Abstract

The purposes of the paper were to establish a structure of value of money by a facet approach; to compare the value of money among undergraduates in Hong Kong and China; and to test if there were any gender differences in value of money in the two places. Data were collected from 74 (male = 25, female = 49) undergraduates from two universities in Hong Kong, and 64 (male = 25, female = 39) undergraduates from one university in China. A mapping sentence was constructed to make up a 19-item questionnaire for measuring facets of value of money. The results obtained from Smallest Space Analysis-I (SSA-I) revealed two facets of money: modality and symbolic meaning. A series of t-tests revealed that there were statistically significant differences of value of money between Hong Kong and Chinese students: Hong Kong students scored higher in the symbolic meaning of "money desire" and 'indicator for success/failure" than Chinese students. Further, there were more male students perceived money as "power" and "indicator for success/failure" than female students in both places.

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study of the medium of instruction in the engineering stream at tertiary level in Hong Kong. The article begins with overview of developments in language in Hong Kong education in the post-war period, and then goes on to describe and discuss the small body of research into language use that has been carried out in the territory's universities in the 1990s. The focus of the paper is a study of the use of English, Chinese and Cantonese as media of instruction in an engineering degree course (offered in full-time and part-time modes) at a representative English-medium techincal university in Hong Kong. It was found that English is the main language of written assignments, textbooks and course materials. The findings relating to oral communication are much less clear. English tends to be used by students and lecturers in more formal situations such as lectures, presentations and seminars, while in less formal situations such as tutorials and discussions, Cantonese seems to have an important role. The findings also indicate that both students and lecturers on the part-time course make greater use of English than their counterparts on the full-time course.

Abstract

This study examines the argumentative writing, in English, of Chinese senior secondary school students from a sociolinguistic perspective. Students in the sample wrote persuasive essays which were analysed for evidence of writers' ability to demonstrate audience awareness through the use of metadiscourse markers. Audience awareness is accepted as a major determinant of quality in argumentative writing, serving as an indicator of writing maturity. Findings suggest that frequency and range of metadiscourse features are indicative of L2 writers' audience awareness. Our examination showed that the majority of students demonstrated a cursory awareness of alternative views or were entirely egocentric in their focus.

A secondary concern of this study is the relationship between adolescent L2 writers' audience awareness and the quality of their compositions. Findings suggest a moderate relationship between these two variables. The paper takes account of the arguments of those who challenge the stereotypical views of Asian L2 writers as reproductive, rote learners, rarely engaging in critical thought and writing. It concludes with implications for teaching writing to L2 students at secondary and tertiary levels, both in Australia and overseas.

Abstract

Many speculations have been made concerning what contributes to success in learning L2. Two of the factors involved are the learner's opinions of what is important to success in learning L2 and the strategies they actually employ. This study is an investigation into the beliefs and strategies of Hong Kong students in learning English. It is an attempt to find out if there is any relationship between the two factors and whether they are related to language proficiency. The subjects under study included 529 Year One degree students at one of the tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, and the instrument for data collection was a questionnaire adapted from Wen (1993) based mainly on the three issues relevant to the language learning process discussed in Stern (1986; 1992). Findings of the study have revealed a consistent relationship between language learning beliefs and strategies as well as other complicated relationships between them. Moreover, language learning beliefs and strategies related to high English proficiency have been identified. These findings not only provide valuable information to Hong Kong teachers in improving their teaching, but also throw light on the three controversial issues put forward by Stern.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the motivations of two groups of adult learners participating in higher education in Hong Kong. A 51-item scale was constructed to measure the major motivational factors of adult learners. In addition, this study attempts to understand the influence of social-influence factors on motivations of participation. Results show that certain social-influence variables, including "Working Relations" and "Get a Degree," explain quite well the motivational factors identified. Although certain motivational factors still need personal variables to explain, it is confirmed that social-influence variables should be included in the framework of adult education participation.

Abstract

Following its aspiration to develop an excellent educational system, creativity appears gradually as a component of education in Singapore. In June 1997 the "Thinking Schools" concept was announced outlining teacher roles in fostering creative thinking. This paper investigated student teachers' perceptions of teacher roles in enhancing students' creativity in the classrooms. 140 student teachers participated in a paper-and-pencil survey rating teacher characteristics that were important for fostering creativity of primary school students and secondary school students on a 9-Likert scale. The student teachers perceived that primary teachers who can help foster primary students' creativity are those who possess basic pedagogical skills, creative disposition, interpersonal disposition and classroom management skills. They regarded that secondary teachers who can help foster students' creativity are those who possess creative disposition and skills, as well as know-how for fostering thinking skills, social skills and pedagogical skills. The student teachers' different perceptions of teacher roles in fostering creativity of primary and secondary school students were discussed.

Abstract

In 1996 the authors of this paper published a set of skills related to the use of computer technologies which teachers in Singapore schools should have to be considered "IT competent." However, since that time, the changes to the Singapore education system have moved particularly rapidly, and have produced increased demands on teachers to upgrade their technology skills and practices. These changes in school IT use in Singapore — due to new governmental policies, improved state-of-the-art pedagogical practices, and technological advancements — have all contributed to the need for a revised set of IT competencies for teachers. The need for the establishment of IT competencies in Britain and US has proceeded independently from but parallel to Singapore, and a summary of their efforts here provides points of comparison. The resulting competencies for Singapore teachers are classified into three general developmental levels. In the Acquisition stage, teachers build up foundation IT skills and become comfortable with IT jargon, and with the use of general IT productivity tools. In the Application stage, teachers become more knowledgeable about how to select and evaluate CBL (computer-based learning), and to integrate IT into their lessons. In the final stage, Innovation, the teachers become very adept using computers, even to the extent they can author their own multimedia materials for use in their classes, and to design and maintain their own instructional web sites. Issues of how to deliver training and how to assess these skills, though of secondary interest in this paper, as also briefly discussed.

Abstract

With the increasing number of programs and services for gifted students in Hong Kong, it is recognized that gifted students do have unique social and emotional needs in addition to their specific learning needs. The critical need for counseling services as an integral component of gifted programs is examined by reviewing the recent greater emphasis of providing counseling services for gifted students in North America, and the problems and issues specific to counseling gifted students in Hong Kong. The relevant issues include self-concept and self-definitional problems, heightened emotional sensitivity and overexcitability, perfectionism, underachievement, and multipotentiality. Implications of the development of counseling services for the gifted in the context of the whole school approach to guidance and counseling in Hong Kong are discussed.

Abstract

近年來香港社會人士對於本港學生的中文程度非常關注。本文的目的在探討課程結構與中文學習的關係，並分析現行國內沿海版初中語文教材的特點，以供本港熱心中文教育的人士參考，以期能對提高本港學生的中文能力有所幫助。本文的重點主要有下列各點：

1. 課程結構與中文科學習的關係；

2. 中文科的學科結構與教學元素；

3. 國內沿海版初中中文教學課程簡介；

4. 沿海版初中中文教材對香港中學中文枓課程發展的啟示。

摘要

In recent years, the Hong Kong people are very much concern about the students' standard of Chinese. The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between the curriculum structure and the learning of Chinese. In addition, it tries to analysis the characteristics of the South East Coast Version of the junior secondary school text in the Chinese Mainland, to provide some reference to those who concern about the teaching and learning of Chinese in Hong Kong. This article mainly deals with the following points:

1. The relationship between curriculum structure and the learning of Chinese;

2. The structure of Chinese subject and its studying elements;

3. Introduction on the South East Coast Version of the junior secondary school text in the Chinese Mainland, and

4. The revelation of the South East Coast Version of the junior secondary school text in Chinese Mainland to the secondary school Chinese curriculum development of Hong Kong.

Abstract

本文探討了我國發展計算機輔助教學（computer-assisted instruction, CAI）課件的歷史經驗和面臨的困難，論述了我國學校課堂CAI正在經歷的第二次重要轉折：從課件思想到積件思想的轉折。討論了積件的特點及其對教學改革的影響，提出了發展我國新一代課堂教學積件的建議。

摘要

This paper researched the characteristics of Courseware and puts forward a new thought integrableware theory in CAI. It discusses the influences to the educational reform made by integrableware and concludes the characteristics of integrableware. A proposal about development strategy of integrableware in China was tabled.