There has been a growing concern that students in Hong Kong have low proficiency levels in English. Ths constitutes a challenge to language planning policy, which aims at providing opportunities for extending knowledge and experience through the acquisition of English grammar. Grammar forms a major component in English language teachng, and mostly has priority over other parts of the language. The acquisition of second language syntax is the focus of ths research. The main aim of the present study is to investigate the development of relative clauses in the interlanguage of native Cantonese learners of English within the framework of Keenan and Comrie's Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy (1977, 1979). The study also seeks to distinguish the features of Cantonese-English interlanguage which may be attributed to language transfer from those which may be considered as universal to second language acquisition. The role of L1 is then examined. The study focuses on the theoretical concepts of language transfer, comparative study of Cantonese and English relative clauses as well as language universals from a typological perspective.
The issues are investigated with a database of syntactic judgements and production by a p u p of Cantonese-speaking students of English as a second language in Hong Kong. A number of features, namely, the use of resumptive pronouns, the retention of the head noun, shft of noun functions, nun-adjacency of .head noun and relative pronoun, preposition strandinddeletion, and avoidance of the use of zero relativizer are found in the data. These features are discussed and it is shown that they are more attributable to universal and developmental factors than to direct L1 transfer. One important finding of the study is that there exists an uncommon feature of retention of the head noun. Its presence is suggestive of lower proficiency levels in the target language.

This study investigates how expert-novice scaffolding and peer-peer scaffolding may facilitate the learning of grammatical forms in tertiary Chinese EFL classrooms and attempts to illustrate the features of different modes of interactions. It was a classroom research study with a quasi-experimental design, in which Chinese tertiary level students from two intact classes in Hong Kong and Wuhan were both given a task of revising a student's writing, focusing on the learning of the relative clause in three interactional scenarios: student-student (S-S), teacher-student (T-S), teacher-student + student-student (T-S + S-S).
On the basis of the microgenetic analysis of classroom discourse complemented with quantitative results, the study has found that scaffolding in T-S + S-S interaction generates the most effective impact on learning the target form in the three settings, followed by T-S interaction and S-S interaction. The learner's Zone of Proximal Development (hereafter ZPD) could be promoted most effectively in T-S + S-S interaction due to high quality of scaffolding functions, whereas there is little evidence of extension in the learner's ZPD in T-S and S-S interactions due to a lower quality of scaffolding functions. Moreover, the effective use of the seven scaffolding functions, i.e., Recruitment, Simplifying the task, Direction Maintenance, Marking Critical Features, Frustration Control, Demonstration, and Feedback, in T-S + S-S interaction, seems to stretch the tertiary Chinese students' grammatical competence to a greater extent than in the other two settings. More importantly, the findings have highlighted the importance of helping students notice the gap in their knowledge, promoting self-regulated learning of target forms, and encouraging independent learning when the teacher provides appropriate support.
The study has both theoretical and pedagogical significance. Theoretically, it has shown that grammar learning in EFL classrooms does not happen

This thesis reports the findings of a study which investigates the beliefs and classroom practices in grammar teaching of four ESL teachers in Hong Kong. A review of the literature is presented to show that while teacher cognition in formal instruction has attracted increasing research attention in recent years, a number of issues are not yet fully explored. In particular, relatively little has been written about teacher cognition in school settings where English is taught by non-native speaking teachers to large classes of students, who are in the classroom to learn the language simply because they are required to (Borg, 2003). This study aims to make a contribution by shedding light on this area of enquiry. It also aims to examine why teachers may hold conflicting beliefs, and how culture shapes the ways in which teachers think and act.
The four participants of this study are all Chinese teachers who teach English as a second language in Hong Kong secondary schools. Using case study methodology, the study involves indepth interviews with the teachers, classroom observations, audio recordings of the teachers' lessons, stimulated recall techniques, copies of materials used by the teachers, samples of student work, interviews with students, and metaphors generated by the teachers.
A key finding is that as the teachers have different professional training and teaching and learning experiences, they each espouse a unique system of beliefs. The teachers are not aware of all of their beliefs at the same time, and some beliefs may come to the fore of their awareness while others may recede into the background. This conceptualization of the "structure of awareness" helps to explain why some of the teachers in the study hold conflicting beliefs.
As the beliefs of the four teachers exhibit differences, their classroom practices also diverge. In terms of how they provide formal instruction, the four teachers can be placed on a continuum. Some teachers choose to

Girls out-performed boys in reading at the age of 15 in all 43 countries included in a credible study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and UNESCO. Male underachievement generally alarms educators. In Hong Kong, proficiency in English language more or less assures a better future, higher academic path and job security. Is there any sex difference in English language achievement in secondary three? If so, what are the factors and causes in the learning process responsible for this difference?
The present study aims at exploring the sex differences in English learning achievement, and in the learning process parameters in secondary 3. Gardner's socio-educational model serves as the theoretical model for multi-causal path analysis. The English learning achievement is related to motivation and then to learning orientations. According to local researches about English learning, Instrumental Orientation is added to Gardner's model for multi-group comparison.
Female students are found to have much higher English achievement and most of the learning process parameters, including Formal Motivation Intensity, opinion on MOI (medium of instruction) in English lessons, attitude of interest, attitude of essential, attitude towards bilingualism, motivation for learning English, Instrumental Orientation and Communicative Orientation.
In the causal relations between English achievement and learning process parameters, female and male students show significant differences. The causal path from Motivation to S3 English Achievement is 0.43 (t-value = 34.52) in females and 0.37 (t-value = 28.65) in males. It means when controlling Motivation, females can have higher achievement in S3 English. The causal path from Instrumental Orientation to Motivation is 0.67 (t-value=31.80) in females and 0.79 (t-value=29.33) in males. The causal path from Communicative Orientation to Motivation is 0.40 (t-value=20.32) in females and 0.27 (t-value=10.72)

Hong Kong and Taipei have similarities in their ethnic compositions, geographic locations, economic structures, and relationships with Mainland China. However, they also have significant differences in each of these spheres, and in other socio-political dimensions. Socio-political factors have had an impact on curriculum as well as on other domains of education. This thesis compares the intended, resourced and implemented curricula in Hong Kong and Taipei. Comparisons across place and across dimensions of curriculum help to identify the forces which are unique to particular locations and dimensions and the forces which are more generalisable.
The thesis focuses on music in junior secondary schools, and is constructed around one main research question and two supporting questions. The main research question is "What is the nature and extent of Chinese music in the curricula of junior secondary schools in Hong Kong and Taipei, and what socio-political forces have determined these patterns?" This has two supporting research questions: (1) What is the nature and extent of Chinese music in the curriculum at the intended, resourced and implemented levels in both places? and (2) What are the roles and status of Chinese and non-Chinese elements in the curricula in the two places? The answers to these questions are then interpreted within the context of analysis of socio-political forces.
This analysis is undertaken with the help of a set of conceptual models drawn from the literature on comparative education. The research methods included content analysis of two official syllabi and four sets of music textbooks, as well as interviews with syllabus designers, textbook publishers, and music teachers in Hong Kong and Taipei. The analysis centres on the curricular choices made regarding Chinese and non-Chinese music. This is a significant area of political, cultural and educational decision-making which is bound up with questions of national identity, allegiance and citizenship

The overarching aim of this research is to find out empirically about perceptions and experiences in self-directed language learning (SDLL) among university EFL students in two different social contexts: Mainland China and Hong Kong, and to provide empirical grounding for the potential attitudinal / behavioral differences in SDLL between successful and less successful language learners. The research is composed of a quantitative survey and two qualitative case studies. The survey study aimed at discovering and comparing the overall patterns of SDLL attitudes, strategies and motivation among university EFL students in Mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as the potential interrelationships between these variables. To this end, a questionnaire was designed based a combination of theoretical input in the literature and students' initial responses in a pilot study. The case studies were designed to complement, verify and expand the findings from the survey study by focusing on examining the potential differences between successful and less successful EFL students with regard to SDLL attitudes, strategies and motivation. The survey study identified significant differences concerning the overall patterns of SDLL attitudes, strategies and motivation between mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students. With regard to SDLL attitudes, the mainland students appeared to hold a significantly stronger orientation towards learner independence in English learning, a significantly more robust sense of confidence and abilities in carrying out SDLL, and to be significantly less supportive of teacher direction in language learning. With regard to SDLL strategies, the mainland students reported a significantly greater use of metacognitive and cognitive learning strategies, whereas the Hong Kong students reported an overall significantly higher use of functional practice strategies. The two groups, however, reported generally the same low levels of social and affective strategies. With regard

Many studies show that teacher beliefs strongly influence their instructional decisions, which in turn affect classroom practice and curriculum implementation. Studies also reveal many curriculum reforms in the past failed because teacher beliefs had been neglected in the design and implementation process.
The new secondary Chinese language curriculum implemented in 2002 in Hong Kong is of student-centred basis, and thus teachers are required to change their beliefs. This qualitative study aims at investigating teaching beliefs of Chinese language teachers and their influence on curriculum implementation. By examining teaching beliefs of teachers, light can be shed on the problems and prospect of curriculum implementation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. Twelve teachers were selected purposefully from three different types of secondary schools, namely band 1, 2 and 3; which represent different range of students' academic competency. In each type of school, two expert teachers and two novice teachers with a variety of educational backgrounds and rankings at school were selected.
The results of this study indicate that teaching beliefs of teachers and their teaching behaviours are interrelated. It also highlights that the existing beliefs of transmission-oriented teachers are incongruent with the underlying philosophy of the new curriculum. This may hinder the implementation of the intended curriculum. But most of the beliefs held by the heuristics-oriented teachers are in line with the intended curriculum, which is likely to facilitate its successful implementation. The findings also have important implications for curriculum developers and teacher educators: curriculum implementation must be accompanied by continuous teacher development which fosters changes of beliefs and practices.
This study finds out that there are underlying commonalities in beliefs among the twelve teachers. In their opinion, the conception

This phenomenon might show that every teacher has some underlying beliefs, which could be made clear by narration. Lack of "traditional" art making experience, Helen thought the "Visual Learning" in art education could help students "unwrap packaging" and get to understand the hidden truth. On the other hand, other three teachers who love drawing from their very young age, focused more on different media of art making. To some extent, reflecting an "art for art sake" attitude, which shows quite a distance from the orientation of recent curriculum changes.
This study is an exploratory narrative research, focusing on the beliefs and their formation process of those teachers who regard themselves as art teachers. Hong Kong society seems ignore the importance of art education. Most teachers teach in primary school can have a share on having a few Art & Craft lessons, including those who even don't understand what is art. In this context, there are still some teachers who regard themselves as art teachers. Why? What beliefs do they hold towards art or art education? How are these belief constructed? Are these teachers conscious of their own beliefs? Are these beliefs related to their teaching experience and seniority?
Through "synthesis text" interview, teachers are provided with the opportunity to reflect their beliefs and discover the unaware "existential presumptions". It was a good chance for them to clarify their blurred perspectives, even to make change of them.
Through four interviewees' sharing of their "life stories" towards art or art education as well as "how" and "why" they transmitted such teaching activities, the researcher found that regardless their teaching seniority, they all showed that art teachers should possess drawing ability. Interactive interviews and self-evaluation of their own "synthesis text" were delivered. The researcher found that during their late phase of teaching life, Wangyi and Zhongliang were aware that they haven't thought

This study undertakes a new attempt in theory and practice in curriculum design in mathematics, which includes an operational model, its theoretical interpretation and experimentation.
The operational model, called Spiral bianshi (literally means variation) Curriculum, is extracted from the use of connecting problem clusters, one of the prominent features in current practice in mathematics instruction in Mainland China, the origin of which can be traced back to the Qingpu experience in Shanghai in the 1980s. Such a long history of practice was conceptualized according to the nature of mathematics and mathematics learning. The Spiral bianshi Curriculum comprises four components: The inductive bianshi which abstract mathematics notions from realistic situations, the deepening bianshi which lead one to new concepts and rules from already established one, the broadening bianshi which connects various concepts which are already acquired and the applicative bianshi which helps learners applying concepts and rules to more realistic situations.
Division of fraction was taken as the topic for experimentation. The corresponding bianshi curriculum was designed and experimented in 14 classes in three Primary schools in Hong Kong. The other 13 classes in three comparable schools were taken as control group.
The students' cognitive learning outcomes and self-efficacy were measured before and after the experimentation by means of a pre-test and a post-test. The students' approach to learning and other affective variables were measured too.
Significant positive results were obtained by the spiral bianshi curriculum. The post-test scores of learning outcomes in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group while all these scores indicated no significant differences in the pre-tests among these two groups. The students in the experimental group reflected that they have clearer relevant concepts than their counterparts. They also understood

This research explored student teacher's thinking in science and how they oriented to professional development from pre-service teacher education to beginning teaching. A more holistic view of teacher thinking with four focuses was embedded in this research: (1) conceptions of teaching and learning science; (2) planning; (3) teaching; and (4) reflections. The characteristics of these four aspects and their changes across time, the interrelationships of the four aspects and the change of their coherence in the longitudinal study were the main focus of the study.
An original group of 25 student teachers in Hong Kong were followed for three years, which included their two-year Certificate in Primary Education (Chinese) (Full-Time) Courses (1996-98) at the Hong Kong Institute of Education and their first year of beginning teaching in local primary schools in 1998-99. The student teachers were interviewed about their conception of teaching and learning science and what they had extracted from the experience. Also, they were asked to draw concepts maps to describe their thoughts during planning and were observed in their micro-teaching, school teaching experience and beginning teaching in local classrooms. After each of on these observations, they wrote journals to reflect on their teaching. The research approach involved in-depth qualitative analyses supplemented by quantification when necessary to allow clearer assessment of change in thinking.
In this longitudinal study, student teachers were found to espouse predominant or secondary constructivist conceptions of teaching and learning science to different degrees in different stages of study. Their planning became less intense in terms of lower complexity and fewer thoughts. Besides, teachers' development of constructivist teaching was evident and there was continuing evidence of confronting reflection among teachers throughout the three stages of the study.
An increase in the coherence between the different