Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of the transformation of an assessment on students' performance and perspectives in an English for Academic Purposes course in Hong Kong. The assessment was changed from the traditional pen-and-paper mode to an unproctored online mode. Design/methodology/approach: Using mixed methods, the research team analysed the differences between the assessment performances of those who took the course before the pandemic (n = 664) and those who took it during the pandemic (n = 702). Furthermore, focus group interviews were conducted with seven students regarding their perspectives on the unproctored assessment. Findings: The results revealed that, although there were no major differences in the overall grades of the two groups, students who were assessed online during the pandemic performed significantly better in terms of their English use. Nevertheless, the shift to online assessment had several negative effects on the students. Originality/value: Previous studies on unproctored online assessments (UOA) were concerned with potential learning quality issues, such as plagiarism and grade inflation. This study, however, provided empirical evidence that high-quality assessment delivery can be provided via UOA if the question types and assessment arrangements are carefully decided. Copyright © 2023 Emerald.

This qualitative study examined the pedagogical thoughts of three kindergarten teachers in the English classroom practice. It is a partial replication of Gatbonton Model (1999, 2008) and Mullock Model (2006). Three teachers were invited to attend stimulated recall interviews to explain their segments of their lesson recordings. The underlying assumption is the cognitive thinking of teachers can be coded when they are prompted with visual or audio aids. These pedagogical thoughts were labeled and categorized into 50 pedagogical thoughts under eight domains. The highest consulted pedagogical thoughts of the three teachers were compared and discussed to find patterns, and similarities and differences. The data were further studied to find out the PCK of kindergarten English teachers (PCK-EKT). Seven PCK components were identified: (1) Subject Content Knowledge (PCK-SCK), (2) Knowledge of Students (PCK-KS), (3) Knowledge of Educational Context (PCK-KEC), (4) Knowledge of Education Ends (PCKKEE), (5) Knowledge of Curriculum (PCK-KCu), (6) General Pedagogical Knowledge, and (7) Child-friendly Pedagogy. With a focus to inform teaching practice, the components are basically like the seven categories of Shulman’s teacher knowledgeg. The derived PCK-EKT emphasizes the knowledge in PCK. For example, PCK-SCK means Subject Content Knowledge within teaching kindergarten English. The knowledge is discipline-specific. The category in teacher knowledge in Shulman’s model is in a broad sense. Besides, the PCK development of the three teachers was recorded. Their stories give insights on teacher professional development and the role of principals in ‘nurturing’ competent English teachers. All rights reserved.

The study was conducted under the backdrop of the increasing demand of Mandarin-learning in Scotland and Hong Kong. Inspired by Gardner’s (2010) socio-educational model, this study is the first to compare students’ integrative motivation towards learning Mandarin under the two contexts. The data was obtained from a total of 132 secondary school students (54 from Hong Kong, and 78 from Scotland) through questionnaires. It also aimed to examine the robustness and culture-specific applicability of the model. Due to the geographical proximity and cultural similarity to Chinese, the integrativeness of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong is expected to be relatively higher compared to the students in Scotland. However, the results showed that NCS students displayed lower integrative motivation than students in Scotland. The significant difference we identified lay upon one of the constructs - fear of assimilation. This unexpected phenomenon could invite more in-depth studies on factors affecting integrative motivation in learning Mandarin.漢語作為第二語言的學習日益普及，無論是香港的非華語學生，或是全球的「漢語熱」，都顯示需求日益增長。本研究以Gardner（2010）的社會教育模式為理論基礎，比較了兩種語境下學生學習普通話的綜合動機。 是次研究的數據來自132 名中學生（54 名香港非華語學生，78 名蘇格蘭本地學生）的問卷調查結果。本研究還旨在了解社會教育模型在特定文化的適用性。由於香港地理上相鄰內地，文化亦相似，所以香港非華語學生的綜合性預期會比蘇格蘭的學生高。然而，結果卻顯示非華語學生的綜合動機較蘇格蘭學生為低。我們發現的顯著差異在於其中一個建構因素─對同化的恐懼。這個現象能讓我們對綜合動機及跨文化的因素進行更深入的研究。 Copyright © 2021 香港教育大學中國語言學系、哥倫比亞大學中文部、中華書局（香港）有限公司.

This study examined the use of first language in English reading lessons and the perceptions of teachers and students towards it in three Hong Kong Chinese-medium secondary schools. The data comprised three teachers and sixty-three Form 2 students' participation and responses in (i) 3 classroom observations about how L1 was used in actual teaching and learning settings, (ii) survey forms gathering the frequency of participants using L1 teaching and learning strategies (based on the three teachers and nineteen selected students from the pool), and (iii) subsequent in-depth interviews concerning their perceptions about using L1 in English reading lessons. The findings revealed that (i) the use of L1 bottom-up language focused teaching strategies and condition-oriented teaching and learning strategies were effective for teaching and learning in English reading lessons and (ii) there was a negative relationship between students' proficiency in English and the use of L1. The study concluded that the use of first language in English reading lessons brought positive effects on the second language learning in English reading, especially when students' English proficiency and teaching contexts were taken into consideration. Copyright ©International Journal of Instruction.

This study examined the optimal learning schedule for second language vocabulary within an authentic classroom setting in Hong Kong. Following a pretest, treatment, delayed posttest design, fifty-two primary school students (Cantonese first language) studied 20 English adjectives over two learning episodes under spaced-short (1-day interval) or spaced-long (8-day interval) learning conditions. The spacing of the vocabulary items was manipulated within-participants, and learning was assessed on a multiple-choice posttest, administered following a four-week delay. In contrast to previous laboratory-based findings, the results here indicated superior learning of the items presented under the spaced-short format, suggesting that lag effects might be attenuated by age, learning context and teaching procedure. Copyright ©Sage Publications Ltd.

The role of the first language (L1) in second language (L2) learning has been widely discussed and researched in the second Language Acquisition (SLA) literature. Benefits of L1 use have been found for vocabulary acquisition, and in facilitating comprehension thereby alleviating student anxiety. Many teachers appear to consider L1 use as a necessary option in L2 pedagogy. Disadvantages of L1 use are argued to be that it reduces exposure to the L2 thereby not enabling more implicit forms of L2 acquisition. Considerably less research has been carried out in English medium instruction (EMI) classrooms, surprisingly, as these are predicated on the benefits of massive exposure to the L2. This study investigated the effect of L1 and L2 use on teacher question types and interaction patterns in science lessons in early EMI and late EMI schools in Hong Kong. Our findings show that in late EMI, where there was much greater use of the L1, teachers tended to use higher order questions and were more interactive. In early EMI, despite students having received four more years of greater exposure to English instruction than late EMI students through the use of English as the vehicular language, teachers asked lower order questions and the interaction was more monologic. The implications for policy and pedagogy are discussed.
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