This paper reports on a study that investigated the perceptions of a group of bilingual speakers of English and Chinese in Hong Kong concerning issues surrounding accent, identity and English as a lingua franca (ELF). Data were primarily collected via in-depth interviews with 28 university students in Hong Kong who are also regular users of English in lingua franca contexts. The analysis shows that the participants' perceptions of their preferred identities as speakers of English in ELF settings in relation to accent were varied and complex. Among the participants who preferred to use a local accent of English, their preference was not necessarily motivated by the need for expressing their lingua-cultural identity, but primarily by pragmatic considerations. It was also found that some participants' desire to speak English with a native-like accent was associated with their wish to present a positive identity or self-image as bilingual speakers of English. The paper calls for the need to recognize the role of individual variations in accent preferences for identity construction in ELF.
[Copyright of International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.837861]

Can accreditation-related requirements and mission statements measure learning outcomes? This study focuses on triangulating accreditation-related requirements with mission statements and learning activities to learning outcomes. This topic has not been comprehensively explored in the past. After looking into the requirements of AACSB, ISO, and the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF), "mission/objective/goal/outcome, improvement, learning, activities, review, and consistent" were identified as the key elements which can be applied to designing learning activities with a teaching log. From teachers' observations and studying the reflections of learners, it was found that "Ability, Affection, All-round Development and Appreciation" improved to align with the elements of the mission statement "Capable and Caring." It was found that guest lectures by academics and industry practitioners can also help nurture learners' overall development. These findings are of great value as a mission statement is intended to lead to action and continuous improvement; and accreditation exercises involve mission verification and validation. Longitudinal studies of a similar nature are suggested to further test the findings of the present study.
[Copyright of Journal of Teaching in International Business is the property of Routledge . Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08975930.2011.653909]

This article examines the various educational paradigms used in the design of a European studies undergraduate programme in Hong Kong to enhance the acquisition of intercultural competences (IC) among students. The intercultural approach is supported by intensive foreign language (FL) learning and is motivated by a compulsory full year academic stay in the target language country. The article focuses on the importance of contextualising FL teaching by presenting the multifaceted aspects of identity, languages and the learner's profile in Hong Kong's societal environment. This perspective incorporates the multidimensional aspects of the concept of 'culture', while also recognising the dynamic process of the context and (social) identity for the learner. In the present case study, Hong Kong students' IC are developed along the dual educational axis of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages: a vision of the learner as a social agent and an action-oriented approach. The development of IC is also enhanced by a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach in language courses. Some recently introduced concepts in Hong Kong higher education (HE) are envisaged as springboards for including the intercultural approach in academic programmes. Finally, the article advocates cross-disciplinarity and synergy in Hong Kong HE for the development of students' IC.
[Copyright of Language Learning Journal is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2013.858548]

Animations have long been perceived as an effective tool in teaching and learning. While students' reception towards animations has often been studied, there is also literature covering how teachers perceive and incorporate animations into their classes. At a research intensive university in Hong Kong, animations on the topic of university assessment policy, such as rubrics and grade descriptors, have been produced so that teachers can understand the latest policy quickly without attending lengthy workshops. It was found that a striking 95% of teachers reported gaining better understanding of assessment rubrics after watching the animation. This paper will present the findings from a small study on how teachers perceive the use of animations for their own professional development, and how they perceive the incorporation of animations into their own disciplines to engage students. Despite positive attitude towards the use of animation for teaching and learning, academics expressed practical and technical concerns.
[Copyright of Innovations in Education & Teaching International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2013.847795]

This paper reports on a blended-learning project that aims to develop a web-based library of interpreting practice resources built on the course management system Blackboard for Hong Kong interpretation students to practise outside the classroom. It also evaluates the library's effectiveness for learning, based on a case study that uses it to assist in-class instruction of a first-year undergraduate interpretation course. Future improvements and modification of the library design and contents, and the implications of this case study for course design in blended learning and computer assisted interpreter training are also discussed.
[Copyright of Computer Assisted Language Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2013.770034]

This article discusses a study on how language use and language development can be promoted through engaging students in different participation roles in board games. Theoretically, the study is grounded in sociocultural perspectives of activity theory and the role of play as a form of human motivation. A group of Grade 4 primary students learning English as a second language in Hong Kong participated in the games, with alternating roles as players and facilitators. Students' discursive and embodied participation in the games was analysed to reveal how changing participation roles constitute a form of social-relational mediation that motivates students' deployment of different interaction practices and multimodal semiotic resources to achieve context-sensitive, object-related and goal-directed actions in collaborative group activities. The data also show students' agency and self-regulation when they enacted the same participation role with different subject positions and semiotic resources. This article concludes by calling for more attention to how engaged participation resulting in situated purposeful language use can be promoted through different forms of participation in social activities such as board games.
[Copyright of Pedagogies: An International Journal is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2013.829279]

This article reports the results of a one-year longitudinal study examining a teaching intervention designed to enhance students' learning of critical thinking in Hong Kong. Seventy participating students (age 16-18) learned how to make reasoned arguments through a series of collaborative activities, including critical-thinking modelling tasks and group debate. Of particular interest was the role of Chinese traditional values in the students' perceptions of ground rules and the potential influence those rules had on their learning of critical thinking in debate-type discussions. The findings show that Confucian beliefs, such as Li (ritual, 禮) and Chi (shame or 'face disgrace', 恥), do influence Chinese students' understanding of ground rules. Follow-up analysis revealed positive correlations between the establishment of these rules and students' demonstration of critical-thinking abilities. The results thus refute previous scholars' criticism of the use of ground rules in classroom talk.
[Copyright of Pedagogy, Culture & Society is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2014.899611]