English learning and use in Hong Kong's bilingual education: Implications for L2 learners' development of interactional competence

English learning and use in Hong Kong's bilingual education: Implications for L2 learners' development of interactional competence

• Chan, Jim Yee Him Newcastle University
• Walsh, Steve Newcastle University

International Journal of Applied Linguistics, (0), -, 2023

Wiley

2023

• F Learning & Teaching
  • FE Medium of Instruction, Language of Teaching, Bi-& Multilingual Education, Problems of Bilingualism, Code-mixing & Code-switching

English-medium Education English Use Interactional Competence Second Language Learning Task-based Language Teaching

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Secondary Education

• View Full Text 全文連結

The use of English in international communication has focused scholarly attention on L2 learners' development of interactional competence (IC), that is, the ability to co-construct interactions purposefully and meaningfully in specific contexts. Under Hong Kong's bilingual education policy, students mainly learn and speak English in two classroom contexts: (1) English language and (2) English-medium-instruction (EMI) content-area subject lessons, which may contribute to their IC development. This study compared the English-speaking/learning experiences of students in these two classroom settings in three Hong Kong secondary schools. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) was the recommended teaching approach in the English language subject in all these schools, but they adopted different medium-of-instruction arrangements in content-area subjects. Their students also had different academic attainments. The investigation adopted a case study approach consisting of a questionnaire and semi-structured focus group interviews (N = 160). Our findings suggest that students generally lacked opportunities to speak English, regardless of the specific school-based policies. The higher-proficiency students were given more opportunities to speak English in group/pair activities both in English language and EMI content-area subjects. In contrast, the lower-proficiency students received more explicit teaching of the linguistic forms/structures required in English examinations. The paper concludes by highlighting several critical issues concerning students' IC development in bilingual education, namely, the effects of English-medium education on students' speaking ability, implementation of TBLT, the influence of examinations on teaching practices, and teachers' role in promoting students' interactional competence through classroom interactions. Copyright ©2023 Wiley.

• English

Journal Articles

• 08026106

• 10.1111/ijal.12486

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/en/bibs/d5e36223

2024-05-17