Some past studies find that older students have more confidence in using technology for learning than younger students but some other studies find the opposite result. However, it is found that there are a few researches studying on the age difference in the perception of using technology for learning in Hong Kong. Therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the age difference of confidence in using technology for learning in the Hong Kong higher educational institutions. In this study, it employed a survey methodology to collect a total of 211 questionnaires from one of the universities in Hong Kong. The findings show that older students had more confidence in using technology for learning than younger students.
[Copyright of TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology is the property of TOJET.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.tojet.net/]

In this paper, we introduce a new approach to compute the partial fraction decompositions of rational functions and describe the results of its trials at three secondary schools in Hong Kong. The data were collected via quizzes, questionnaire and interviews. In general, according to the responses from the teachers and students concerned, this new approach has potential to be introduced at the senior secondary level, as an alternative to the method of undetermined coefficients described in common secondary mathematics textbooks. Some remarks on the related pedagogical issues are included.
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Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/journal/default.htm]

Background: There has been a lack of research on exploring how beliefs about language learning (BALLs) and out-of-class language-learning activities are related. BALLs and out-of-class language-learning activities play an important role in influencing the learning behaviours of learners and learning outcomes. Findings of this study provide useful pedagogical implications for English teaching in Hong Kong.
Aim: The aim of the study is to gather information on the BALLs and out-of-class language-learning activities of young adult ESL learners in Hong Kong.
Sample: Convenience sampling is adopted in this study of 324 ESL (English as a Second Language) learners undertaking vocational education in Hong Kong.
Methods: Surveys on BALLs and out-of-class language-learning activities. Results: Findings indicate that learners held mostly positive beliefs. Watching films and television, reading, listening to English songs, music and radio channels, formal learning and practising speaking with others were the out-of-class language-learning activities reported by subjects that they carried out most frequently. There is an association between BALLs and the implementation of activities. Learners who regarded out-of-class language-learning activities as useful were found to possess more positive beliefs regarding their English learning in terms of BALLI (Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory) items. Learners who implemented out-of-class language-learning activities were found to have more positive beliefs in terms of two factors, "Perceived value and nature of learning spoken English" and "Self-efficacy and expectation about learning English."
Conclusion: The contextual influences of English being a prestigious language in Hong Kong and being attached with tangible rewards and power are suggested to contribute to the prevalence of instrumental motivation among ESL learners in Hong Kong. These influences, together with notion of modesty and the fear of losing face

Teacher-student interaction in classrooms is perceived to be crucial for learning. Previous research has compared the interaction in classrooms where a second language is used as the medium of instruction (MoI) with those where the mother tongue is used. This has been done mainly via qualitative impressions. The current study adopted a mixed method design to examine objectively and comprehensively the classroom interaction in a sample of Hong Kong secondary schools that used Chinese as the MoI from Grade 7 to 9, but then switched to English from Grade 10 onwards (i.e. MoI-switching schools). By doing so, this study aimed to identify the possible effect of a change in the MoI on classroom interaction and its potential for learning. Sixty lessons were observed in Grade 9 and 10 in three MoI-switching schools and compared to two schools where English was used throughout all the grades. The results show that, when the MoI changed from students' first to second language, lessons tended to become more teacher-centred and there were fewer opportunities for negotiation of meaning and scaffolding. These findings have significant implications for the relationship between the MoI and classroom interaction and provide important insights into pedagogy and teacher development.
[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/10.1080/13670050.2011.588307]

This study explores whether the deficit approach to understanding youth, which has been widely critiqued in contemporary youth studies, could still be a dominant paradigm in an emerging curriculum which emphasises multiple-perspective thinking. The analysis compares the representations of youth in selected reference sources at different levels of curriculum- making of the liberal studies (LS) secondary school curriculum in Hong Kong. These include: (1) the official website of the curriculum, (2) the textbooks and (3) the teachers' verbal accounts. The findings indicate that the curriculum contents at the institutional level (the LS official website) do not really favour a deficit representation of youth, but that the contents at the program level and at the classroom level do intensify that deficit representation. The findings shed light on the discourse of youth in education regimes and inform future research.
[Copyright of Discourse is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2012.692960]