This study aims at identifying effective metacognitive teaching strategies (MTSs) in the Chinese Language that can enhance students’ reading comprehension abilities. Learning to learn is the common theme of education reform in Shanghai and Hong Kong since the 21st century. It implies that schools have to train students to become self-regulated learners since the new millennium. However, empirical literature using classroom observation to identify MTSs in a natural environment is scant. Such an approach of study can provide useful results to support student reading abilities within the Chinese-speaking regions. Therefore, this study attempts to fill the research gap. There are three research questions of this study:Q1 What metacognitive teaching strategies are used by the Shanghai and Hong Kong teachers to develop students’ reading comprehension skills in the Chinese Language?Q2 Are the metacognitive teaching strategies used by the teachers of the two regions suggest any similarities and/or differences?Q3 What are the factors that may contribute to teachers’ use of metacognitive teaching strategies?A cross-case analysis was employed in this study to identify teachers’ strategies and the factors that influence teachers’ instruction. The study compared the case studies of Shanghai and Hong Kong teachers’ classroom teaching and explored teachers’ metacognitive teaching factors. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Two schools from Shanghai and two from Hong Kong took part in the research. In each school, two teachers and about 70 students from two separate classes participated. Data were collected in multiple methods of inquiry, including questionnaires, lesson observation, and open-ended interviews. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted to identify MTSs for teaching the Chinese language. Questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the influencing factors of teachers’ use of instructional strategies. This research adopted NVivo to code

香港教育局編製的《香港小學學習字詞表》是小學寫字教學的重要參考材料，也是廣大小學老師判別字形對錯的依歸。教師根據《字詞表》教學時卻出現不少問題，最具爭議是《字詞表》的字形與日常所見不同；而部分教師批改錯字的尺度亦飽受家長及社會人士非議。本文以文獻研究方法，梳理《字詞表》所收字形，發現當中不無可商榷之處；加上該表所收與臺灣標準不同，不同電腦字體之間亦有差異，以致書籍、網頁字形不統一，令教學倍添困難。部分教師只遵從《字詞表》，矯枉過正，令小學生失去學習中文的興趣。本文認為必須仿效中國及臺灣頒布具法律效力的「規範漢字表」；各大學的教育學院也應為小學老師提供更全面文字學訓練。"Lexical Lists for Learning in Hong Kong Primary Schools" compiled by the Education Bureau is an important reference material for Chinese handwriting teaching in primary schools, and it is also the basis for the majority of primary school teachers to judge between right or wrong of the Chinese Characters. However, many problems occur when teachers use the "Lexical Lists" to teach. The most controversial aspect is that the form of the "Lexical Lists" is different from the common ones. Some teachers' standards for correcting lexical errors are also criticized by parents and the community. This article adopts the method of literature research to sort out the character forms collected in the "Lexical Lists". It is found that the characters and guidelines of the "Lexical Lists" are not indisputable. Besides, some characters in the "Lexical Lists" are different from Taiwanese standards. Varieties may be found in different computer fonts, resulting in inconsistent lexises in books and web pages, which makes teaching more difficult. Some teachers strictly follow the "Lexical Lists" and over-corrections make primary students lose their interest in Chinese learning. It is believed that it is necessary to promulgate a "Standard Chinese Character List" like Mainland China and Taiwan. In addition, more comprehensive Chinese philology training for primary school teachers should be provided in education institutes. Copyright © 2021 國立臺灣師範大學國文學系.

This mixed-methods study investigates whether and to what extent positive psychology constructs (classroom enjoyment, grit, and growth mindset) and Extramural English predict primary school students’ willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) both in the classroom (a fictitious but common setting for English communication among English as an Foreign Language [EFL] students) and outside the classroom (a natural and increasingly prevalent environment for EFL communication). We collect and analyze survey data from 160 EFL primary school students in Hong Kong (ages 6–13 years old). Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that L2 WTC in the classroom is predicted by classroom enjoyment, grit, and Extramural English. A slightly different picture emerges outside of the classroom, with grit, growth mindset, and Extramural English predicting L2 WTC. Semi-structured interviews (N = 8) confirm and elaborate on the quantitative findings. Our findings suggest that through grit- and Extramural English-integrated intervention programmes, EFL teachers can improve young learners’ L2 WTC both inside and outside the classroom. Furthermore, teachers can improve young learners’ L2 WTC in the classroom by creating a positive learning environment, while also improving their L2 WTC outside of the classroom by cultivating their growth mindset system. Copyright © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.