The study investigates a relationship between what is looked up about new words when different kinds of information are available and how well these words are remembered. The dictionary information has been incorporated into a CALL programme which was comprised of a text, highlighted low-frequency words, and access to different lexical information about these words (explanation in English, translation into L1, sound, root, and "extra" information).
The subjects were English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university learners in Hong Kong and Israel. The target words examined for incidental learning were 12 low frequency words. Pre-tests showed that they were unfamiliar to most subjects. The subjects were asked to read the text on the screen and understand it so that they could take a comprehension test after reading it. Unknown words could be looked up in the CALL dictionary built into the programme. During the task, log files registered every selection of dictionary information. After task completion, subjects were unexpectedly tested on meaning recall of the target words.
Recall data were analysed (ANOVAs, repeated measures, and correlations) to establish possible connections between retention and lookup behaviour (type of information selected, and number of lookups for each word). Results suggest that different people have different lookup preferences and that the use of multiple dictionary information seems to reinforce retention. The teaching implication is, therefore, to provide a variety of lookup options catering to different lookup preferences in paper or CALL dictionaries when assigning tasks that involve reading comprehension and understanding of unfamiliar words.
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There has been a lack of research on the relationship between metacognitive language-learning strategies (MCLLSs) and language-learning motivation (LLM) among Chinese-speaking ESL learners in Hong Kong. This article reports the results of a survey of the relationships between the use of MCLLSs and LLM among Chinese-speaking ESL learners at a vocational education institute in Hong Kong. The aims of the study were to identify the patterns of the use of MCLLSs and LLM of the learners and to explore the relationships between the two variables. A survey questionnaire containing items on MCLLSs of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) as well as items on integrative and instrumental motivation from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMBT) were administered to 192 ESL learners at the institute. Findings indicate that 'Paying Attention', 'Finding out language learning' and 'Self-monitoring' were of the high use range, while all the other strategies including 'Self-evaluation', 'Setting goals and objectives' 'Seeking practice opportunities' and 'Organizing' were of the medium use range. Respondents' level of LLM in general was found to be moderate, and respondents were more instrumentally than integratively motivated. Results indicate that the levels of the use of MCLLSs are positively related to the levels of motivation of respondents, with integrative motivation having a stronger relationship with strategy use than instrumental motivation and total motivation. Results from stepwise regression show that integrative but not instrumental motivation predict the levels of strategy use. The conclusion of this study is that LLM is positively related to the use of MCLLSs, and integrative motivation is a predictor of the use of MCLLSs. The inadequacies of Gardner's (1985) dichotomous classification in measuring LLM are discussed, and implications for how to promote LLM in the local and other Asian contexts in order to bring about more use of MCLLSs are suggested.

This paper poses a modified Rogers (1995) model for the Innovation-Decision Process for designing in-service programmes for educational innovation. The proposal emerges from a study of eight in-service teachers struggling to implement an innovation - the process approach to teaching English writing in Hong Kong secondary schools over the course of a year. The findings appear to (1) substantiate the five stages described in the Rogers Model - Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation and Confirmation - and (2) reveal complexities in an Implementation Stage when it is applied in the educational context which were not defined in the Rogers Model. The Implementation Stage is classified into four phases - Experiment, Adjustment, Mastery and Personalisation. Each phase is characterised by its own emerging phenomena and copying strategies. These findings provide a theoretical framework and principles for designing in-service programmes to address a process for change which would deepen teaching skills as will as the successful implementation of innovation.
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Science fiction in language classes can be very motivating for students. The stories frequently contain social dilemmas and conflicts. Such reading demands personal responses from readers. A college EFL course using science fiction texts and films can help students whose imminent concern is not only language proficiency, but also the culture of an English-speaking world. This paper presents two responses in the author's EFL classes on helping students find joy in reading and thereby enhancing language skills through different activities, including the use of films. It was found that a lecture approach would not favour some Hong Kong students who have not had any literature training. On the other hand, a more student-oriented approach which values students' opinions made a significant difference. Such information is useful to other EFL programmes in English-speaking countries, and to an introductory literature course where there are EFL members in class.
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Despite the fact that Hong Kong is now a part of China, there are differences between Hong Kong and the main land, especially in terms of the education system, school environment, and learning culture,and learner proficiency level of English. Based on interviews with ten secondary school teachers, the paper discusses the difficulties caused by the recent influx of children from China into Hong Kong. Firstly, there are difficulties for the immigrants themselves. They have to search for a school that will accept the children, and the children are often rejected because their English is not good enough. Secondly, there are difficulties for the classroom teacher. Added to the problems of teaching through English,there are now additional problems with the Chinese children, such as different first languages and no single lingua franca. And there are difficulties for the schools, for example, caused by the lack of systematic admission procedures, and insufficient support for schools and teachers in this respect.The paper makes a number of observations and recommendations that may help to alleviate the situation.
[Copyright of Language, Culture and Curriculum is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07908319908666580]