Public lecture I: Expectations and Experiences: Language Study Abroad

Abstract: Language development through Study Abroad programs is on the increase throughout the world as the need for proficient bi-lingualism, and in the case of Hong Kong, proficient tri-lingualism, increases.  Although the success of such programs in developing language proficiency is widely accepted, there is limited understanding of the factors which are influential in this development.  While participants in all manifestations of these programs report increases in language proficiency, fluency and confidence, the complexity of factors involved means that elements key to an effective language immersion experience are not readily observable.  Research suggests, however, that an important factor in the degree to which students are able to benefit from Study Abroad programs is the extent to which expectations of the host language community are realized in practice.  When there is severe disjuncture between expectation and experience this challenges both the students’ sense of self as language learner and their existing constructions of the target language culture.  This presentation discusses the expectations and experiences of a number of student cohorts in a range of different host language communities and the impact of juncture and disjuncture on the development of language skills, intercultural competences and pedagogical understandings. 

Public lecture II: Bounding professional development for busy teachers: A narrative exemplar

Abstract: Over the years I have been involved in narrative inquiry (NI) research with language teachers in order to find out more about teacher learning in the contexts in which they teach. At the same time, a research colleague of mine has been investigating the learning of language teacher educators. We are both therefore involved in NI projects as researchers. In this presentation, I will report on our findings of a further NI in which we collaborated as both researchers and participants. The aim was essentially to learn more about NI in language teacher education in order to continue our professional development in our field, and we planned the project in such a way that its design was ‘bounded’ in time and scope; that is, we wanted the project to be both informative and doable. In this lecture I will report on how the project unfolded, and how the stories we shared enabled us to understand more about NI and our own professional work. I’ll conclude by proposing a heuristic for those researchers and teachers wishing to embark on their own narrative inquiry projects.

Public lecture III: One Country, Two Systems, Three Languages: Policy and Predictions for Hong Kong

Abstract: Hong Kong’s language policy aims for its citizens to be trilingual in Cantonese, Putonghua and English and biliterate in Chinese and English. The current medium of instruction policy is that Cantonese should be the medium of instruction for all government primary schools, where English and Putonghua are taught as subjects. The majority of secondary schools are also Chinese medium, but about a quarter are English medium schools. This represents a drastic reduction in the number of English medium schools since the handover in 1997, when parental demand virtually forced school principals to adopt English as the medium of instruction, often with unfortunate consequences.

Recently the government has signaled a possible change in policy, as it has authorized a trial for ‘Chinese subjects’ to be taught through Putonghua in selected schools, along with a suggestion that the MoI policy might be ‘fine-tuned’. At the same time ‘consumer’ demand for Putonghua is increasing exponentially.

This presentation will briefly review medium of instruction policy and practice in Hong Kong and then consider possible future developments. In particular, the possibility of Putonghua becoming the medium of instruction in the near future will be considered along with the possible implications of this for the other languages – Chinese and English – in the school curriculum. Questions to be addressed include, ‘Will Cantonese be reduced to a home language?’ and ‘Will the changing role of English as the international lingua franca be reflected in the English curriculum?

Public lecture IV: Expert teachers: What do they do and what do they learn?

Abstract: This talk will consider how the notion of expertise can apply to language teaching. What makes a language teacher ‘expert’? What kinds of things do expert teachers do which distinguish them from novices. A main aim of the talk will be to develop an understanding of how to investigate, even in an informal and small-scale way, aspects of language teaching expertise. Some areas suitable for investigation will be touched on, and some research methods suitable for this kind of research will be briefly discussed. It will also be argued that reflecting on expertise may help teachers to develop a healthy questioning attitude towards aspects of their own performance.