Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of gender difference on students' creativity when they were trained and used hypermedia authoring in completing a project. Students' performance in the popular Wallach-Kogan Creativity Test was measured before and after the training. The participants were 124 Grade 5 students from a Hong Kong primary school. No significant difference in the posttest and pretest between two sexes was found. The sex by type of question interaction effect was also not significant. Greater improvement was found for fluency and similarities than for the other types of questions. As for the flexibility and uncommonness, the improvement in pattern meanings and line meanings were greater. In the subscale of uniqueness, alternate uses improved much more than the others. It was pleasantly interesting to find a significant effect due to treatment showing an improvement in creativity after the training. The study suggests that information technology such as hypermedia authoring can be integrated into the current computer study curriculum to allow students' construction of their own knowledge and enhance subsequently improving their creativity.

摘要

本研究的目的是探討學生在完成一項超媒體課程後，性別對創造力會否有影響。研究在一所私立小學進行，參與的小五學生共有124人，在參加超媒體課程前後，這些學生均進行華勒與高根的創造力測驗。結果顯示男女學生在試前及試後的測試成績並無分別，性別與試題類別亦無交互作用。學生在流暢性和相同點上有較大的進步，在圖案和線條上的創造力亦比較大。綜觀研究結果，老師可把超媒體製作元素加入課程，令學生能夠提高思維能力，成為知識，從而增強其創造力。

摘要

本研究指出，香港公民教育老師對民族教育的主流理解傾向「文化民族主義教育」，但也混合著「普世性民族主義教育」、「公民民族主義教育」和「反殖民族主義教育」。這種多元混合的民族教育較為理性、包容性強和能與人權、民主相容，有利於香港發展其民族教育。從建構港人國民身分的角度看，主流傾向的「文化民族主義教育」只是集中文化的向度，而欠缺政治向度；單是中華文化身分的認同，而不是國民身分的認同。本文提出結合探討民主和文化的中國，才能全面地回應建構港人國民身分的議題。

Abstract

This paper points out that the dominant understanding of nationalistic education of Hong Kong civic education teachers is education for cultural nationalism. Nevertheless, it also reveals a multiple understandings composed of education for cosmopolitan nationalism, civic nationalism, and anti-colonial nationalism. This eclectic understanding is beneficial to the development of Hong Kong nationalistic education because it is rational, inclusive and compatible with human rights and democracy. The paper argues that the national identity constructed from the education for cultural nationalism focuses only on the cultural aspects but neglects the political aspect of China. This is only the building of a cultural identity but not national identity because there cannot be a complete national identity without a political dimension. It further suggests that the exploration of both cultural and political (democratic) identity is necessary for the cultivation of a complete Chinese national identity.

Abstract

The research on bilingual and second language (L2) immersion education in both Canada and the United States is reviewed with respect to its relevance to language planning in the Hong Kong context. While caution needs to be exercised in generalizing from one context to another, the following conclusions from the North American research are potentially relevant to the implementation of programs in Hong Kong designed to develop bilingualism and biliteracy:

1. A variety of bilingual education models can work effectively under appropriate conditions;

2. Coherent guidelines regarding teacher and student use of L1 and L2 should be in place in order to avoid haphazard and unplanned mixing of both languages in the classroom;

3. Partial bilingual, content-based second language teaching yields far superior results than teaching the target language just as a school subject;

4. Teacher-centered, transmission-oriented instruction entails serious limitations as a means of developing proficiency in the target language within immersion or bilingual programs.

It is argued that effective implementation of bilingual education requires a language planning process not just at the level of central government but also at the level of individual schools. This type of language planning process might enable educators to move towards greater innovation to ensure (1) coherence in policies regarding the use of L1 and L2 in the classroom, (2) effective implementation of content-based English teaching in both English- and Chinese-medium schools, and (3) greater opportunities for students to obtain more extensive input in English (e.g., through wider reading in English) and to use English for higher-order cognitively and linguistically challenging academic activities.

摘要

此篇文章對美加雙語及第二語言沉浸強化教育的研究作出評論並闡述其對香港語言策劃之意義。 雖然不同的情況不能一概而論，但下列對美加情況的研究卻對香港有頗大的啟示，有助於其發展及推行雙語及雙文化教育：

1. 在適當的條件下可運用多種有效的雙語教育模式；

2. 應有一套對全體師生運用第一及第二語言的清晰指引，可令其避免在課堂中胡亂使用混雜語言；

3. 部分以第二語言教授主科比把目標語言（此指第二語言）只當一門科目教授有更出眾效果；

4. 在推行沉浸強化或雙語教育時，如以教師主導、單向傳授方式教授，則會嚴重限制學生發展目標語言的能力。

論者認為如要有效的推行雙語教育，不只在中央政府層面，還須在個別學校層面，都有一個語言計劃。 此種語言計劃將令教育工作者以更多之新思維達至以下效果：（1）對課堂中運用第一及第二語言有一致的政策，（2）無論在英文學校或中文學校都須有效地推行主科英語教授，（3）學生應有更多機會更廣泛地接觸英語，以 及在更高層次的認知及具更高語文難度的學習中運用英語。

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that teachers' subject matter knowledge is crucial to effective teaching, little attention has been paid to what constitutes subject matter knowledge for second language (L2) teaching. The usual practice in L2 teacher education programmes is to treat linguistics and applied linguistics as foundational content studies. The recent recommendation by the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research that language teachers' subject knowledge be strengthened has highlighted the need to define this knowledge more precisely. This paper explores in four parts the nature and acquisition of subject matter knowledge for L2 teaching. Part One presents a few real-life scenarios from L2 classrooms which illustrate the role of subject matter knowledge in language teaching. Part Two reviews two recent overseas policy initiatives that have attempted to specify the subject matter knowledge for language teaching. These attempts are critiqued in Part Three. In light of the unclear link between teachers' knowledge of linguistics and their pedagogical practice and competence, Part Four will argue for, and outline, a language awareness approach to developing L2 teachers' subject knowledge.

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a survey which examines the position of support for Secondary One students in Hong Kong secondary schools where English is the medium of instruction (EMI). Details from the questionnaire are extracted for five specific schools, which represent a cross-section of student adaptation to EMI in early secondary education. The survey results paint quite a varied and complex picture of how EMI schools are tackling the issue of support for their Secondary One students. There is a lot of difference in the types of measures, methods, materials and teaching approaches used. While a lot is being done for Secondary One students in terms of support and teaching materials, these are only one facet in how an EMI school may be deemed to be "successful" with regard to English as the teaching medium. Factors such as the quality of student intake, the degree of parental support and the school's own English culture and policy also need to be considered carefully. The paper concludes that since schools differ in their philosophy and how they approach EMI, suitable measures should be adopted to meet individual needs of schools and thus a broad brush one-size-fits-all approach may not be the only way forward.

Abstract

Research shows that local teachers have difficulty integrating information technology (IT) into their teaching and that less than 10% of teachers have conducted computer-mediated learning activities in their classrooms or used e-mail or the Internet for teaching purposes (CITE, 2001). This article addresses the problem of pedagogical application of IT in English language teaching. The article first surveys common problems experienced by teachers when using IT for classroom teaching, followed by a description of the potential of the Internet as tools for research, communication and publication. The article relates IT use to the local English curriculum and focuses on the components and criterial features of task-based learning through which students are provided with a purposeful context in which to learn and use the target language for meaningful communication. Examples are used to exemplify the application of IT for more interactive learning and teaching at Key Stages 2–4 of the local English language curriculum. The aim is to encourage teachers to make better use of resources available on the Internet and modify the examples suggested for their own classroom use.

Abstract

This article describes the rationale for and production of a printed document implemented via hyperlinked multimedia. The purpose of the multimedia program-which has been incorporated into a tailor-made CD-ROM-is to illustrate and exemplify principles associated with teaching in schools where English is the medium of instruction (EMI). The CD-ROM produced for the purpose of elucidating EMI principles has two focuses. The first of these involves integrating language and content, the second creating an English-rich environment in an EMI school.

The article first examines the position of EMI schools in Hong Kong. It discusses problems associated with an exemplification and discussion of teacher support material in print mode alone. The article then describes how digitised videotaped samples of actual teacher classroom performance have been integrated through a series of HTML pages which run under a Web browser. The multimedia program also contains comments on each videotaped clip that explain and illustrate the purpose and principles of different categories. The article suggests that the accessibility of the print documents to the target group-content subject teachers in EMI schools-will be greatly enhanced by the use of multimedia.

Abstract

This paper describes a reading program conducted to 2 classes of Secondary 1 (Grade 7) ESL students in an English-medium secondary school in Hong Kong, with the aim of cultivating students' thinking skills. The rationale for the program stemmed from the recognition that students suffer from a great lack of ideas as well as the opportunity to engage in more abstract or high-order thinking. The paper first outlines the principles and beliefs in communicative language learning and the "community of inquiry" — where real learning is believed to start from interacting with students, i.e., reading with them age- and interest-relevant story books, and raising thought-provoking questions that relate to their life-world. The paper then describes a program which was conducted with two different groups of students in an attempt to develop their different thinking skills. An evaluation of the program is given and attention is drawn to long-term implications of developing reading lessons that help foster students' critical thinking.

摘要

本文通過對中國大陸中學英語教學大綱、英語課程標準和英語教科書的介紹，向讀者展示近十年來中國大陸的中學英語教學情況，特別是有關大綱、課標和教科書的執行情況，以及目前在這些方面還存在的問題。