This qualitative case study examined a group of undergraduate students' motivations towards extracurricular research in a Hong Kong university. Drawing upon data from semi-structured interviews, this study analysed the students' motivation change from the cognitive, social, and affective perspective. The findings revealed that the students were externally and internally motivated to join informal research activities and that their motivation change was intertwined with their cognitive learning, social interactions, and emotional experiences in the research process. The paper concluded with practical implications on supporting and sustaining undergraduates' motivations in extracurricular research activities to benefit their academic studies and future work. Copyright ©2021 Routledge.

There has been an increasing concern on teachers’ adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching practices. However, little has been explored about English as a second language (ESL) teachers’ ICT adoption. This study synthesizes the technology acceptance model (TAM), the value-expectancy theory, and a learning perspective to propose a model -for investigating ESL teachers’ continuance intention to use ICT in teaching. In the proposed model, motivational beliefs, ICT learning behaviors, facilitating conditions, and perceptions towards ICT use were put together to see how they worked together to influence continuance intention. Participants were 156 primary school ESL teachers in Hong Kong, who attended a teacher professional development program. Structural equation modeling showed that ICT self-efficacy and facilitating conditions were positively associated with continuance intention through perceptions (i.e. perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness). ICT anxiety had a negative effect, whereas interest had a positive effect on continuance intention. Growth mindset had a positive effect on continuance intention through learning of ICT (i.e. adaptive help seeking). Implications for teachers’ professional development programs are discussed. Copyright © 2021 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

This study was to examine the individual differences in primary school students’ motivation (i.e. growth mindset, self-efficacy, and interest), self-regulated learning strategy use in English writing and the relationships between motivation, strategy use and English writing competence. Participants were 523 4th grade primary school students in Hong Kong. Although the findings showed a general pattern that the high achievers reported higher levels of motivation (i.e. growth mindset, self-efficacy, and interest) and self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy use than the average achievers, who in turn outperformed the low achievers, all the students showed quite a low level of interest in English writing. Interestingly, motivation impacted SRL strategy use very differently for students of different writing competence groups on the whole. Three-group Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) suggested that growth mindset had the strongest and most significant correlations with all students’ use of SRL strategies. However, interest and self-efficacy had different relationship patterns with SRL strategy use among the high, average and low achievers. Interest had no significant relations with the high achievers’ SRL strategy use, while self-efficacy had no significant relations with the low achievers’ SRL strategy use. Implications for English teachers to improve differentiated instruction are discussed. Copyright © 2021 Sage Publications Ltd.

In the last two decades, the same three parameters (frequency of use, importance, and effectiveness) of motivational strategies in language classrooms have been thoroughly researched. This study proposes establishing an additional parameter of feasibility to gauge the overall ease of using motivational strategies. A questionnaire survey on 116 motivational strategies was conducted among 58 Hong Kong teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). After that, 20 of them participated in focused group interviews to provide further comments. Nine feasibility-related factors pertinent to students, the teacher, and the educational context were identified, which contribute to a tentative and concise definition. • Certain parameters of motivational strategies have been widely researched. • A new parameter of feasibility in language teaching contexts is called for. • Student-, teacher- and context-specific factors were identified by English teachers. • A concise definition of the new feasibility parameter is proposed. • The feasibility parameter is noticeably different from the effectiveness one. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier.

The study aimed to explore the effectiveness and both teachers' and students' acceptance of using three types of e-learning activities, namely online teaching videos, Internet resources, and digital games, to learn classical Chinese (CC) in the out-of-class context. Thirteen Chinese language teachers and 551 students from five secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The findings of pre- and post-test comparisons indicated that students used CC reading strategies more frequently, improved their self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation in CC reading, and participated in more self-learning activities after using the e-learning activities. User acceptance of e-learning activities was examined based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Findings of regression analysis and structural equation modeling generally support the hypothesized TAM, suggesting that students' perception of the e-learning activities would affect their intentional use, and, in turn, their actual use of the e-learning activities. Students' perceived playfulness and teacher encouragement of the e-learning activities were the most critical reasons for them to accept and participate in the activities. Implications of the findings are discussed to provide insights into the applicability of using e-learning as a new learning approach in a traditional school subject.本研究旨在探討在課外使用三類電子學習活動（包括網上教學短片、互聯網資源及網上遊戲平台）對促進學生學習文言文的成效以及教師和學生對於這些課外電子學習活動的接受程度。研究共有來自5所香港中學的13名教師及551名學生自願參與。比較學生填寫的前、後測問卷結果，學生採用了這些電子學習活動之後，增加了使用文言文的閱讀策略，提高了閱讀文言文的自我效能感和內在動機，以及較以往更經常參與了文言文的自學活動。本研究同時以科技接受模型為理論基礎探討使用者對這些文言文課外電子活動的接受程度，多元迴歸分析及結構方程模型的統計結果支持本研究的假設模型，證明學生對這些電子活動的觀感會影響他們的使用意願，再進而影響他們的實際使用量，在眾多因素之中，學生對電子活動的趣味觀感和教師鼓勵是影響他們接受和參與這些活動最關鍵的因素，本研究的結果對於在學習文言文這傳統學科採用電子學習這種新的學習模式的可行性有重要的啟示。 Copyright © 2021 世界華語文教育學會.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected educational institutions and instructors in an unprecedented way. The majority of educational establishments were forced to take their courses online within a very short period of time, and both instructors and students had to learn to navigate the digital array of courses without much training. Our study examined factors that affect students' attitude toward online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is different from other online learning studies where online courses are mostly a method of choice, with suitable support from institutions and expectation from instructors and students, rather than a contingency. Under this specific environment, we utilized an online survey to collect students' feedback from eleven universities across Hong Kong. Using partial least squares for analysis on the 400 valid samples we received, we found that peer interactions and course design have the most salient impact on students' attitude, whereas interactions with instructors has no effect at all on students' attitude. Furthermore, we also provide suggestions on using the existing technologies purchased during COVID-19 for a more sustainable learning environment going forward. Copyright © 2021 by the authors.

This study investigated the associations among reading strategy instruction, student motivational factors (i.e., attitudes toward reading, reading self-concept, and motivation to read), gender, and reading achievement. The analyses were conducted using the Hong Kong sample (students at Level 1, n=3,875 and teachers at Level 2, n=133) from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 through multilevel structural equation modeling. The results showed that, first, the relation between the frequency of reading strategy instruction and student reading achievement was mediated by student attitudes toward reading. Second, the frequency of reading strategy instruction was significantly related to student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and student attitudes toward reading was significantly associated with reading achievement. Finally, girls had more positive attitudes toward reading, more positive reading self-concept, higher motivation to read, and higher reading achievement than boys. These findings may shed light on how teachers should arrange their reading strategy instruction to interplay with student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and to help improve reading achievement.
[Copyright of Psychology in the Schools is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.]

Research Findings: This study employed data from the TIMSS 2015 survey to investigate whether parental educational involvement behaviour in early childhood and parental attitudes towards education can enhance children's mathematics achievement in the 4th grade via influencing children's learning interests. Samples from Singapore (N=6237) and Hong Kong (N=3316), which share similar cultural backgrounds, and students demonstrating outstanding mathematical performance were selected to examine whether a hypothesized model fit the data. The overall model fit was found good. As hypothesized, after controlling for gender, immigration status, and family learning resources variables, both parental involvement in learning activities and parental attitudes towards education had positive significant effects on children's mathematics achievement in the 4th grade. However, a variation was also discovered in terms of the influences of parental attitudes in the two samples. Practice or Policy: The current findings shed light on the importance of parents' attitudes on education and their involvement in their children's mathematics activities during early childhood. The importance of family education should be communicated thoroughly to the public, and the government should provide more support for parents to involve more in early learning activities at home.
[Copyright of Early Education and Development is the property of Routledge.]

In many Asian countries and increasingly in the West, primary and secondary school students receive private tutoring, often in the form of lectures in cram schools. As English is an international lingua franca, many students enroll in English courses after school. Students enrolled in English private tutoring (EPT) are often examination-driven and extrinsically motivated to learn English, but past studies have not examined whether they like EPT lessons. Hence, we integrate motivation and tutoring into a theoretical model of EPT enjoyment at different levels (student, family, teacher, tutoring) and empirically test it with the survey responses of 543 Secondary Six (Grade 12) students enrolled in EPT courses in cram schools. The findings show that most Secondary Six students in Hong Kong like EPT lessons. Family, reasons for tutoring, tutoring, and student attributes are linked to EPT enjoyment. These students are more likely to like EPT if they (a) are in families perceived to have superior financial resources, (b) are not influenced by advertisements or other people to join EPT lessons, (c) attend face-to-face tutoring, (d) have a specific tutor, (e) like the tutor more than their teachers, (f) are interested in English, or (g) have greater English self-concept. The results of this study can contribute to our understanding of which motivation and tutoring factors affect students' enjoyment of EPT and inform EPT improvements. Copyright © 2020 De La Salle University.

Motivation has always been considered an important factor in language learning, and this is particularly crucial for first year undergraduates in the new four-year curriculum. With one year less English learning experience in secondary schools and one more year to study at universities, where English is usually used as a medium of instruction and a lingua franca for international knowledge exchange, this transition can be challenging. To bridge the gap, first year undergraduates are usually required to take courses of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). However, students are usually instrumentally motivated or not motivated at all. Therefore, course developers and teachers play vital roles in developing learners’ L2 learning motivation, and preparing them for further study in their own discipline using English. This paper investigates research in L2 learning motivation and how it can be applied to EAP classrooms to enrich the English learning experience of first year undergraduates. Findings of a study on the English learning experience in secondary school among 14 first year universities through narrative inquiry are highlighted with reference to shadow education (private supplementary tutoring). Practical strategies to motivate students to participate in classroom activities and out-of-class learning are suggested. Copyright © 2013 Centre for Applied English Studies, The University of Hong Kong.