This paper aims to show that the implementation of school-based assessment (SBA) has proved to have positive impact on the performance of students in the public oral examination. An SBA component was introduced to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination English Language Examination in 2007. This consists of a reading / viewing programme where students need to read / view texts, write up some comments and personal reflections, and then take part in a discussion with classmates on the texts they have read / viewed, or make an individual presentation and respond to questions. The assessment is based on the student’s oral performance. The 2007 experience has shown that the speaking ability of students can be reliably assessed in school by their own teachers. Statistically, the SBA component has proved to be as reliable as the speaking examination. The beneficial washback of SBA can be seen in the results of the speaking examination. Candidates from schools that submitted SBA marks had a lower absentee rate than candidates from schools not submitting SBA marks. They also performed better in the speaking examination.
本文旨在顯示推行校本評核證實對學生在公開考試的口試表現有正面影響。香港中學會考英國語文科在2007年引進校本評核，學生須閱讀或閱覽各種文本，包括小說類及非小說類的書籍及影片，並寫下評論及個人感想，然後與同學進行小組討論，或作個人短講並回答提問。旨在評核學生的說話能力。根據2007年的體驗，老師能可靠地評核學生的說話能力。統計資料亦顯示校本評核和口試的信度相若。校本評核的正面影響可見於公開口試的成績 ，於進行校本評核的學校就讀的考生缺席率較低，成績也較佳。
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

不少文獻顯示全語文學習，可以促地幼兒的語文發展，尤其對提升語文學習的興趣有莫大幫助 · 本文建基於實語研究 · 旨在探討幼稚園全語文學習的成效，並提出建議 · 以求提升幼兒語文學習的效能。
Whole Language Learning as indicated by literature is a way of nurturing language development of children, especially in increasing the interest of language learning. Based on empirical research, this paper attempts to examine the effectiveness of Whole Language Learning in the context of kindergarten education and to suggest ways to improve language ability of children.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

Most teachers believe that providing students with effective feedback on their writing is vital as it helps students to correct their own mistakes and be more independent writers, which will in turn train them to become better writers. However, some research studies on the effectiveness of teacher feedback on ESL students' writing report a grim picture (Hendrickson, 1980; Semke, 1984; Robb et. al, 1986; Truscott, 1996) as teachers' feedback does not seem helpful for students to improve their writing. This paper presents the results of a classroom research study that examines factors that affect the effectiveness of teacher feedback by analyzing students' preferences for and responses to teacher feedback on their writing. It is suggested that the ineffectiveness of teacher feedback may not lie in the feedback itself, but in the way how feedback is delivered to students. The study also provides several implications for teachers when giving effective feedback to students.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

This is a report on an action research project which investigates the extent to which dictation can help pupils learn English as their second language in a local government-subsidized Chinese primary school. It documents a teacher-initiated, classroom-based action research which turned English dictation exercises from the traditional types into innovative ones in three upper primary classes. Respondents came from a sample of 97 average-ability pupils from three primary four to six classes in the school. The researcher compared pupils' perspectives before and after the study and reported the consequent changes in pupils' perceptions of their dictation lessons. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through two sets of structured questionnaires, two semi-structured interviews and teacher's class observation.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

本研究以行動研究方式，探討英文科說話教學的設計與實施對提升學生學習的動機和說話能力的影響。過程中，教師亦反思如何可以透過調整教學策略和選材， 提升學生英語說話能力和自信心。研究對象來自其中一位研究員所任教的四年級學生，資料收集方式包括︰學生填答問卷、深入訪談、課堂錄影、研究日誌、諍友的觀課和分析學生習作。研究發現教師若能夠在教學的過程中不斷反思，因應畢生的特性和掌握程度，調節教學的設訓，有助提升學生說英語的信心和動機。要提高學生講英語的信心，有以下四個重要因素：選取教學活動要切合學生的能力、學生要有自主性、良好的師生的關係和教師對教學工作的投入。研究亦發現適應學生的個別差異，教師要提供多元化的教學設計和給予學生自由繼擇的空問。此外，研究結果亦指出，透過行動研究有助教師的專業成長。
This action research project investigated the effects of a teacher's instructional design and implementation on students' motivation and development in the teaching and learning of English Language speaking skills, as well as the teacher's reflection on the whole process. The subjects of the study were Primary Four students taught by one of the investigators. Data was collected from student questionnaires, in-depth interviews, lesson video recordings, research logs, lesson observations by critical friends, and students' work. The study found that sustained teacher reflection for ongoing instructional adaptations in light of learners' characteristics and progress is conducive to raising students' motivation and self-confidence. Four crucial factors for raising students' confidence in speaking English were identified: instructional activities that match learners' ability; promotion of learner initiatives; a good teacher-student relationship; and teacher commitment. The study has also confirmed the need for flexible and open instructional design in catering for individual differences, and the positive contributions of action research to teachers' professional development.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]

This study examined the roles of sub-character processing, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and orthographic knowledge, measured using twelve different tasks hypothesized to indicate these four broad constructs, in Chinese character recognition and English word reading among 536 Hong Kong Chinese kindergartners, second- and fifth-graders. The twelve tasks generally showed an increase in performance with grade level. Confirmatory factor analyses comparing alternative models of these four constituents of Chinese word reading revealed a dynamic pattern of children's latent linguistic or reading processing skills development: The best-fitting model of kindergartners' processing was one that included two broad constructs, broadly termed metalinguistic processing and orthographic processing. In contrast, second-graders showed a fine-grained sensitivity to four distinct skills of sub-character processing, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and orthographic knowledge. Finally, the latent processing skills of the fifth-graders converged into phonological and orthographic processing. The contributions of each of these initially specified constructs, i.e., sub-character processing, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and orthographic knowledge, to Chinese word reading varied across each separate grade in regression analyses. The sub-character processing construct was uniquely associated with kindergarten Chinese word reading only. In contrast, the morphological awareness construct was uniquely associated with Chinese word reading in both second- and fifth-graders. The orthographic knowledge construct was uniquely associated with word reading across ail three grades. However, the phonological awareness construct was not uniquely associated with Chinese word reading in any of the groups of children, though it was uniquely associated with English word reading, even with Chinese character recognition skill statistically controlled. These findings