This paper looks at the acquisition of articles and related nominal functional properties (the status of classifier, the singular-plural distinction) in English and French by native speakers of Hong Kong Cantonese. Two experimental studies are reported. In the generative SLA literature, there is disagreement as to which properties of the grammar will transfer from the first language (L1) at early stages of L2 acquisition and what the path of subsequent development might look like. We present L1 Cantonese-L2 English as well as L1 Cantonese-L2 English-L3 French data collected from learners of different proficiency levels on a variety of experimental tasks to shed light on these debates. Our findings largely support Full Transfer Full Access, a position that posits strong transfer and no impairment in SLA.
[Copyright of International Journal of Multilingualism is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/ijm041.0]

This paper examines the development of outdoor education in Hong Kong from its colonial roots to the challenges of its uncertain future. The scene is set by a synopsis of Hong Kong's geography, history, economy, and culture. Next, we trace the history of organised outdoor education from the early 1900s to the present day. This is followed by a critical exploration of issues facing youth adventure education programmes and management development programmes. The paper closes with recommendations to return to “real” outdoor courses in natural environments, to raise the standards of training available to outdoor leaders, and finally, to create a governing body that would facilitate inter-organisational learning, raise standards of programme design and delivery, and help build a body of literature that is specific to experiential learning in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14729670585200611]

Both Japan and Hong Kong seek to enhance the English standard of their secondary school students by implementing a native-speaking English teachers scheme, named the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme in Japan and the NET (Native-speaking English Teachers) Scheme in Hong Kong. However, the implications of these programmes seem to be sociopolitical more than educational. As for Japan, JET is a consequence of an explicit political strategy to promote international relationships. The Japanese Government is keen to bring up a generation that is able to understand other countries yet retain Japanese national consciousness. On the surface, the Hong Kong NET Scheme seems to be a more straightforward language improvement programme. However, the Japanese experience suggests another level of analysis. The Hong Kong Government is never as explicit as Japan as to what it wants to achieve through the NET Scheme. Though NET is claimed to be a language improvement scheme, there is no evidence to show how effectively this kind of programme can work in local Hong Kong secondary schools. With a special interest in the ideologies behind the two language improvement programmes, this paper attempts to explore their sociopolitical and cultural meanings beyond their educational surface.
[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/10.1080/07908319908666579]

Vocabulary learning is often perceived as boring by learners, especially for those who grew up in the digital age. This paper reports a study of the usefulness of online games in vocabulary learning for some undergraduate students. Three teachers and 100 engineering students participated in a quasi-experimental study for approximately nine weeks. The experimental group learnt some vocabulary from two carefully selected web sites with games, while the control group learnt the same vocabulary through activity-based lessons. A pre-test and post-test were conducted in the first and ninth weeks. The findings indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group statistically in the post-test. The students in the experimental group generally preferred online learning supplemented with digital educational games to conventional activity-based lessons. The teachers thought highly of the online games, but they expressed concern that extra support was required if the online games were adopted as a core part of their teaching.
[Copyright of Educational Media International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523980600641445]

As a subject in Hong Kong secondary schools, Design & Technology (D&T) is influenced by four factors. First, for many years, the subject of Design & Technology was offered almost exclusively to boys, with girls only being allowed to take Home Economics. Recently however, girls are now having the opportunity to take D&T as a required subject in schools. Second, although some schools have allowed girls to take D&T for several years, some have only just started this practice. As a result, some girls have studied D&T from secondary one to three, while others may only be having their initial experience as a secondary three student. Third, the content and teaching of D&T varies from school to school, and depends on the type of syllabus followed and facilities available. Fourth, not all secondary schools in Hong Kong offer D&T, meaning a large number of both boys and girls have never experienced the subject.
To examine Hong Kong pupils' attitudes toward technology, a Pupils' Attitudes Toward Technology (PATT2-HK) study was conducted with over 2,800 students in 22 secondary schools. This study duplicated the first PATTHK research conducted earlier (Volk & Yip, 1999), and the findings were compared. More specifically, given the immense changes that occurred in just a few short years relating to D&T program availability, facilities, and subject content, this study was undertaken to determine whether or not the proactive measures to ensure that all students have the opportunity to participate in D&T were in fact having a positive impact on pupils' attitudes toward technology. From this PATT2-HK study and examination made of current factors, recommendations as to the impact and future direction of D&T in Hong Kong are made.
[Copyright of Journal of Technology Education is the property of Columbus State University.
Access via Directory of Open Access Journals: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/]

A new instrument was devised to identify misconceptions in biology and probe into the causes of misunderstanding in a relatively quick way. It revealed that novice biology teachers held a number of conceptual errors which were prevalent among secondary school students. They showed serious misunderstandings in cellular metabolism, the nutritional process, gaseous exchange, the circulatory system, homeostasis, reproduction and variation. The problem has been attributed to inadequate mastery of subject knowledge and imprecise use of terminology. Specific teaching strategies were suggested to prevent the propagation of these misconceptions in students. Teacher education programmes should aim at promoting the awareness of teachers as to children's learning difficulties and developing their professional skills in facilitating children's conceptual development.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0950069980200406 ]

This article describes the outcome of a collaborative project between the Hong Kong Institute of Education and four secondary schools that aims to promote the development of scientific investigation skills. The project team designed scientific investigation tasks collaboratively with the teachers and provided school-based support when the tasks were implemented. A total of six teachers and 575 students were involved. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by the students and individual interviews with science teachers about their classroom practice after the completion of the project. The findings suggest that the students did not meet many difficulties and that there were positive influences on students' interest in learning science. The teachers perceived that there were challenges related to raising students' self-regulated learning abilities, structuring tasks that were at appropriate levels of difficulty, and promoting group cooperation among the students. Finally, the article argues that the strategies implemented in this study were effective, though it takes much time and effort to help students develop self-regulated learning abilities. The conclusion suggests that teachers consider these challenges collectively and proposes a two-staged model for planning scientific investigation tasks.
[Copyright of Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics, & Technology Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14926150802169222]

The paper focuses on teachers' cognitions (their beliefs, feelings, and under standings) about subject matter. The teachers discussed in the paper teach English to secondary students in Hong Kong. Their cognitions are all concerned with grammar and grammar pedagogy. Drawing on analyses of quantitative and qualitative data, the paper addresses four questions: 1. Are there associations between particular cognitions about subject matter and specific factors of teacher background? 2. Are there associations between particular cognitions about subject matter and levels of knowledge of subject matter? 3. Are there general patterns in teachers' cognitions about subject matter? 4. Are there patterns of association between teachers' cognitions about subject matter and their perceived pedagogical practice? In relation to the first two questions, survey data from 170 teachers revealed no significant associations between their cognitions about subject matter and such background factors as years of teaching experience and place or subject of first degree. There were, however, interesting patterns of association between the data about the teachers' beliefs and test results indicating those teachers' levels of language proficiency and explicit knowledge of grammar and grammatical terminology. Interviews (supported by classroom observation) were the main source of data relating to the third and fourth questions. Data from 17 teachers revealed patterns of cognitions about subject matter, which appeared to associate with certain pedagogical practices. At the same time, there was considerable variation between individuals. A follow-up paper will examine the uniqueness of the individual teacher's cognitions and of their association with pedagogical practice, using a case-study approach involving classroom data and interview.
[Copyright of Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org