This article reports on the results of a qualitative interpretive pilot study investigating the role of comic strips on tertiary ESP learners’ motivation and discipline-specific language learning. The participants were 10 third-year students enrolled in two discipline-specific English courses at a university in Hong Kong. The results show that integrating multimodality through comic strips helped to transform the traditional delivery of instruction and also motivated and facilitated learners’ understanding of discipline-specific concepts and vocabulary. Participants also indicated that technology contributed to more student agency and fostered language creativity as they expended more effort in their learning. The findings suggest the need for ESP teachers to explore technology and integrate creativity and multimodality in the delivery of discipline-specific course content. Copyright © 2021 Asian ESP Journal.

Flipped-classroom learning has been shown to improve students' learning experience and performance in tertiary education. However, few studies have been done in Asia where the learning culture is vastly different from the West. Here, we studied the effect of flipped-classroom learning with the use of interactive videos on the academic performance of a group of first year undergraduate physics students in Hong Kong. By employing a conceptbased pre-test and post-test, normalized gains of 35% and 13% were obtained for the flipped and control class, respectively. A very strong correlation (r = 0.72, p <.001) was shown between the post-test score and the exam results of the flipped class, while the control class showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.37, p =.013). Our results showed that the conceptual knowledge of students taught in flipped-classroom improved significantly more than the students taught traditionally, and that their understanding in conceptual knowledge served as a stronger indicator of their exam performance. The interactive videos were well-received and were shown to be one of the most valued components by the students. Copyright © 2019 SPIE.

The aim of this research study is to investigate and evaluate the effectiveness of innovative use of an open-source digital technology, Arduino, which is an information and communications technology (ICT) tool for practical work in physics in the senior secondary curriculum. The study also seeks to ascertain factors affecting the effective use of the technology in students’ learning of physics with a view to informing possible extensive use of the Arduino technology in senior secondary science education and its application to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The importance of harnessing ICT in education is well recognized in the education arena. Educators have viewed ICT as an enabling tool for higher levels of analysis to take place in science teaching and learning. However, the use of technology does not guarantee meaningful and effective learning. What is crucial is the transformative, appropriate use of ICT to enhance students’ learning. In this regard, proper integration of ICT into the curriculum, or even across disciplines in the context of STEM education, for meaningful study is an area of concern. While ICT integration has been advocated for many years in the senior secondary physics curriculum in Hong Kong, there remains a gap in its holistic integration into the curriculum. This study demonstrates successful development of seven Arduino-based experiments and an entire set of courseware that covers a wide range of experiments in the topic of “mechanics” in the senior secondary physics curriculum. Design-based research (DBR) methodology is adopted in the development, which is characterized by rounds of systematic iteration, feedback gathering, and modification. The final outputs are encouraging for performing the series of experiments in “mechanics”. The study bridges the gap between theoretical framework and practical application in an authentic setting, and it informs of the suitability of DBR in developing ICT tools for

Recently, many universities have shifted to online teaching and learning employing synchronous teaching apps. Such practice is a logical consequence to respond to the needs of students in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, not much has been known about its effects on students’ experience. Particularly, given the lack of physical presence, it is worthy to explore how online teaching and learning may influence classroom interaction, students’ willingness to communicate (WTC) in second language (L2) English, and classroom enjoyment in English Medium Instruction (EMI) higher education context. This study explores students’ views and experience in relation to these three aspects by comparing online and face-to-face classes. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were conducted with four students in an EMI taught postgraduate programme at a university in Hong Kong. These students experienced half of their courses conducted in a face-to-face mode and half in an online synchronous mode throughout an academic year. Results indicated more teacher-student interactions and heightened WTC mostly due to a lower level of anxiety. However, students reported less opportunities for peer interactions and had mixed views on classroom enjoyment. Implications are discussed in relation to how teachers can improve students’ learning experience in EMI classes conducted using online technology. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

對以中文為第二語言或外語的學生而言，漢字無疑是學習中文的難點。怎樣才能加速學會大量漢字，從而提高學習中文的效率，相信是所有教師都共同關注的議題。通過考察中國兒童學習漢字的過程和方法，崔永華（2008）曾提出過“語文分開，先語後文”、“先認讀，後書寫”、“分層次教學”、“認多讀少”等對外漢字教學的主張。然而，限於不同教學條件，中文二語的漢字教學往往擺脫不了“教材為本，隨文識字”的路徑，同一課文裡出現識漢字和學中文互相牽制的情況──由於漢字難學，課文的篇幅不能過長，內容容易流於膚淺，學生無法學習更深刻、更嚴肅的題材。教與學雙方對每篇課文以致每冊教材的漢字教學缺乏系統科學的認識，更遑論根據所學的漢字，設計反復閱讀和應用的練習，處理好語言教學和漢字教學的關係，提高中文二語的學習效益。有鑑於此，本文以一套專為香港非華語學生設計的教材為基礎，通過全套教材的文本字詞統計、字詞分級、漢字與詞類關聯、漢字構詞位置等層面的分析，探索可以配合該教材的漢字學習系統，並為採用該教材的師生，建議一個與學習內容相關的漢字教學框架和程序。其中研發過程的經驗，相信對中文二語的漢字教材設計也有一點參考價值。 Copyright © 2019 第九屆漢字與漢字教育國際研討會.

For effective intervention, it is crucial for teachers to have in-depth analysis of the learning and emotional behavior among students with special educational needs. The presentation will introduce an online platform – the first of its kind in Hong Kong - to leverage learning data, student physiological data and environmental data of classrooms collected during lessons for training performance analysis. It is evident that the platform does help teachers customize the cost-effective IEP for students. Copyright © 2022 AI in Education - Experiences and Practices - Online Seminar and Workshops, EdUHK.

Although the potential of translanguaging within ESL/EFL classroom contexts to promote students' linguistic learning has been well-documented, most studies have focused on ESL/EFL teachers (whose L1 is not English) and their students' ideologies and experiences, with little attention paid to the experiences and perspectives of native English teachers (NETs) working in the Global South and postcolonial areas. This study examined 11 native English teachers' engagement with translanguaging in Hong Kong TESOL classrooms. Data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured individual interviews and video recordings of classroom interactions. A recursive qualitative analysis elicited a taxonomy of NET teachers' engagement with translanguaging, comprising resistant, ambivalent, and reductionistic approaches. The findings also demonstrate that ambivalent engagement with translanguaging turned out to be adopted the most among the NET participants. The findings call for examining two new translanguaging forms through NET teachers who have worked under a linguistically policed discourse, i.e., the underground and disguised translanguaging, and multimodal translanguaging without involving students' L1. The findings indicate that multimodality can be used as a bridge to create a translanguaging space, and that creating a translanguaging space through multimodality appears to be more politically neutral for NET teachers. Copyright © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

Based on Fredrickson’s (2001) broaden-and-build theory, this study investigates how Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE; consisting of teacher appreciation, personal enjoyment, and social enjoyment) mediates the relationship between Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and EFL secondary students’ willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) inside and outside the classroom. We collected survey data from 308 EFL Hong Kong secondary students who lacked any international experience (ages 12–18). After controlling for demographic data, the results show that teacher appreciation, personal enjoyment, and social enjoyment all mediate the relationship between IDLE and L2 WTC inside the classroom, while personal and social enjoyment mediate the link outside the classroom. A closer look reveals that personal enjoyment, rather than social enjoyment or teacher appreciation, plays a larger role in mediating the relationship. Practically, these findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms by which IDLE and different aspects of FLE can potentially improve the L2 WTC of Asian EFL learners who primarily learn and practice English in the classroom. These findings have implications for future interventions aimed at enhancing L2 WTC by increasing L2 enjoyment in EFL learners. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

參照 Cummins 的語言相互依存假說（The Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis）和閾限假說（The Thresholds Hypothesis），本文以香港一所標榜中英雙語教育的國際學校為案例，旨在探索港式中英雙語教育成效。通過運用（1）多元線性迴歸分析法（Multiple Regression Analysis）全面檢驗 251 位小學一至六年級學生中英雙語語文能力與超學科認知能力表現之相關性，評鑑 Cummins 的假說對解說港式中英雙語教育成效的適用程度；（2）ANOVA 變異數分析法（Analysis of Variance）探析 30 位小學一至六年級學生的中英雙語能力表現與其對中英雙語的態度及家長對中英雙語教育的態度之相關性，推論影響接受中英雙語教育學童語文能力不平衡發展的因素；（3）內容分析法（Content Analysis ）分析案例學校 10 位中英班主任和 3 位校長訪談內容、校本中英雙語課程大綱等，探討校本中英雙語教學模式與學生雙語能力發展的關係。研究發現：（1）Cummins的假說某程度能解說港式中英雙語教育成效，跨語實踐（Translanguaging）學理進一步完善和補充其假說；（2）在相同的校本中英雙語教育條件下，學生學習中英雙語的動機和對外語學習的焦慮程度、家長對孩子的期望值和對孩子學習的投入度、家庭社經地位、家庭用語偏向、不同持分者對雙語教育信念一致性、差異化教學的實施、社會語言生態環境等因素影響學童中英語文能力發展；（3）校本中英雙語教學模式有利於學生發展多重、整合的雙語實踐能力，具獨特的參考價值和發展意義。Based on Cummins's Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis and Thresholds Hypothesis, this study aimed to examine the effectiveness of Chinese-English bilingual education in a bilingual international school in Hong Kong by using :（1） Multiple Regression Analysis to examine the correlation between Chinese and English bilingual proficiency and transdisciplinary cognitive ability of 251 primary Year 1 to Year 6 students, in order to evaluate the applicability of Cummins’s hypothesizes for explaining the effectiveness of Chinese-English bilingual education in Hong Kong; （2） Analysis of Variance to analyze the correlation between Chinese and English bilingual proficiency of 30 primary Year 1 to Year 6 students, their attitudes towards Chinese-English bilingualism and their parents' attitudes towards Chinese-English bilingual education, in order to infer the factors that affected the unbalanced development of Chinese and English proficiency of children who are receiving Chinese-English bilingual education; （3） Content Analysis to analyze the interview scripts of 10 bilingual class teachers and 3 principals, the school-based bilingual curriculum, etc. to explore the relationship between the school-based Chinese-English bilingual education model and the development of student's bilingual