In the summer of 1998, 234 Hong Kong student teachers attended commissioned English immersion programmes in Canada, Australia and Britain. Previous Hong Kong-focused research (Crew 1994, MacLennan and Tse 1995, Tse 1997) has indicated that participants gain temporarily in language proficiency but that attitude change is perhaps the most profound result of their overseas experience. Anxiety has been noted as a primary factor in language attainment for Hong Kong student teachers, as has culture shock in UK-based immersion programmes (Crew 1994, 1996). Recent research (e.g. Crew 1997) indicates that major sources of overseas immersion programme anxiety are not directly related to language issues, though the specific anxieties which arise may well be amenable to moderation or resolution by the use of language. The current paper expands on previous work by seeking to identify and compare the cultural and anxiety factors applicable to the more varied societal contexts now available and to report on successful coping strategies employed by participants.
[Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]