial conceptualization of
language drawing on recent theoretical development in applied linguistics (e.g.,
Canagarajah, 2018a, 2018b; Kramsch & Whiteside, 2008; Wagner, 2018) to inform our
understanding of grass-root language practices in a way of transcending the
language/context distinction. A multimodal discourse analytical approach informed by
Busch (2012) is used to offer an in-depth reading of individuals’ experience of
language use and beliefs about language. Illustrated with three cases of multilingual
students with diverse linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds, the findings suggest
that local translanguaging practices are emergent and assembled linguistic repertoires
in relation to the sociolinguistic spaces where the languages and language policy are
situated. Findings also highlight multilingual users’ agency and capability in
strategically configuring their semiotic resources to accommodate their
communicative and social needs. This study discusses the interplay of overt and covert
language policy in the situated interactional contexts. Relative findings provide
insights into a more holistic approach to LPP in ELF higher education context that
accentuates communicative strategy development rather than policing individuals
with rigid language norms.
50
Theory versus Practice: The Experiences of Student
Teachers in a Practicum Jasmine PADETI (The English and Foreign Languages University)
This study investigates the change in cognition (about language learning and teaching)
of ESL teacher trainees (TTs) in a Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme from an
Indian University, experienced in a sixteen-week teaching practicum. One of the main
objectives of these programmes is to introduce the TTs to theory and to provide hands
on experience during the practicum. Beliefs of language teachers about language
learning and teaching have a significant impact on their practices. The National Council
for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in India changed the one-year
programme to two-years to offer adequate teaching experience. The theory of
dissonance and Borg’s model of teacher cognition form the theoretical framework to
understand the cognitive changes of TTs and the relationship between the elements
(beliefs, attitudes and knowledge) of cognition.
Some studies suggest that these programs impact (Ozmen, 2012) and while others
state that they don’t have any impact (Peacock, 2001) on TTs’ cognition. This study
attempts to track the changes in the cognition (beliefs and Pedagogical Content
Knowledge (PCK)) and to analyze the impact of the programme by taking the program
as a dynamic variable.
Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were
collected from all the participants to obtain a detailed description of the participants’
perceptions of their practicum experiences.
The hypothesis of the study states that each phase of the program brings changes at
different degrees. Students engagement in the practicum as expected, had a higher
impact on their cognition. Results indicate that the TTs’ practicum was characterized
by a change in their cognition. This phase created dissonance leading to consonance
in their beliefs beyond the sixteen-week teaching practicum. The findings will be
helpful in designing effective teacher education programmes. Implications of the
study will contribute for ESL teacher preparation programmes in ESL contexts.
51
Applying Cognitive Linguistics to English Preposition
Acquisition by Young Chinese Learners PAN Xie (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
YAN Long Feng (WE English)
To master English prepositions is notoriously challenging for EFL learners. It has been
argued that the semantics of English prepositions can be systematically analysed from
a Cognitive Linguistics (CL) perspective, and attempts have been made to apply a CL-
informed teaching approach in EFL classrooms. Nevertheless, on the one hand, the
bulk of the investigations focuses on adult learners who are at the advanced level of
English. To what extent young learners could benefit from a CL-informed approach is
underexplored. On the other hand, the majority of studies only provide quantitative
results as empirical evidence. Limited attention has been paid to exploring
explanations for the efficacy. Therefore, how this approach can best be implemented
in young learners’ classrooms awaits further investigation.
This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a CL-informed approach to English
preposition acquisition by young Chinese learners, focusing on locative prepositions
in, on and at. A quasi-experiment with an explanatory sequential design is employed.
In the experimental group, a Conceptual Metaphor TIME AS SPACE that originates
from CL is exploited. The intervention is using metaphoric thinking to address the
connection between the temporal uses and spatial uses of target prepositions
explicitly. In the control group, a deductive rule-based teaching approach is adopted
to assist in finding rules for the uses of the target prepositions. Quantitative data will
be collected from 50 participants through pre-test, immediate post-test, and one-
week-delay test. Qualitative data will be collected from the instructor by a semi-
structured interview, in order to probe into the classroom interactions. Findings from
a pilot study with 22 participants overall support the positive effect of a CL-informed
approach on learning outcomes and learning experience. Pedagogical implications and
future directions will be discussed.
52
Enhancing Teaching Effectiveness With Embodied
Cognition Michał PARADOWSKI (Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw)
In the ‘orthodox’ view, cognition has been seen as manipulation of symbolic, mental
representations, separate from the body. This dualistic Cartesian approach
characterised much of twentieth-century thought and is still taken for granted by
many people today.
Language, too, has for a long time been treated across scientific domains as a system
operating largely independently from perception, action, and the body (articulatory-
perceptual organs notwithstanding). This could lead one into believing that to emulate
linguistic behaviour, it would suffice to develop ‘software’ operating on abstract
representations that would work on any computational machine.
Yet the brain is not the sole problem-solving resource we have at our disposal. The
disembodied picture is inaccurate for numerous reasons, which will be presented
addressing the issue of the indissoluble link between cognition, language, body, and
environment in understanding and learning. The talk will conclude with implications
and suggestions for pedagogy, relevant for disciplines as diverse as instruction in
language, mathematics, and sports.
53
Promoting Intercultural Competence Via A Home Culture
Lens Michał PARADOWSKI (Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw)
"Underlying the mainstream of current SLA research is the Ansatz that some level of
attention to the formal, discursive and pragmatic aspects of language is necessary for
acquisition to take place. At the same time learning invariably proceeds by relating
new facts to the already familiar; in the context of foreign language learning – the
student’s mother tongue (L1).
Given humans’ natural need for safety, the target language (TL) should literally be
taught in the framework of the learner’s L1. A promising perspective for successful
grammatical, intercultural and pragmatic training is the Interface Model (Gozdawa-
Gołębiowski 2003), which proceeds from an explication of how relevant principles
operate in the learners’ L1 (culture) through an explanation of pertinent L2
rules/norms and subsequent modification of the L1 principle to accommodate L2 data,
to practice first expecting the learner to apply the appropriate FL strategies and
speech acts against an L1 context. By such a gradual, multi-stage method the learner
gains command of the FL system and becomes ‘pragmatically fluent’ before
commencing to use the operational principles in the TL itself. The juxtaposition and
use of L1 and L2 principles alongside lead to successful automatisation and
internalisation of the material and the development of pragmatic multicompetence.
The Interface Model enables them to transfer those patterns of interactional
behaviour which will be appropriate. A controlled longitudinal classroom experiment
carried out on secondary-school students (n=292) across a representative range of
grammar areas reveals considerably improved results of experimental groups over
control groups. The instructional model has the potential to be equally effective with
reference to reading comprehension strategies, discourse conventions, academic
styles, information structure, or the development of pragmatic and intercultural
competences."
54
Out-of-class Interaction And Second Language
Acquisition: Insights From Peer Learner Networks Michał PARADOWSKI (Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw)
Karolina CZOPEK (Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw)
Magdalena JELIŃSKA (Institute of Applied Linguistics, University of Warsaw)
Andrzej JARYNOWSKI (Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Wrocław/Głogów)
Social networks play an important role in the behaviour and attainment of individuals.
This study makes a case for the strong influence of social variables on L3 learning
outcomes, and constitutes the first application of the innovative computational
methodology of social network analysis (SNA) to investigating the phenomenon in
unregulated conversational interaction.
In a population of Erasmus exchange students at a university in Germany, and a
sample of participants in an intensive summer course of Polish language and culture
in Warsaw, we find among others i) that the best predictor of target language (TL)
performance among the students is reciprocal interactions between individuals in the
language being acquired, ii) that outgoing interactions in the TL are a stronger
predictor than incoming interactions, iii) a clear negative relationship between
performance and interactions with same-L1 speakers, iv) a significantly
underperforming English native-speaker dominated cluster, and v) that more intense
interactions take place between students of different levels of proficiency. Analyses
of the various standard centrality measures vis-à-vis performance in turn reveal that
the best predictors of progress are closeness and degree centrality, while
betweenness and PageRank fail to correlate. This tendency is observed in both
objective and subjectively assessed progress in learning. This suggests that for
language acquisition via social interaction, it is the structural properties of the network
that matter more than processes such as information flow.
Social network analysis provides new insight into the link between social relations and
language acquisition, showing how social network configuration and peer interaction
dynamics are stronger predictors of L2/L3 performance than individual factors such as
attitude or motivation, and offers a novel methodology for investigating the
phenomena.
55
Teacher Identity And Investment: First Year Language
Teacher Students Investing In Their Future Profession Anne PITKÄNEN-HUHTA (University of Jyväskylä)
Maria RUOHOTIE-LYHTY (University of Jyväskylä)
The aim of this study is to investigate how student teachers approach their future
work as language teachers and how they invest in their futures. Teacher’s professional
identity is a constantly evolving construction that is shaped by education, past and
present experiences as well as future aspirations. In understanding the development
of teacher identities, especially in the early stages of its development, we need to
focus not only on the present but also on the narratives of the future and their
imagined identities (Kanno & Norton, 2003). Examining how teacher students imagine
their future also reveals how they are willing to invest in their professional
development (Barkhuizen, 2016). The importance of future goals has been studied in
applied linguistics in connection to learner identities. Learner investment into
language learning is mediated by his/her ideal L2 self that motivates the person to act
to reach that goal (Dörnyei, 2005). Fewer studies, however, have addressed the
question of the significance of imagined identities and investment with future
language teachers.
The data consist of 63 pre-service teachers’ visualizations of their future work during
the first semester in language teacher education. The students were asked to visually
illustrate their dream job and its antithesis and to describe what factors might support
or make it difficult to reach the dream situation. The pictures and the descriptions
were thematically analyzed. Four categories were found: (1) teaching profession vs.
another job, (2) two opposite contents of the teaching profession, (3) ethical values of
work, and (4) profession not related to teaching. In this paper, we focus on the ways
in which the participants in these categories describe their investment in their future.
The findings show that different conceptualizations of work and imagined identities
are also directly visible in the students’ readiness to invest in learning.
56
The Language Learning Identities of Students with
Intellectual Disabilities Rich PORTMAN (HHCKLA Buddhist Po Kwong School)
Research into the foreign language learning experiences of students with intellectual
disabilities is scarce, yet an increasing number of Hong Kong’s schools that cater for
such learners include English in their curriculum. Many of these students, unlike their
mainstream counterparts, will not take exams in English and often face limited
employment opportunities upon leaving school. It could be assumed that this would
result in a lack of motivation to learn English, as well as having an effect on the extent
to which learners identify with the language, both considered essential to successful
language learning. However, no study to date has explored the language learning
identities of students with intellectual disabilities.
To address this, this study seeks to answer the following: how do students with
intellectual disabilities identify with their learning of English, and how might this affect
their motivation? From there, the study aims to learn more about the intrinsic and
extrinsic motivations of these learners and what English means to them.
The participants, aged between eight and eighteen, all attend a special school in Hong
Kong’s New Territories that caters for learners with intellectual disabilities, with
autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Down
syndrome the most common diagnoses. The methodology uses a combination of
draw-a-picture technique and follow-up interviews (carried out in the learners’ first
language).
Findings will be relevant to anyone working with learners with special educational
needs, as well as those interested in identity and motivation in language learning. They
may also be of interest to teachers in mainstream school settings, many of whom cater
to students with diverse learning needs."
57
Between Practices, Identities, And Trajectories: How Do
Language Teachers Conceptualize Language? Maria RUOHOTIE-LYHTY (University of Jyväskylä)
Johanna ENNSER-KANANEN (University of Jyväskylä)
Anne PITKÄNEN-HUHTA (University of Jyväskylä)
"This paper presents the preliminary results of a study investigating how language
teachers’ conceptualizations of language emerge and are negotiated in classroom
practices. It is often assumed that language is a concept which all teachers understand
in the same way. In reality, the concept emerges in teacher practices in varied ways,
so that conceptualizations of language can be seen as assemblages of understandings
which teachers gather throughout their trajectories, which are intertwined with their
professional identities, and which are negotiated in interaction with learners.
Teachers act as mediators between societal demands and changes, on the one hand,
and institutional policies and practices, on the other and constantly negotiate their
own identities with these external circumstances. Thus the connection between
conceptualizations of language, identities, and practices is not only significant in terms
of learning outcomes but also in creating, maintaining, challenging and changing
societal language ideologies.
The case study of a German as a foreign language and a Finnish as a second language
teacher at the basic education level (years 7-9) is set in a comprehensive school of
mid-sized Finnish city. As a theoretical lens, we adopt a framework by the Douglas Fir
Group (2016) that describes L2 learning as occurring on micro (interpersonal social
activity), meso (sociocultural institutions), and macro (ideological structures) levels.
Methodologically, the project draws on participatory and rhizomatic approaches to
data collection and analysis. The data set of the project include interviews with the
two teachers, observation and video-recordings from 6 lessons, and stimulated recall
sessions. In this presentation, we focus on observations and interviews with the two
teachers and their conceptualizations of language, the aspects of their trajectories
that have shaped these conceptualizations, their teaching practices where they
surface and are negotiated, and how all these are intertwined with their professional
identities.
58
A Multiple Case Study of English Language Teacher
Cognition about Technology Integration in Hong Kong Wing Hoi, Cathy SHIU (The University of Hong Kong)
This research studies the teacher cognition about technology integration of three
English language teachers in their classroom experiences in Hong Kong. Infusing new
technologies and multiliteracies into the existing English curricula can prepare
students to develop competencies to successfully navigate the contemporary
language and literacy landscape in further studies and work. Nonetheless, low-level
use of technology is widely observed in English language classrooms. Since teachers
take an active decision-making role in creating the classroom agenda (Borg, 2006), it
is crucial to examine the complexity of teachers’ thinking. English language teacher
cognition about technology integration refers to English language teachers’ self-
reflections on their experiences with technology from personal digital history, earlier
schooling and professional training related to technology, their classroom practice
with technology influenced by contextual factors, their pedagogical beliefs about
technology integration, and their teacher knowledge about technology integration.
There is a need to understand how English language teachers’ cognition about
technology integration influences their classroom practice and what factors constrain
or facilitate their technology integration.
This qualitative multiple-case study investigates the teacher cognitions of three
English language teachers in Hong Kong schools, in terms of their experiences with
technology, their pedagogical beliefs, their knowledge about technology integration
and their teaching practice. Data was collected through semi-structural interviews, a
WhatsApp chat to share classroom experiences about technology integration,
classroom observations, reflections after observations and a post-study meeting for
cross-case analysis. A revised conceptual framework inspired by Mishra & Koehler’s
(2006) concept of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and Borg’s
(2006) theory of language teacher cognition is used to guide the study. The initial
findings show that globalised and global learning experiences with technology and the
changes of professional roles enhanced the teachers to risk with technology and
promoted their competence in integrating technology in teaching.
59
Transformation in Cross-contextual Academic Reading
Practice from an Activity Theory Perspective SONG Beibei (National Chengchi University)
CHAO Chin-Chi (National Chengchi University)
In order to understand how academic reading practice transforms cross-contextually,
this case study zoomed in on the experience of one Mainland Chinese doctoral student
in Taiwan, pseudonym Meili. Data were collected over a period of 30 months via oral
narratives, semi-structured interviews, shadowing observations, and informal
dialogues and conversations. The results showed that Meili’s academic reading
practices went through three transitional phases: from the ease and smoothness
experienced while studying in Mainland China, the challenge and frustration upon first
arrival in Taiwan, to gradually improved academic reading in English but disappointing
English proficiency test results when approaching her graduation. When her
experiences were analyzed as three activity systems (Engeström, 1987), it became
clear that behind her transformation was negotiation among different academic
communities and practices. In particular, the changing objects of the participant’s
reading practice actually resonate with her development as a member of the academic
community: first as a member of the local English learning community in Mainland
China, then that of the Taiwanese academic community characterized by a
combination of Chinese and Western practice, and finally moving on to that of the
imagined international academic community. Suggestions are made to cross-
contextual students and graduate programs.
60
How EFL Expert Teachers In Shanghai Develop Their
Expertise In A Centralized Curriculum Nancy SONG (Shanghai International Studies University)
Given a proliferation of teacher expertise research, limited attention has been paid to
EFL teacher’s professional expertise especially in contexts of centralized curriculum
that prevails in China and other East Asian countries. The study attempts to explore
EFL expertise by interviewing 20 EFL expert teachers in Shanghai. These expert
teachers work in primary and secondary education sectors, and are competitively
selected and awarded by Shanghai Municipal Educational Commission. The findings
identify four domains of EFL expertise, including understanding of centralized
curriculum standard, textbook, testing and students. Based on the four domains, the
study reveals how they perceive, interpret and deal with the centralized curriculum,
and developed their professional expertise in EFL teaching. The study provides
implication for EFL teacher education on how they can appropriate centralized
curriculum to facilitate their EFL teaching.
61
Delve into the Course-based and Group-mediated
Autonomous Learning Experiences among Chinese University Students Enrolled in an English for Academic Purposes Writing Program: Realities, Challenges and Possibilities SUN Xiujuan (East China University of Science and Technology)
This study explores the lived autonomous learning experiences of Chinese university
learners enrolled in a project-based English for Academic Purposes (EAP) writing
course, where students were confronted with the forefront challenges in self-
managing the blended language learning activities mediated by both classroom course
and technologies. Through prolonged observation of student performance as well as
in-depth analysis of the multiple sets of qualitative data collected regarding their
project-based, portfolio-aided and MOOC-incorporated learning process, it was
discovered that in the face of the vast autonomous learning opportunities, students
indeed encountered a multiplicity of overwhelming problems including inactive class
engagement, ineffective portfolio use, sluggish MOOC participation, and incompetent
self-regulation at individual and collective levels as they wrestled with learning
activities that concurrently took place in the classroom, group and online communities.
Coupled with the discussion about three individual cases, the study indicates that
fostering a coherent and transferable sense of autonomy across distributed learning
contexts entails negotiability of multi-scaled social relations, robust group cohesion,
appropriate instructor scaffolding and formal learning compatibility from an external
perspective, as well as students’ capacity of enacting connectivism and critical self-
regulation from an individual point of view. Finally, the study lends itself to some
open-ended thoughts about a nexus of potential future lines in relation to autonomy
research.
62
Understanding Identities-In-Practice, Identities-In-
Discourse, and Identities-In-Activity: Experiences of Higher-Education-Based English Lecturers In Mainland China Mark TENG (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Peter HUANG (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Recent education reform of world-class, high-ranking university building in China has
yielded great challenges for young and long-serviced lecturers in China’s higher
education. Research on identity development of English lecturers—who play a pivotal
role in English teaching and research—has become an emerging topic in higher
education. However, systematic research into English lecturers’ identity development
while engaged in various communities, including teaching, research, and academic
service, had not been conducted in the contested and constantly shifting contexts of
higher education in mainland China. The present study was conducted to bridge this
gap, with a focus on understanding English lecturers’ identity development through
exploring challenges they encountered, their various responses to constraints in
fostering changes to their work, and their possible agency in navigating challenges for
enhancing teaching and research. Drawing upon theoretical framework comprising
communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), discourse theory (Bucholtz & Hall, 2004), and
activity theory (Engeström, 2001), the present study breaks new ground in
incorporating both teacher identity-in-practice, teacher identity-in-discourse, and
teacher identity-in-activity. In particular, this study examines how five English
lecturers moved into, out of and through various communities of practice, and how
they transformed and reconstructed their identities while participating professional
activities. Data were triangulated through narrative frames, interviews, field
observations, informal talks after observations, and documents. Data analysis
included the “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches. A biographical methodology
used in the present study yielded rich and detailed insights into the ways in which
processes of identification and participation were generated and constituted, the
multiple dimensions of identity construction as an English lecturer, and the complexity
in crossing boundaries within and across communities of practice. This study sheds
light on English language teaching and teacher education, the understanding of
identities-in-practice, identities-in-discourse, and identities-in-activity, and its
relevance to higher education.
63
Preservice Teacher Identity Construction In Multimodal
Pedagogic Practices: Focus On Multimodal Reflections Ming-I TSENG (Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan)
Despite the proven benefits of adopting multimodal approaches for language
instruction, little is known about incorporating multimodal pedagogies into teacher
education programs. Situated in one TESOL education course, this case study explores
the Taiwanese EFL preservice teachers’ identity construction in multimodal pedagogic
practices through their multimodal reflections. Preservice teachers’ multimodal
reflection is seen as the multimodal form of reflective writing, composed as an
academic genre and as the practice of learning in the profession.
Adopting a “textography” approach (Swales, 1998) which combines a textual and an
ethnographic approach for investigating writing practices, the research uncovered the
role of multimodal reflection on mediating preservice teachers’ identity construction
as they learnt to incorporate multimodal pedagogies into their teaching practicums.
Two types of data sources were collected: multimodal reflections such as posters,
PowerPoint slides, and multimodal essays, and interviews. The framework on writer’s
discoursal identity in terms of voice expressions for positioning (Ivanič & Camps, 2001)
and multiliteracies pedagogy (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000) were employed to analyze
semiotic resources and discourses which preservice teachers draw upon to align with
or detach from academic and professional discourses to position themselves in the
specific context of TESOL teacher education in Taiwan. The analysis revealed that two
major discourses, multimodality-centered teaching and multimodality-assisted
teaching, underpinned the teachers’ identity construction. Deploying multiple
semiotic resources to conduct multimodality-centered teaching allowed preservice
teachers to help their EFL learners enhance their motivation and performance.
However, the dominant language-based mode for legitimately representing meaning-
making (Romero & Walker, 2010) resulted in multimodality-assisted classroom
teaching with assessing learning outcomes presented through linguistic modes only.
The negotiation of these two major discourses, evident in preservice teachers’
multimodal reflections, illustrated the process of reflecting upon and reconstructing
their professional identities. Implications regarding the potential of multimodal
reflections for teacher education are also discussed.
64
Hong Kong English vs. Kongish: Hong Kong Young
People's Attitude Ling Yu TSOI (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Under digitalization and globalization, various forms of Englishes flourish in the virtual
world. In Hong Kong, Kongish, a form of colloquial English, has gained popularity in
social- networking sites by meshing English, Cantonese slang (including swear words),
computer-mediated communication (CMC) and some Hong Kong English terms. To
compare the well- researched Hong Kong English with Kongish, a questionnaire survey
was designed based on Schneider (2003), Setter et. al (2010) and Wong et. al. (2017).
In 2017, 176 post- secondary school students and 132 working adults were asked to
indicate their attitudes towards the two emerging varieties. Results indicated that
Kongish was more preferred than Hong Kong English by both participant groups in
informal contexts. One possibility is the recent political disturbances of Hong Kong,
causing young people to establish their group identity with a novel form of English.
Student group’s preference of Kongish in formal contexts was significantly higher than
that of the working adult group. It was suspected that the difference in education
system caused post-secondary school students to be stronger advocates of Hong Kong
English in formal contexts.
The findings agreed with Sewell and Chan (2017)’s claim that existing models of
varieties of English could not fully explain the situation in Hong Kong. Nonetheless,
based on Schneider (2016) and Lambert (2018)’s narrations on varieties of English, it
was suggested that HKE and Kongish have become the acrolectal and basilectal
varieties of Hong Kong respectively. It was projected that in addition to English
(postcolonial language), Cantonese (regional dialect), Putonghua (national language)
and code mixing, Kongish and Hong Kong English will continue to thrive and function
in different contexts of Hong Kong.
65
Bringing Children’s Topic Interest to Improve Their Participation in English Reading Class Naning WAHYUNI (The University of Auckland)
The willingness of children to learn is an essential factor for a successful education.
Many studies have claimed that children learn things better when they are interested
with the object of learning (e.g. Renninger, 1990, 2000; Renninger & Leckrone, 1991;
Renninger & Hidi, 2002; Renninger & Hidi, 2016). This interest leads to motivation and
further engagement (Renninger & Hidi, 2016). This study aimed to improve students’
participation by integrating their topic interest in English reading class. For 12 weeks
reading program, 30 children of grade three were encouraged to explore various
interesting topics from provided reading materials. Seventy minutes of the weekly
reading session was started with guided reading, followed by peers-reading and self-
reading. In guided reading, the teacher read a book to children and led the discussion
about the content. In peers-reading, children created a smaller reading group of 4 or
5. In self-reading, each child read their favorite book individually. The group discussion
was developed while answering the ten questions given to each group. Children then
performed group and individual presentations based on their chosen topic. The
collected data from class observation, documentation and students’ interviews
revealed that all children participated in class or group discussion. They showed
eagerness and competitiveness during the discussions. More than 50 % of students
even showed enthusiasm in other groups’ topic discussion. Although, the investigation
also discovered that children were keener to participate more in group and self-
reading than in a big class discussion. It suggested that topic interest is essential for
children to deeply engage in discussion since the topic reflects their personal
preference and value. It also suggested that when children can demonstrate their
understanding of the topic, and they get access to get involve in the discussion
personally, they tend to participate more in the activity.
66
Teaching Mobile Population: Understanding the Emotions and Challenges Experienced By a Group of EFL Teachers Teaching Rural-To-Urban Migrant Students in Urban China Chang WEI (The Education University of Hong Kong)
GU Mingyue Michelle(The Education University of Hong Kong)
The unprecedented urbanization in China has drawn attention to the education of
children who migrate from rural to urban areas together with their families. While
most of the recent studies investigated migrant students’ learning experiences, scare
research attention has been paid to the EFL teachers who teach the migrant students.
The current study delves into the teacher emotions of English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) teachers who work in public secondary schools with migrant students in China
from a social-political angle. Being a dynamic part of human beings, emotions are
involved in all organizations including school settings and are depicted as being “at the
heart of teaching” (Hargreaves, 1998, p. 835). Teachers’ emotions are constantly
constructed and shaped during their teaching; through the lens of teacher emotion,
we can gain more understanding of the educational and working realities in schools
and society. Conducting qualitative interviews with ten EFL teachers across different
age groups in various public secondary schools in China, we discovered that most of
the EFL teachers found it challenging to teach migrant students English and that
required huge emotional efforts at work. EFL teachers’ emotion was found to be
related to migrant students’ frequent social mobility, institutional requirements of the
school, teacher-parent relationship with migrant parents. Mixed teachers’ emotions
emerge such as satisfaction, stressfulness, powerlessness, frustration, empathy, and
a lack of accomplishment which may have led to the shift of teachers’ professional
identity and could further influence EFL teacher’ pedagogical plan and professional
development. Thus, it is argued that more support should be provided at both
institutional and policy level to help EFL teachers with migrant students to cope with
their emotions and to enhance the English language teaching and learning for migrant
students.
67
Narrative Inquiry of a College EFL Teacher’s Career
Change Life in the midst of Curriculum Reform XIN Bi (The University of Hong Kong)
Over the last decade, a global movement of education reform responding to the
demands of new market forces and internationalization of higher education has led to
restructuring of education systems. The emphasis of the reforms is to replace old
systems with new curriculums that aim to improve countries’ competitiveness in the
global market. China’s top-tier universities have drastically restructured their English
as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum to meet changing needs. To strengthen
students’ academic literacy skills for participation in international academic activities,
many universities have replaced the traditional General English (GE) curriculum with
a more discipline-specific English for Academic Purposes (EAP) curriculum. This change
has created new demands and tensions for language teachers.
This paper arises from a two-year study examining the complexities of rapid
curriculum changes on reshaping tertiary English language teachers’ professional
identities in China. In this presentation, we retell the story of a college EFL teacher
named Ying, who moved from teaching GE to EAP. Narrative inquiry (Clandinin, 2016)
and multiple teacher identity transformation theories were adopted to understand
the complexities Ying experienced during her career transition, including the
challenges she experienced in grappling with teaching the new curriculum as well as
building new relationships with her colleagues and students. Data include in-depth
semi-structured interviews and researcher’s fieldnotes from campus visits and lesson
observations.
The findings indicate Ying made meanings of her career change as emotional
engagement. The transition reshaped her professional knowledge and understanding
of her institution’s language teaching reform policies. Her story argues for the
importance for institutional leaders, English language teacher educators and policy
makers to better understand and support language teachers’ experiencing career
change in the midst of global curriculum reforms.
68
Implementing English language Education in China’s
primary schools: Identity construction of transfer-post teachers in a rural region Tao XIONG (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies)
Around the turn of the new century, countries around the world, especially in Asia,
have competed to expand English education to younger learners in primary schools.
Owing to a great shortage of qualified teachers, teacher training and development
have become a top concern for policymakers, administrators, educators and scholars.
Transfer-post teachers (zhuangang jiaoshi, 转岗教师), who are local primary school
teachers transferred to teach English in addition to their regular subjects, have
become the main coping strategy to address the shortage in China. By probing into
the identity construction experiences of three transfer-post teachers, this paper
intends to shed light on the current discussion. It has been found that (1) they are
relatively disempowered due to their assigned institutional identity and imposed
alignment with the dominant discourse, and they tend to be placed on the receiving
end of the process of policy implementation, and (2) these teachers have also
demonstrated varying degrees of engagement in professional development, and (3)
by imagination they have constructed for themselves the “ideal” identities which are
in stark contrast with their assigned identities. Policy implications and
recommendations on teacher empowerment, teacher training and teacher
development have been offered.
69
Implementing the Flipped Classroom Pedagogy in
Primary English Classrooms in China Chi Cheung Ruby YANG (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Yuanyuan CHEN (Dongcheng Experimental School of Hangzhou Normal University)
Since the release of the Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium- and Long-term
Education Reform and Development in 2011, China has paid more and more attention
to the informatization of education and promote efficient classrooms with
technological innovation. The emergence of flipped classroom has brought a new idea
to modern classroom teaching and contributed to the reform of education in China.
The present study was conducted to investigate the use of a flipped classroom in
primary EFL classrooms in China. This study is quasi-experimental research examining
flipped and non-flipped classrooms in teaching five English long vowel sounds in a
primary school in China. Specifically, the researchers aimed at finding out the
participating students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards this approach, whether the
flipped classroom could be an approach for making students become more engaged
in their learning, and if the flipped classroom could enhance students’ learning. Four
classes of Primary 4 students (two classes in which the flipped classroom pedagogy
was adopted, whereas in the other two classes, a traditional teacher-instructed
method was used) were involved. Students in the two flipped classes learnt the five
English long vowel sounds by watching lecture videos prior face-to-face lessons in
which teacher assigned them worksheets to check their knowledge about the five
vowel sounds. On the other hand, students in the two non-flipped classes learnt the
five English long vowel sounds through a traditional teacher-instructed approach in
face-to-face lessons. Before the implementation of the study, a pre-test was
administered to the students to find out their background knowledge. A post-test was
also conducted at the end of the study to see if there was any gain in the scores
obtained by the students. Qualitative data were also collected by eliciting opinions
about the flipped classroom pedagogy from the participating teachers and students.
70
Inside out: Assessing English Teachers’ Perceptions Of
Feedback Utility, Self-Efficacy And Responsibility Joy YANG (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Despite the powerful influence of feedback on student achievement (Hattie, 2009),
teachers are found to lack feedback literacy in EFL (English-as-a-foreign language)
contexts (Lee, 2017). Teachers are often expected to be a feedback ‘machine’ to
automatically deliver useful feedback to student; however, in reality, teacher
feedback is often found to lack effectiveness. To harness the power of teacher
feedback, it is first and foremost crucial to understand teachers’ orientations to
feedback pertaining to feedback literacy at multiple aspects (e.g., values,
competences, and responsibility). Based on previous research on testing students’
feedback orientations, this study took a focus on developing a teacher version of
Feedback Orientation Scale (FOS) to assess English teachers’ perceptions of feedback
utility, self-efficacy, social awareness and responsibility to provide students’ feedback.
220 English teachers from over 20 junior secondary schools in Guangzhou, mainland
China completed the survey. The results supported the four-factor solution for the
FOS. In addition, significantly positive correlations were identified among the four
feedback orientations. A follow-up path analysis showed English teachers’ perceived
feedback utility was the strongest predictor of their responsibility to provide feedback
to students as compared to feedback self-efficacy and feedback social awareness. This
study, to our knowledge, is the first to explore the “black box” of English teachers’
feedback literacy not only in terms of four key feedback orientations, but their
relationships. Pedagogical implications for effective feedback practices in EFL contexts
are discussed.
71
Vocationalization of English Learning in Hong Kong: Past
& Prospect Thomas Siu-Ho YAU (Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Derek Wai-Sun CHUN (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Hiu Ching CHAN (The Education University of Hong Kong)
Chun Yu Wong (The Education University of Hong Kong)
In Hong Kong, the revitalization of vocational education and training (VET) was best
marked by the advocacy of vocational and professional education and training (VPET)
starting from 2015. VPET hence is a key element in the vocationalization of secondary
curriculum, which provide students with a diversified post-secondary articulation and
to enhance the school-to-work transition for better employability in the future. In
2018, the Education Bureau (EDB) also launched the Vocational English Programme
(VEP) Grant (EDB, 2018) at the senior secondary level to support English learning of
students who might opt for a VPET development pathway, in addition to the NSS
English language curriculum. Under this background, there are two main research
focuses in this paper. Firstly, this paper will explore the relationship between VEP and
the NSS English language curriculum and discuss the potential impact to students.
Secondly, this paper will also survey other related available initiatives similar to VEP,
such as the Workplace English Campaign (WEC) under the Standing Committee on
Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), to better illustrate the landscape of
vocationalization of English learning in Hong Kong throughout the years. In the current
body of literature, more attention has been dedicated to the use of English and the
specialized genre in the professional settings from the English for specific purposes
(ESP) perspective, with relatively less focus on a vocational context. Therefore, we
consider it is essential to fulfill this gap considering the continuous development of
VPET. This paper will report findings from interviews and focus groups with key
stakeholders (e.g. teachers and students) to generate a more holistic understanding
to the research focuses. We hope that the conclusion and suggestion in this paper
could provide inspirations to map out the future development directions of English
learning in the (pre-)vocational context.
72
The Influence of Social Networking Sites on English
Language Learning Artem ZADOROZHNYY (The Education University of Hong Kong)
The initial study was conducted as MA Research thesis in 2016 and aimed to
investigate the purposes and beliefs about the influence of SNS on English language
learning among students of one English-medium higher education institution in
Kazakhstan. The lack of sufficient knowledge of new approaches and techniques to
enhance the process of foreign languages acquisition among language teacher was set
as a research problem. 76 students took part in a mixed methods research study by
participating in online anonymous survey and nine students volunteered to participate
in post-interviews. The findings showed that students are fully integrated into online
world and consider SNS as a source to facilitate English language learning. Findings
demonstrated that students’ main online purposes of SNS usage are socialization,
personal interests and education and academic purposes. Along with that, students
indicated that their beliefs about possible impact of SNS on their vocabulary
knowledge and listening skills. The present study helped to understand that learning
could be transferred from educational to SNS environments, and especially in the
context of Kazakhstan, which is trying to become a more globalized educational digital
country. In addition, this study showed that with a massive usage of SNS by students
these days, SNS could become a platform for language learning outside the classroom
and beyond the educational practices.
73
Tracking EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill Development
Through Group Dynamic Assessment: A Case of A High Level and An Intermediate Level Classes Simin ZENG (Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen)
Mingfei XU (Minzu University of China)
Unlike traditional assessment that evaluates learners with reference to their failures
in independent performance, dynamic assessment (DA) focuses on what learners can
be guided to achieve when provided with different levels of mediated assistance. The
explicitness of mediation they need and their assisted performance uncover the
sources of their problems, their learning potential, and help mediators/instructors
plan their teaching accordingly. However, due to the dialogic nature of DA, the
research contexts of past studies were mostly limited to small group interactions in an
experimental setting, with the hope to produce results that can be transferred to
larger scale classroom contexts. How DA can work in a real L2 classroom has not been
explored. The current study examines the implementation of speaking DA in
naturalistic classroom taught by a DA-trained instructor. Observations of two college
English listening and speaking classes (one at a high level and the other at an
intermediate level) taught by the same instructor were made for a period of 10 weeks.
For keeping observational notes, a chart was created so changes in students’
independent L2 behaviour, level of mediation required and reciprocity to the teacher’s
mediated assistance were recorded in different columns. At the same time, bi-weekly
reflective journals from the teacher were collected. Analysis is under way and involves
corroborating the two sources of data (i.e., observational notes that provide a record
of teacher-student interaction series, and the teacher’s reflective journals with
elaborations on her decision making and further information). So far, two themes of
results are taking shape: diachronic changes in students’ reciprocity to teacher
mediation that constitute their dynamic development over time, and group DA that
can benefit a class of over 30 students. Some tentative results are expected to be
presented at the conference.
74
“I Just Want It to Be More Formal!” Students’
Perceptions, Problems and Strategies about ESP and Disciplinary Oral Presentation ZHANG Wenhao (City University of Hong Kong)
The increasingly globalized world and the Web 2.0 era together contribute to enliven
how we disseminate our ideas across academic and professional areas with an appeal
that oral presentations should become more interpersonal and hence more effective
for the sharing of ideas and discussions (Barrett and Liu, 2016; Hafner, 2014). The fact
that conducting an engaging oral presentation is complicated has been well-
documented: the construction of an academic/professional identity, idea mediations,
and English language proficiency (Kobayashi, 2003 and 2016; Morita, 2000; Yang,
2010). In order to impact on ESP pedagogy, some recent studies look at how experts
or lecturers handle their presentations (i.e. TED TALK, conference presentations) and
what language patterns are employed for effective talks (e.g. Coxhead and Walls, 2012;
Hallewell and Lackovic, 2017; Rowley-Jolivet, 2002). However, a more student-
oriented angle needs to be investigated so that we understand the ways EFL/ESL
students incorporate different semiotic sources (e.g. spoken language, body language,
PowerPoint) into their ESP and disciplinary course presentations. Drawing on the
mixed method research design (questionnaires, semi-structured interviews,
audiovisual tapings, stimulated recall), I employ the social semiotic framework to
critically analyze the ways one Hong Kong undergraduate from Computer Science
incorporated different semiotic sources into his oral presentations, and the challenges
he faced. Preliminary findings show that academic identity is constructed and
represented through detailed listing of numbers and figures, and that the student
employed body language and eye contact which varied based on the formality and
specificity of oral presentation. It was also found that accurate pronouncing numbers
and technical words is a challenging task. The main conclusion is that second-language
university students need more support than is currently given on EAP, ESP or
disciplinary courses in order to perform well in their oral presentations, and some
pedagogical suggestions are discussed.
75
From CMI to EMI: The English Learning Motivational
Trajectories of First-Year Hong Kong English-education Majors: A Mixed Methods Study Involving the L2 Motivational Self-System ZHANG Yue (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Motivational constructs differ due to changes of 2 learners’ immediate classroom
environment (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011). Yet, however significant impacts the MoI
influences secondary school students’ L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) (Hennebry
& Gao, 2018), little research has been conducted on whether the change of MoI exerts
vital impacts on learners’ L2MSS. As a particular group of students receiving increasing
attention, mainland Chinese STEM students’ general motivation of choosing a
particular subject and program in SA (Zhou, 2014; Yang et al., 2017) and high school-
university transition contexts (Wang, 2013) have been carefully studied but not their
ESLLM, which receives fewer attentions than that of the English majors. Existing
studies to date included STEM students in ‘non-English majors’ (Qin & Dai, 2013; Cui.
et al., 2016; Li, 2014; Li, 2017).
To fill in this void, this study herein adopts the L2MSS as the theoretical framework in
a mixed-methods design (Teddie & Tashakkori, 2003) including two large-scale
questionnaire surveys and a series of semi-structured interviews with selected
participants. It focuses on mainland Chinese full-time first-year undergraduate
Engineering majors in Guangzhou to examine how do first-year mainland Chinese
Engineering majors’ L2MSS change from their in high schools and when they are first-
year undergraduates in the college and what factors influence and/or hinder
participants’ evolving motivation.
76
A Narrative Inquiry of Pre-Service English Teachers’
Emotional Labor in Teaching Practice ZHU Shenhai (Shanghai International Studies University)
Teacher emotion has been becoming a heated issue in teacher education and it is
regarded as a catalyst for teacher identity. More and more researches focus on in-
service teacher emotion either in teaching or scientific research, but limited attention
has been paid to how pre-service teachers experience and regulate their emotions in
their teaching practice. The present research, drawing upon the approach of narrative
inquiry, explores what emotions five pre-service EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
teachers experience in their teaching practice and how they make use of various
strategies to regulate their emotions. Meanwhile, the research aims to find the
consequences and influential factors of their emotional labor process. The findings
show that pre-service English teachers experience mixed positive and negative
emotions, which influence their professional identity to a certain extent. In the
process of emotional labor, pre-service English teachers try to make use of different
strategies to regulate their emotions such as deep acting, surface acting and natural
acting. The influential factors behind their emotional labor mainly focus on three
aspects, namely, their mentor’s encouragement, their recognition of teaching
profession and their satisfaction from students’ progress. In the end of the paper,
some implications are provided for facilitating pre-service EFL teachers’ emotion
competence and professional development. First, pre-service EFL teachers’ emotion
competence should be developed in the period of pre-service teacher education.
Second, pre-service EFL teachers’ PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) and
KL(Knowledge about Learners) should be improved before they go into teaching
practice. In addition, we should pay more attention to pre-service EFL teachers’
competence of classroom management which will have a big influence on their ability
of emotion regulation.
77
Migrant Professionals’ Sociocultural Adaptation and
Pragmatic Subjectivity In Chinese Higher Education: A Scalar Perspective ZHANG Mingming (Shanghai International Studies University)
Citing LI (Shanghai International Studies University)
International cooperation in the Chinese higher educational context has witnessed
rapid development. Thus a burgeoning number of migrant professionals has enrolled
in Chinese higher educational institutions, where they normally experience multiple
challenges as to acculturate into the sociocultural and educational context. While
previous migrant studies mostly centered directly on teaching effectiveness and
management, few investigated indirect factors such as interaction between migrants’
pragmatic subjectivity and sociocultural adaptation, especially from a scalar
perspective.
This qualitative study explores how migrant professionals in a university in Shanghai
define, negotiate and construct different scales during their sociocultural adaptation
process by exercising differing linguistic and pragmatic subjectivity. Ten multilingual
expatriate teachers completed a spoken DCT and a revised sociocultural adaptation
scale at two data collection points, with Wechat moments and ethnographic
observation and interviews as supplementary data. The findings show that the
participants regarded their institutional and social context as layered spaces with
different scales of interaction; they shuttled between these two scales and displayed
distinct interpretations of them. Such differences then generated complex change
trajectories of their sociocultural adaptation and pragmatic subjectivity, which
exerted synergistic influences on their scaling process. This study may contribute to
the administration and teaching effectiveness of expatriate teachers in higher
education and calls for efforts from teacher educators and educational administrators
to better assist them with the acculturation process and their Chinese pragmatic
development.
78
The Identity Construction of New Chinese Language
Teachers and the Influencing Factors ZHANG Qiyi (NYU Shanghai)
Personal identity is one’s consciousness about the relation between the self with
others and the world, and contains a continuous process of integrating the past with
the current and of carrying out the prediction about the future. The identity (including
personal identity) will probably be questioned, challenged, recognized or praised
while the individual communicates with the world, during which, the identity will
accordingly experience constructing and re-constructing and the transition from one-
layered to multi-layered. The professional identity of new Chinese language teachers
shares the same characteristics as the above.
The professional identity construction of new Chinese language teachers is influenced
by various factors in the working place, thus, it unavoidably experiences adjustment
and re-construction in order that the individual could achieve personal professional
satisfaction and comfortableness through acting consistent with the requirements of
the outer environment. This research aims to analyze the self-constructed
professional identity of two new Chinese language teachers and the influential factors
determining the identity adjustment and reconstruction through the reviewing of
their understanding of professional knowledge, their cross-cultural communicative
interactions with language learners, self-reflections, their reactions and solutions to
the key circumstances in teaching and etc. This research collects the data in the means
of oral interviews (one in 2016 when they began their career, the other in 2018 when
they completed the first contract review), class observation reports, the third party
observations, and self-reflections. This research explores to outline the influencing
factors with the intention of providing guidance to the management of the new
Chinese language teachers and the support to their professional development.
79
Examining the Relationship Between Chinese EFL Majors’
Language Anxiety And Motivation ZHANG Shuting (The University of Hong Kong)
Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has received consistent attention from scholars in
second language acquisition (SLA) field. However, the relationship between FLA and
second language (L2) selves and how they would interact to influence language
performance remain unclear. Former studies have shown conflicting findings about
the link between FLA and L2 selves. Meanwhile, little research has been conducted in
Chinese context to examine how Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’
FLA relates to their L2 selves. Moreover, previous studies have paid little attention to
English majors, whose FLA experiences and L2 selves may be distinctive from non-
English majors due to the higher expectations from their teachers or themselves,
higher peer pressure as well as the greater significance of achievement in English.
Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the association between Chinese EFL majors’
FLA and L2 Motivational Self System, and how their anxiety would interact with L2
motivation to influence their intended learning effort and language performance. This
presentation will provide a critical review of the literature on the inconsistent findings
about the relationship between FLA and L2 selves and the possible factors
contributing to this inconsistency. It will also report on preliminary findings of a larger
study examining the nature of Chinese EFL majors’ FLA and how FLA is related to L2
Motivational Self System and language performance. This study focuses on Chinese
context because its distinctive culture and teaching traditions may greatly influence
learners’ EFL learning experiences. Target participants are Chinese undergraduates
majoring in English. Data collection methods include questionnaires, semi-structured
interviews and English learning autobiographies. Explicating the interactions between
FLA, L2 Motivational Self System and language performance enables us to better
understand learners’ EFL learning process and help them set realistic and beneficial L2
selves to reduce their FLA.
80
Organizing Committee
Chairperson Dr. John Trent
Members Dr. Michelle Gu
Members Dr. Ruth Wong
Members Dr. Eric Yuan
81
Contact List of Authors
Name Email Affiliation Mohamed Jafre Zainol Abidin
[email protected] Universiti Sains Malaysia
Michael AMORY [email protected] The Pennsylvania State University
Asma ALSAQQAF [email protected] Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
Takumi AOYAMA
[email protected] University Of Warwick, UK; Shimane University, Japan
Daniel BATES [email protected] Asia University, Tokyo, Japan
Xin BI [email protected] The University Of Hong Kong
Ka Lon, Alan CHAN
[email protected] The English Language Centre, University Of Macau
Cheri CHAN [email protected] University Of Hong Kong, Faculty Of Education
Hiu Ching CHAN [email protected] The Education University of Hong Kong
Chin-Chi CHAO [email protected] National Chengchi University
Bacui CHEN
[email protected] Lingnan Normal University; Hong Kong Baptist University
Fenghua CHEN
[email protected] Nantong University; University Of New Hampshire
Yuanyuan CHEN
[email protected] Dongcheng Experimental School of Hangzhou Normal University
Sonia CHEUNG [email protected] The University Of Hong Kong
Alice CHEUNG [email protected] Faculty Of Education, The University Of Hong Kong
Derek Wai-Sun CHUN [email protected] The Education University
of Hong Kong
Dung Trung DANG
[email protected] Diplomatic Academy Of Vietnam, Ministry Of Foreign Affairs
82
Dangeni DANGENI [email protected] k
University Of Glasgow
Jihua DONG [email protected] The University Of Auckland
Nicolas DOYLE [email protected] Pennsylvania State University
Ma. Joahna ESTACIO [email protected] De La Salle University- Manila
Johanna ENNSER-KANANEN
Johanna.f.ennser- [email protected]
University of Jyväskylä
Jiangao FENG [email protected] Shanghai International Studies University
Xiaoyan GUO
[email protected] University Of International Business And Economics
HAN Jiyan [email protected] Guangdong University Of Foreign Studies
Aya HAYASAKI [email protected] University Of Birmingham
Takaaki HIRATSUKA [email protected] Tohoku University
HUANG Jing [email protected] Hong Kong Baptist University
Mariah IBRAHIM [email protected] Teacher Education Institute
Isaac IU [email protected] The Unviersity Of Auckland
Chin Yew KIEU [email protected] University Of Edinburgh
Satoshi KUROKAWA [email protected] The University Of Tokyo, MA Student
Icy LEE [email protected] The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
LEI Ut Meng, Riko [email protected] BEIJING FOREIGN STUDIES UNIVERSITY
Li LI [email protected] University Of Exeter
LUO Na [email protected] The Chinese University of Hong Kong
83
LI Wendong [email protected] Shanghai International Studies University
-- LISTIANI
[email protected] Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto
LIU Yiqi [email protected] The Open University Of Hong Kong
MA Yaoyao [email protected] Hong Kong Baptist University
MA Yan [email protected] Shanghai International Studies University
Pauline MAK [email protected] The Education University of Hong Kong
NG Chi Wui [email protected] The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
NIE Yanwei [email protected] Shantou University
Wei Ann ONG [email protected] Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
Wanyu OU [email protected] The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
Jasmine PADETI [email protected] The English And Foreign Languages University
PAN Xie [email protected] The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Michał PARADOWSKI
[email protected] Institute Of Applied Linguistics, University Of Warsaw
Anne PITKÄNEN-HUHTA
[email protected] University Of Jyväskylä
Rich PORTMAN [email protected] Hhckla Buddhist Po Kwong School
Maria RUOHOTIE-LYHTY
[email protected] University Of Jyväskylä
SHIU Wing Hoi [email protected] The University Of Hong Kong
SONG Beibei [email protected] National Chengchi University
SUN Xiujuan [email protected] East China University Of Science And Technology
84
Suyansah SWANTO
[email protected] Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
Mark TENG [email protected] Hong Kong Baptist University
Ming-I TSENG [email protected] Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
TSOI Ling Yu [email protected] The Education University Of Hong Kong
Naning WAHYUNI [email protected] The University Of Auckland
WEI Chang [email protected] The Education University Of Hong Kong
WONG Chun Yu [email protected] The Education University of Hong Kong
Tao XIONG
School Of English Education, Guangdong University Of Foreign Studies
Xu Mingfei
Minzu University of China
Chi Cheung Ruby YANG
[email protected] The Education University Of Hong Kong
Joy YANG
[email protected] The Education University Of Hong Kong
Thomas Siu-Ho YAU
[email protected] Department Of English, The Chinese University Of Hong Kong
Artem ZADOROZHNYY
[email protected] The Education University Of Hong Kong
Simin ZENG [email protected] Harbin Institute Of Technology, Shenzhen
ZHANG Shuting [email protected] The University Of Hong Kong
ZHANG Wenhao wenhzhang4- [email protected]
City University Of Hong Kong
ZHANG Mingming [email protected] Shanghai International Studies University
ZHANG Qiyi [email protected] NYU Shanghai
85
ZHANG Yue
[email protected] Department Of English, The Chinese University Of
Hong Kong
ZHU Shenhai [email protected] Shanghai International Studies University
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