In response to the call for integrating a praxis orientation to understand processes of language development through active engagement with teachers and learners, this article introduces techno-reflective narrative interview (TRNI) as a tool to understand how learners invest in their English as a second language (ESL) language and literacy practices as social practices in English medium instruction (EMI) courses. It is timely in integrating both technical and critical guidance for methodological innovations in the field of applied linguistics. To illustrate how this aim is achieved, this article first justifies the significance and theoretical basis of TRNI by elaborating on the definitions of and underpinning rationale for it, followed by the relationship among second language (L2) learners, investment, and TRNI. It then discusses the methods adopted by the 69 most cited empirical studies from Google Scholar that used the model of L2 investment as the theoretical model and compares these methods with TRNI. Finally, it discusses how TRNI was developed and adopted in two action research projects conducted by the author and two lecturers among local undergraduate students in the Hong Kong context. Through these steps, I demonstrate how TRNIs can be adopted or adapted to provide an interactive space for ESL learners to reconstruct and perform their English speaker and learner identities, share their learning experiences with the agency to introduce their positions, voices, and stories, and therefore, claim legitimacy as English users in EMI courses. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technostress is a phenomenon in which rapid technological advancement affects teachers’ psychological well-being. It is an emerging concern in English language education, which may be exacerbated by the advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT. This study explores the factors that influence technostress among English language teachers using GenAI tools and strategies that can alleviate it. Based on the analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 16 instructors at higher education institutions in Hong Kong, the study identifies the rapid advancement of AI technology, inadequate training and lack of experience as contributors to technostress. It also names mitigating strategies including targeted professional development, online engagement and gradual integration. These techniques can foster Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and reduce the challenges of incorporating GenAI into English teaching. The findings align with existing literature on the impact of technostress and the role of TPACK. The practical implications include the need for comprehensive training, supportive communities and a balanced approach to AI integration. This investigation also expands the theoretical understanding of technostress in English language teaching and the use of GenAI tools, providing empirical support for existing frameworks. It also suggests directions for future research, which could investigate teacher well-being, effective AI integration and the impact of TPACK. Copyright © 2024 Educational Technology & Society.

Under the current trend of curriculum reform in higher education worldwide, many institutions have taken the initiative to develop English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses to cater for students' diverse needs for disciplinary learning and future professional practices. This paper illustrates the pedagogical innovations in an ESAP course to facilitate undergraduates’ disciplinary learning at an international university in Hong Kong. Based on the data collected from students and discipline teachers, we, as the course developers, reflected upon the opportunities and challenges in implementing the revamped ESAP course. Our reflections reveal the importance of promoting flipped learning and peer feedback practices in the ESAP classroom and interdisciplinary collaboration between ESAP course developers and discipline teachers. This paper will be of interest not only to ESAP teachers but also to discipline teachers who intend to promote best practices for effective disciplinary studies through English teaching and learning in higher education. Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

English as a foreign language (EFL) education has become increasingly ubiquitous in Eastern Asian early childhood education (ECE) settings, but the studies on this phenomenon have not been thoroughly reviewed. This scoping review investigates the scope and findings of the current literature regarding this under-researched phenomenon. Through a five-step protocol, 17 empirical studies published during 2012–2022 are included. Findings indicate that: (1) there are four major research areas: education policy, education technology, teacher and teacher education, and curriculum and pedagogy; (2) Hong Kong receives the most research attention; (3) teachers’ knowledge and beliefs, implementing early EFL education, and effects of interventions constitute three prominent research themes. This review also identified research gaps and highlighted the need for more quantitative research on early EFL education in other parts of Asia, the planning and implementation of EFL policies in micro-level contexts, and in-service educators’ beliefs and practises. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.

A techno-reflective narrative interview (TRNI) aims to elicit learners' investment in the language practices in a course — their stories, participation, and ways of participation (Zhang, 2023). This presentation elaborates on the notion of TRNI and how it can be adopted to investigate EFL and ESL learners' L2 investment in a given course. Drawing from Darvin and Norton's (2015) investment model, two examples are provided as two cases: 1) how a Mainland Chinese EFL learner invested in her EFL learner, gender, and role identities (Zhang, forthcoming), and 2) how a Hong Kong undergraduate ESL student invested in her Hong Kong English, multilingual, and Hongkonger identities (Zhang & Gonzales, forthcoming).The study highlights how TRNI helps to provide a reflective account of L2 learners' investing trajectories and empowers them by amplifying their own voices and self-positioning. Overall, the findings reveal the 1) concomitant effects of participants' English learning experiences and life histories on their investing patterns; 2) the interconnectedness of identities, capital, and ideologies; and 3) their combined effects in shaping Chinese English learners' investment in two courses. It provides specific guidelines for lecturers to adapt TRNI in their own courses and pedagogical implications for L2 practitioners and universities. Copyright © 2023 HAAL.

This study investigated how English learners complete multimodal formative quizzes. Participants included 17,950 students enrolled in a mandatory English for Academic Purposes course at a university in Hong Kong. We retrieved data from Blackboard, a learning management system, and conducted a two-step cluster analysis to examine student self-regulated learning (SRL) profiles with the quizzes. We first identified five clusters of learners with distinctively different self-regulated learning patterns. Then, we performed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to further explore their differences in SRL, in terms of start day, days started before deadline, differences in scores between first and last attempt, and scores in language learning activities. Our findings echoed those of previous studies on the relationship between self-regulated learning and academic success. This research enables us to better understand the needs of EAP students in Hong Kong. Copyright © 2023 International Forum of Educational Technology & Society.

The present study investigated 69 local Hong Kong English language education students' cross-cultural learning as a result of an Internationalization at Home (IaH) initiative that made use of international students' knowledge of English language education in contexts outside of Hong Kong. An analysis of written responses to open-ended questionnaire items revealed that most students reported acquiring superficial cultural facts related to teaching methods, testing methods, and public versus private education in international contexts; however, some students reflected more deeply on perceived cultural differences by challenging their own prior assumptions about English language education and, as a result, demonstrated cultural humility and enhanced empathy towards teachers in contexts outside of Hong Kong. This research suggests that teacher education programs should consider implementing IaH initiatives that capitalise on international student populations to satisfy program-level cross-cultural learning objectives. Copyright © 2022 Routledge.

The integration of values education into English language teaching is not common. Yet educators, school heads, and teachers regard values education as vital to help build students’ characters. This study aims to investigate how values can be promoted by using the approach of moral dilemma discussions in English language teaching. Specifically, within Thomas Lickona’s (1991) framework of values that posits the mutual interaction of students’ moral knowing, moral feeling and moral action, this study used action research as the research design, while applying the approach of moral dilemma discussions to examine whether students’ moral reasoning could be developed, moral feeling could be aroused, and whether obvious behavioural changes in moral action could be observed.A mixed-method of collecting both qualitative and quantitative data was used to evaluate the teaching process and teaching outcomes. Qualitative data included teacher researcher’s observation in class and after-lesson reflections, students’ discussions and responses during lessons, group interviews of students and teacher observers’ feedback. Quantitative data consisted of comparison between the pre-test and post-test scores of DIT2 and APASO-II, while the yearly moral performance record and result of the questionnaire set by the teacher researcher were used as supporting evidence.The findings showed an increase in the moral reasoning scores of the experimental group. Students were impressed with the moral dilemma discussion approach integrated with explicit values, and students’ moral development was shown in their assignments during the teaching process and teaching outcomes. Students’ sharing in the interviews also showed that they recognized the importance of values education for all students. However, an increase in moral action throughout the action research period was not obvious. More investigation into the link between moral reasoning and moral action should be done. All rights reserved.

Creativity is an important 21st Century skill that enhances students’ ability to see new opportunities, confront new challenges, and adapt flexibly to the changing study, work and life situations. To nurture students with strong self-efficacy in creative thinking is as important as the contexts and strategies involved in its application. But how to develop sustainable interventions (without generating excessive workload for teachers) to promote students’ self-efficacy in creativity is a long-lasting challenge. This study presents a simple and relatively cost-effective instructional intervention, i.e., self-assessment mind maps, and examines its effect on students’ self-efficacy in creativity, self-efficacy in learning English, and academic performance in English language tests. A pretest-posttest non-equivalent design was adopted for the experimental and control groups of students in a Hong Kong primary school in 2021/22 Spring semester. The results show that students from the experimental group significantly outperformed those from the control group on self-efficacy in creativity after the intervention. However, the intervention did not improve students’ self-efficacy and test performance in English learning. The findings demonstrate the potential of self-assessment mind maps as an effective and sustainable instruction intervention to promote students’ higher-order abilities. This study sheds light on designing sustainable instructional strategies for empowerment in creativity. Copyright © 2022 Yan, Lee, Hui and Lao.