This paper highlights the crucial role of phonological instruction in early second language English learning. Although older learners can acquire grammar and vocabulary efficiently, younger learners appear to have a greater facility with the learning of sounds. Thus, it makes good sense to focus on articulatory skills for these early learners. By comparing the developmental norms in phonology between an L1 (Cantonese in this study) and an L2, detailed predictions can be provided to guide the process of early phonological instruction. It is important that the teaching of articulation should not be reduced to non-engaging lessons that can be characterised as 'drill and kill'. Instead, a framework for improving the articulation of children learning English as a second language is proposed. What is unique about this proposal is that it represents the first attempt in Hong Kong to specify and integrate research findings concerning developmental speech norms with existing teaching practice.
[Copyright of International Journal of Early Years Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09669760802699860]

This paper presents the contextual background of a doctoral study that investigates the process of assessment of teacher competence based on supervisors' judgment of the pre-service teachers' classroom performance. The study approaches classroom observation as a process conducted under time constraint. As such it is regarded as a process that reflects only restricted aspects of the teacher's competence. The variables in this study are identified and linked by a model of the decision-making process following models of cognitive process in performance appraisal. The variables are within the scope of competence, criteria for assessment, the supervisors' perceptions of the teacher appraisal, supervisor's observation of classroom performance and the determinants of the judgment process. The subjects in this study are supervisors of pre-service teachers in an institute of education in Hong Kong. The organizational and contextual aspects are considered as important determinants in the process of supervisors' judgment of the pre-service teachers' classroom performance. The paper presents a brief introduction to the institution, a discussion on its demands on teacher practicum, practice and procedure in classroom observation and a report on the preliminary findings of supervisor's views on classroom observation.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]

Among the various approaches that can be used to try to bring about changes in educational initiatives, the main strategies have been broadly classified into three types; those that center on problem solving processes, conceptual changes, and the power and authority of some agents over others (Morris 1996). In a highly centralized educational system such as Hong Kong, the change strategies employed in curriculum initiatives have always been associated with the third. Curriculum renewal tends to be imposed on teachers from the top such as the Education Department. Teachers as one of the major participants in the curriculum development process are rarely involved in the planning and decision-making.
This paper describes phase one of a one-year school-based teacher development initiative in which English teachers of a primary school take the initiative in making changes to their existing curriculum with on-site support from a team of teacher educators. This teacher development project aims at adopting a problem-solving and interactive approach to teacher change in curriculum initiative. It also attempts to explore the roles of teachers and teacher educators in the process of collaboration. It intends to seek the interface between theory and practice in the local educational context, in particular in empowering teachers through mutual communication, negotiation, consultation, rather than top-down persuasion.
This paper also reports the preliminary findings from the qualitative data collected and discusses implications in relation to interactive curriculum change strategies, the interface between theory and practice, and the roles of teachers and teacher educators in a collaborative project.
[Copyright of Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) at http://www.aare.edu.au]