This article reports the results of a study that assesses the effectiveness of a Philosophy in Schools (PIS) programme in developing students' thinking skills and English competence in Hong Kong. In the study, training and support were provided for three Integrated Humanities (IH) teachers to enable them to teach PIS to their Secondary 3 English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The students were found to be capable of reasoning and arguing in a competent way about philosophical problems arising from various stimuli prepared by their teachers according to the IH curriculum. PIS was also found to play a major role in promoting the students' critical and creative thinking and to enhance the development of their English language proficiency to a significant extent. The findings of this study suggest that integrating philosophy into the IH curriculum can promote critical thinking, creative thinking and English language proficiency in ESL students. Copyright © 2020 University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education.

Introduction. This study examines the impact of the availability of reading resources in the school, the classroom, the home and the social environment on the reading proficiency of Grade Four primary school students in Hong Kong.Method. Data about the reading performance of Hong Kong students in the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study is reported. The survey data of 3,875 Hong Kong primary school students’ reading performances were analysed.Analysis. The survey data of 3,875 Hong Kong primary school students’ reading performances and their access to out-of-school or in-school reading resources were statistically analysed using multilevel modeling.Findings. The analysis revealed that the number of books at home, the time readers spent reading at home, the literacy facilities in the school and in the home and the children’s use of school and local libraries significantly impacted their reading attainment. The results also showed the positive impact of home reading facilities and encouragement, and the use of public and school resources on the students’ reading attainment.Conclusion. This study applied multilevel modeling to simultaneously evaluate the impact of reading resources located in family, classroom and library on students’ reading attainments. It demonstrated the importance of access to reading materials in home and family environments for students’ reading attainment. Copyright © 2019 the authors.

This study examined the bidirectional relationships among Chinese children's mathematics, executive functioning, and visual–spatial skills during their transition from kindergarten to primary school. Participants were 172 Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong children (mean age at Time 1 = 62.75 months; 88 male) and their parents. At Time 1 (kindergarten K3), children were administered the measures of mathematics (calculation and applied problems), executive functioning (working memory and inhibitory control), and visual–spatial skills. They were reassessed on these measures at Time 2 (primary 1) 1 year later. Results from the cross-lagged panel model showed that, controlling for child age, gender, and family socioeconomic status, children's visual–spatial skills at Time 1 were significantly predictive of their mathematics at Time 2 and children's executive functioning and visual–spatial skills reciprocally predicted each other across times. However, children's mathematics at Time 1 were not predictive of their executive functioning or visual–spatial skills at Time 2. The findings highlight the desirability of improving children's executive functioning and visual–spatial skills to promote their mathematical performance during the formal school transition. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Academic presentation (AP) is the most common type of oral tasks for academic studies. It is not only a means for speakers to exchange their ideas with (and gain feedback from) members in the academic communities but also provides speakers with an opportunity to develop higher-order thinking skills, through the process of which construction of new knowledge takes place. Regarding its unique roles, speech functions, linguistic and discourse features, recent scholarly discussion and research findings on academic presentation suggest that AP should be taught as a genre, and yet there is still a scarcity of research-based pedagogical instruction or instructional materials designed for EAP contexts. To be able to deliver quality presentations, ESL/EFL learners, as new comers of the academic communities, not only have to face the linguistic and cognitive demands, but also develop new identities and roles that are often very different from their L1 cultures. This chapter discusses the needs of ESL/EFL learners and their challenges in developing academic presentation competence in EFL contexts, such as Hong Kong. Following on a review of the knowledge, skills and strategies pertaining to the development of academic presentation competence and a discussion about current EAP practices, a pedagogical framework for EAP settings, comprised of designated tasks and evaluation measures, is proposed. Copyright © 2018 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

教學模式和教材應當創新，這種創新是「帶有目的」的，即為了讓學生更好地，並且更快樂地掌握中國語文能力，體會中華文化之美。本書收錄了十篇討論如何在語文與文化教學使用多媒體科技的論文及教材，作者既有香港教育大學人文學院專研語文教育的學者、也包括資深或新晉的前線中、小學老師，期望為學界提供兼備理論基礎和實踐分析的示例，拓闊中國語文教與學的視野，並聯繫香港中國語文教育「知識」、「共通能力」、「價值觀和態度」等核心理念，通過語文教育，呈現中華文化特色。Copyright © 2020 學術專業圖書中心.