Improving primary students' reading comprehension is one of the most significant objectives shared by all language educators. Recent studies have highlighted the uniquely important role of executive function (EF) in underpinning reading comprehension, both directly and indirectly through other reading-related skills. Reading engagement, which may require active management from readers, has been widely acknowledged as a crucial contributor to reading comprehension. Therefore, it has been claimed that EF can facilitate reading engagement and, in turn, benefit reading comprehension. However, the relationships between EF, reading engagement, and reading comprehension have not been fully explored yet. In the present study, 225 primary Grades 3 and 5 students in Hong Kong were invited to complete a battery of tasks, including EF tasks, reading engagement questionnaire, and reading comprehension task. The findings suggested that EF exerted indirect effects on reading comprehension through reading engagement, beyond its direct effect. Furthermore, when comparing the hypothesized model between students from the two grades – the effect size of each path in Grade 5 was found to be higher than in Grade 3. Additionally, the indirect effect of EF on reading comprehension via reading engagement was only found to be significant in Grade 5. Theoretical implications were discussed based on the present findings – which also enlightened teaching reading in the context of Chinese. Copyright © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Sin Manw Sophia Lam, John Chi-Kin Lee and Chung Mou Si; individual chapters, the contributors.

This chapter examines the focus on life and moral education in the Greater China region, particularly in Hong Kong, in response to global educational changes and talent demands. Emphasizing the cultivation of lifelong learning skills, problem-solving, innovation, conflict resolution, and a sense of responsibility, the Chinese Language curriculum is analyzed for its values elements related to life and moral education. The curriculum in Hong Kong includes learning strands encompassing Chinese culture, morality, and affection, with specific objectives such as moral reasoning, awareness, judgment, sentiment, self-reflection, positive life views, temperament development, and community responsibility. Teaching, learning, and assessment strategies for promoting life and moral education are also explored. Additionally, contemporary and ancient texts, namely “The Back” by Zhu Ziqing and “Love on Lotus Flower” by Zhou Dunyi, are used to illustrate the curriculum's potential for nurturing core competencies, values, and attitudes amidst diverse cultures and ideas. By equipping young individuals with these skills, they are better prepared to navigate future societal challenges and value conflicts. Copyright © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Sin Manw Sophia Lam, John Chi-Kin Lee and Chung Mou Si; individual chapters, the contributors.

In today's increasingly diverse educational landscapes, the professional lives of first language (L1) teachers are undergoing significant transformations. This chapter explores the concept of ‘transprofessional identity’ as it pertains to the changing self-definition of L1 Chinese language teachers in increasingly multilingual, multicultural school settings. While prior research extensively examined the translingual identity of second language (L2) teachers in multilingual contexts, the unique transprofessional experiences of L1 teachers have been overlooked. This research fills this gap by analyzing the narratives of two L1 Chinese language teachers' professional trajectories. Ms. Au, a long-standing L1 teacher in a Hong Kong public school, faced the challenge of instructing South Asian ethnic minority students due to demographic shifts; Mr. Bao transitioned from teaching L1 to local Hong Kong students to L2 to multicultural learners in an international school. This chapter delves into the complexities of their transprofessional identity negotiation, encompassing pedagogical approaches, student diversity, and evolving institutional contexts. The analysis reveals the multifaceted, boundary-crossing negotiations undertaken by the two teachers. This chapter challenges the conventional notion of language teacher professionalism, which rigidly segregates L1 and L2 teaching as distinct subject areas. Copyright © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Sin Manw Sophia Lam, John Chi-Kin Lee and Chung Mou Si; individual chapters, the contributors.

There has been global popularity of the Chinese language for the past three decades. With a vast market of 1.4 billion people and enormous business opportunities in China, the Chinese language as a foreign or second language is taught in more than 2,000 universities in over 80 countries and countless primary and secondary schools. Hong Kong as part of China after the handover of sovereignty in 1997, the learning and teaching of the Chinese language as a native language in Hong Kong has experienced remarkable changes throughout the years. Hong Kong used to be a British colony where the East meets the West and played an essential role in bridging the gap between Chinese and Western cultures. For historical reasons, Hong Kong tends to be a bilingual city and advocates trilingual biliterate in education, which means students are encouraged to learn and speak Cantonese (a local dialect), write traditional Chinese characters (versus simplified Chinese characters in Mainland China), Putonghua (Mandarin) and English. In general, English is used in business and public affairs as an official language and Lingua Franca whereas Chinese is another official language used in daily communication. In terms of language education, students learn Chinese because it is their first language and cultural identity while learning English has instrumental values. It is, therefore, Hong Kong society has generally prioritized English over Chinese, and students do not attach much importance to Chinese language learning. This chapter first analyzes the challenges and development of Chinese language learning and teaching in Hong Kong in the past 50 years. It also discusses the controversial issues of language education policies, including the division of Chinese language and literature, the teaching of Classical Chinese, the teaching of Putonghua, medium of instruction (MOI), non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students learning Chinese, aiming to review the Chinese language education in Hong Kong. It is hoped

This chapter addresses the limited research on equipping teachers with relevant knowledge and enhancing students' motivation in the context of Hong Kong. Previous studies in Hong Kong have primarily focused on measuring the motivation of students in specific language skills while neglecting the investigation of how to effectively train teachers in motivational strategies. To fill this gap, an intervention was conducted to examine the change in motivational strategies among pre-service Chinese teachers in Hong Kong. Adopting Dörnyei's Motivational Strategies Framework as the theoretical framework, the study utilizes pre-and post-self-report with over 116 pre-service Chinese teachers and followed up by a focus group interview. The aim is to understand their perceptions of various motivational strategies and how these perceptions are formed before and after the intervention. By taking a pragmatic approach, the study seeks to provide valuable pedagogical insights for practicing teachers and bridge the gap between motivation theories and classroom practices. Copyright © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Sin Manw Sophia Lam, John Chi-Kin Lee and Chung Mou Si; individual chapters, the contributors.

The study examines the teaching of Chinese characters in Hong Kong primary and secondary schools. Currently, the “learn character through reading text” approach is widely used, but it lacks an explanation of the connection between form, meaning, and sound. This study aims to provide a systematic understanding of word form and meaning through an etymological approach – Systematic Chinese Etymon Acquisition (SCEA). The system helps students understand Classical Chinese and recognize the different meanings of the same character in various texts. The study involved 114 Year 10 students from a local secondary school in Hong Kong. Learning materials aligned with the school's Chinese language curriculum were used for one month. Pre-and post-tests were conducted to assess the students' knowledge of Classical Chinese vocabulary, and questionnaires were administered to gather feedback on the SCEA approach. The data were analyzed using SPSS. The findings revealed that the participants' knowledge of etymology improved significantly. They demonstrated a stronger understanding of the meaning and extended meaning of Chinese characters, as well as an increased awareness of Chinese culture. Based on these results, pedagogical implications for teaching Chinese characters will be proposed. Copyright © 2024 selection and editorial matter, Sin Manw Sophia Lam, John Chi-Kin Lee and Chung Mou Si; individual chapters, the contributors.

In Hong Kong, the issue of teaching Chinese as a second language (CSL) to school children is receiving considerable attention in recent years due to the trending proportion of CSL students in classrooms. While the Hong Kong Government encourages the integration of these students into mainstream schools in which the medium of instruction is predominately Chinese, the inadequate support provided puts these school aged children in a disadvantaged position. In light of this, there is a need of developing effectual interventional strategies to support the CSL learning of these students at preschool, primary and secondary levels. This chapter introduces a new support mode, the Dynamic Enrichment Learning Mode (DELM), which has been specifically developed for an intervention programme for promoting CSL students’ proficiency in Hong Kong kindergartens. Pre-test and post-test data were collected from 146 CSL kindergarteners aged 4 to 5 years who received DELM activities (DELM group) and compared to that of 110 CSL kindergarteners of the same age group who learned Chinese by merely learning in an immersion setting (immersion group). Findings show that the DELM is more effective in promoting CSL kindergarteners’ overall Chinese proficiency levels when compared to an immersion setting. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

This chapter explores the themes of acculturation and identity transformation among seven Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong. These teachers, who initially taught Chinese as a first language in local Chinese schools, later transitioned to teaching Chinese as a second or near-native language in English-dominant international schools. This study utilises a qualitative research approach, focusing on the long-term teaching experiences of the participants to gain insights into their transformational experiences and acculturation processes from their narratives. We draw on flexible acculturation theory and teacher identity theory to examine the connections and disconnections between acculturation processes and identity change across schools. The findings underscore the participants’ profound meaning-making processes as they trainsitioned from teaching in local schools to international schools. The participants’ previous professional identities as L1 teachers allowed them to draw on multiple resources with a deeper understanding about language teaching and and self-assurance in their changing roles as language educators. They critically reflected on these changing experiences in their subsequent teaching practices within international school contexts. This study holds implications for teacher education and professional development programmes, suggesting the need for tailored initiatives designed to support Chinese language teachers during their transition to teaching in international schools. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

As varieties of the Chinese language, Mandarin and Cantonese are both tonal in nature and involve pitch cues for distinguishing characters and words. Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners often find Chinese tones difficult to grasp, especially for those at the preschool stage. In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the dominant variety of Chinese for daily communication and serves as the medium of instruction in local kindergartens, whereas Mandarin is used in Chinese language teaching in international kindergartens. Children’s songs are widely used to foster preschoolers’ CSL learning in the aforementioned settings. With adequate phonological input in a pleasurable learning environment, such an approach helps facilitate tone perception, which is key to the development of prosodic competence for better facilitation of reading comprehension. However, the tone-melody mismatches in children’s songs and their negative influence on CSL learners’ tone learning have long been underestimated. This chapter looks into the problems concerning teaching CSL through children’s songs from a comparative perspective. Based on a contrastive analysis of the Mandarin and Cantonese tone systems with reference to multimodal learning, the authors recommend that teachers and curriculum developers should be more sensitive to tone-melody relationships when selecting or creating children’s songs for pedagogical purposes to better support CSL literacy development. It is also important to raise the preschoolers’ tone awareness, particularly in Cantonese-medium CSL classrooms, given the distinct tonal features of the target variety. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.