The present study explored the use of digital tools by English language schoolteachers in Hong Kong. Using a qualitative-dominant sequential mixed-methods design, wherein an online mixed-methods survey of primary and secondary school English language teachers (N = 83) and follow-up in-depth interviews (N = 22) were employed, this study collectively explored which digital tools the participants used, why the participants used these tools, and how the participants used them. Fourteen categories of tools utilized by teachers in their professional practice were identified. These were further categorized into core, additional, and remote digital tools based on their mode and frequency of use. Affordances of the core digital tools for language teaching were identified, with examples of teachers’ pedagogical uses of the tools presented. By providing an overview of digital tool use, teachers, school leadership, and professional development providers can better understand how teachers should be prepared for the digital realities of schools. In addition, this study provides a model for understanding the context and subject-specific bidirectional relationship between tools, their affordances, and teachers’ professional tasks. © 2023 by the authors.

This article reports on a study that investigated primary-school English-language teachers' use of digital technologies in their in-person classrooms after a period of online teaching necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explored the perceived effects the period of online teaching had on the teachers' practices. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with sixteen experienced Hong Kong primary-school English-language teachers approximately one year after they returned to in-person teaching. The findings suggest that the period of online teaching has led to a greater utilization of technology for teaching. In addition, they suggest digital technologies are now embedded in teachers' regular teaching practices, with the digital technologies adopted primarily those that enhance existing practices. Common digital technologies include: (1) learning management systems; (2) digital noticeboards; (3) interactive digital worksheets and quizzes; and (4) interactive presentation software. Examples of how teachers use digital technologies, and considerations for their use, are provided. Copyright © 2023 Oxford University Press.

In 2017, the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) issued the latest secondary education curriculum guide with the highlighted theme “Learning to Learn 2+”, which introduced “Vocational English” for senior secondary level in the “Progression of VPET with Diversification” section, along with “Applied Learning as elective subject(s)” (ApL) and “Career-related Experiences in OLE”. To support this new initiative, the Education Bureau (EDB) launched a new Language Fund Project “Vocational English Programme” (VEP) Grant for schools to enrol senior secondary students on related vocational English courses, which commenced in the 2018–2019 school year. The programme aims to boost students’ confidence and interest in English learning and prepare them better for vocational education and jobs / occupations. In this new programme, each participating school can nominate about 20 students to attend courses administered by third-party course providers. From a macro-perspective, the introduction of the VEP is a step to implement vocationalization of English which complements the advocacy of Vocational and Professional Education and Training (VPET) outlined in the latest curriculum guide. However, from a micro-perspective, the impact of VEP on the senior secondary and post-secondary level does raise some questions and concerns worth further investigation – for instance, the connection of the VEP to other VPET-related components in the “Learning to Learn 2+” curriculum; the influence of the VEP on the current senior English curriculum; and the curriculum design, accreditation and articulation of the courses. This paper discusses the potential impact of the VEP based on a thorough review of relevant policy documents and literature, together with the analysis of data from interviews with students and teachers from both secondary schools and post-secondary level institutions to triangulate their views on the VEP. The paper ends with feasible suggestions and possible implications for the vocationalization

The English language curricula in Hong Kong and mainland China place emphasis on ‘culture learning’. This study seeks to examine cultural depictions in two series of primary English language textbooks published in mainland China and Hong Kong. The study adopted Kachru’s three-circle model and Moran’s 4P framework (referring to products, practices, perspectives and persons) to investigate the breadth and depth of cultural presentation. The findings indicate that both series encompass content on the local culture as well as on foreign cultures. While the mainland textbooks focus on British culture in the inner circle through the cultural aspects of products and persons, insufficient attention is paid to other foreign cultures and the cultural aspect of perspectives. In contrast, Hong Kong textbooks include a wider range of foreign cultures and a more balanced presentation of various cultural aspects. However, both series contain mainly static and congratulatory cultural topics, and neglect the underlying value orientations. Copyright © 2019 Pedagogy, Culture & Society.

English is an important language in Hong Kong, an international city located on the southern coast of the People's Republic of China that, for over 150 years to 1997, was a British colony. This paper describes and analyses changes in teaching methodologies in the English language curriculum formally proposed for Hong Kong junior secondary schools from 1975 to the present day, to study how the curriculum developments reflect interrelated social, political, economic, and cultural factors of the period and the ideology in educational circles that was pre-eminent at the time. It finds that, while the rhetoric of the curriculum has changed in accordance with shifts in socio-economic conditions, the curriculum content and pedagogical approaches implemented in the classrooms have proved more constant across time. The paper suggests some explanations for the resultant curricula tensions.
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