Short Descriptions

An increasing number of universities worldwide have banned the use of ChatGPT due to concerns over academic integrity and cheating. This presents a significant challenge to language education in higher education, particularly in Hong Kong, where traditional assessment methods such as essay writing are still used to evaluate students' communication skills. However, generative AI tools like ChatGPT have disrupted the language assessment process by making it difficult to measure a student's ability accurately. Evaluating the end product, which was previously an indicator of a student's language skills, is no longer sufficient since it is unclear whether they used and to what extent they used these tools. Therefore, I am planning to apply for public policy research funding to investigate the language planning and policy (LLP) in Hong Kong, specifically the use of generative AI in language education. The primary aim of the project (and also the funding purpose) is to investigate how the current education policy inadequately addresses the LLP needs with the introduction of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. I also intend to test the AI's creativity and criticality through systematic observation, using different prompts to demonstrate the limitations of generative AI. While the central discussion in the world has been on the surprising resemblance of these generative AIs to human language, this study may also reveal how they are not quite similar to us (one of the project objectives). I plan to use the multiple case study method, establishing different key stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, and curriculum managers in the higher education sector) as cases. The cases will be mainly constructed through interviews and systematic observations. By comparing and contrasting their understanding of their views and concerns on ChatGPT's creativity and criticality, the project team can achieve the following project goal and objectives: Project Goal: - To make recommendations on policy goals and strategic directions for the use of generative AI in language teaching Project Objectives: - To investigate the current policy and use of generative AI tools in self-financing post-secondary and UGC-funded tertiary language classrooms - To review the policy goals and strategies listed in the Strategy on IT in Education by the Hong Kong Government - To examine the possibilities and limitations of generative AI tools in language education - To propose pedagogical solutions to the challenges posed by the introduction of generative AI The project aligns with the Center for Language Education's mission to provide innovative and effective language education that meets the needs of its students and contributes to the development of language education in the region.

Possible Benefits

The proposed project aims to position the Center for Language Education (CLE) as a leading advisor on the use of generative AI in language teaching within the higher education sector. By conducting research on the current policy and use of generative AI tools in language classrooms in Hong Kong and proposing pedagogical solutions, the project will contribute to the development of effective language education practices that leverage the potential of AI technologies. Through this work, the CLE can establish itself as a thought leader and trusted advisor on the use of generative AI in language teaching, furthering its mission to provide innovative and impactful language education to its students.

Deliverables

1. Project report 2. LLP/Applied Linguistics/Higher Education/TESOL Quarterly or other related Journal publication

The Learning League project aims to study the improvement of language self-efficacy among English as a foreign language (EFL) university students in Hong Kong after delivery English language classes to secondary school students in a 12-week programme. The project adopts a blended learning approach, utilizing the learning-by-teaching pedagogy and gamification to enhance students' motivation and English speaking skills. 13 university students were recruited as student tutors. They received teaching training before teaching English to 63 secondary school students. English speaking-related weekly tasks and selected materials were provided to the student tutors to complete and read before they taught. The language self-efficacy of university students were measured using language self-efficacy scale (Wong, 2005). The programme evaluation showed positive results for the university students' English speaking skills and language self-efficacy. © 2023 International Conference on Higher Education Advances. All rights reserved.

Short Descriptions

COVID-19 has posed many educational challenges to practitioners in Hong Kong and worldwide. It is particularly the case for traditional subjects such as English language, where face-to-face interaction is expected for students to develop their proficiency during which process teachers’ input and feedback play a significant role. The unexpected arrival of the pandemic required a change of teaching mode, where kindergartens, primary and secondary schools had to immediately switch to online teaching for the second half of the school term. Many tertiary institutions started the new semester entirely online, with the timely winter break allowing faculties to prepare for teaching online. Many university language centres have some experience of running online courses, blended learning courses and massive open online courses. They have a distinct advantage as they have historically included a strong element of self-directed language learning online. However, these were not directly applicable to the present situation as such courses are primarily designed to facilitate learners’ autonomy in an asynchronous teaching mode. Similarly, while the government has been supporting the development of e-learning initiatives and sharing the different e-learning and blended learning project outcomes via platforms such as HKedCity since 2000, most schools were not able to utilise many of the online resources: either they were inadequate to address the need for daily teaching, or these resources required certain amount of preparatory work to be done before they could be implemented by the schools. Most course coordinators found themselves in a difficult position due to a lack of prior experience (developing online teaching and assessment materials), with limited reference from sister schools (facing similar unprecedented challenges) and under time pressure (making all decisions in two to three weeks and refraining from major changes thereafter). It is also found that e-learning resources from the HKedCity were rarely used by the post-secondary/tertiary sectors, while the situation was the similar that public schools under EDB rarely utilised e-learning resources developed and provided by the tertiary. Not only language learning was severely affected in all sectors, but also the assessment of learning (for Chinese, English and other language subjects) was found to be more challenging than the other courses. Traditionally, the language courses tend to include the assessment of speaking to assess students’ spoken language competency. However, due to the pandemic, educators had to sacrifice the opportunity to practice and assess students’ spoken language competency as they were incapable to provide trainings and administer assessments of spoken language. Since 2020, the HKDSE had cancelled the Chinese and English speaking assessments for three consecutive years. Be that as it may, this territory-wide education ‘experiment’ has still offered invaluable insights for evaluating online language teaching, including course design and implementation, language learning and assessments, and psychological and physical constraints faced by different stakeholders (at institutional, course and individual levels). In 2020, the government also helped tackle the challenges by immediately allocating different resources and providing various special funding opportunities to accelerate the implementation of e-learning in local schools and invite different parties to submit T&L proposals and suggest new initiatives to tackle the challenges. In our study, we plan to focus on the language policy in Hong Kong and evaluate in what ways the e-learning policy and supports provided by the government were inadequate in all sectors, and how the current policy did not facilitate pedagogic research/SoTL exchange between the tertiary and the non-tertiary sectors. By identifying the primary challenges and the causes faced by different sectors, the project will propose a list of recommendations for the government and other key stakeholders in all sectors to consider not only the future directions of the e-learning initiatives for language learning, but also possible plans for cross-sector exchanges and collaborations. This study will use translanguaging as the research analytical framework to understand how and why certain language planning and policy (LPP) decisions were made at certain times (Li, 2022). For the methodological approach, I plan to use mini-ethnographic case study to compare and contrast 5 cases based on the five education sectors in Hong Kong (kindergarten, primary, secondary, postsecondary, tertiary). Each case will comprise of semi-structure interviews of the primary stakeholders of each sector, and complement with other systematic observations. Reference: Li, W. (2022) Foreword: translanguaging LPP. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education volume 7(43)

Possible Benefits

The outcomes of the project will provide future project directions and be beneficial to facilitate the development of extended curriculum and outreach projects between language centres, and beyond the tertiary sectors.

Deliverables

1. Project report 2. LLP/Applied Linguistics/Higher Education/E-learning related Journal publication

Short Descriptions

Kongish is defined as the Cantonese-English mix used by Hongkongers. When I first defined and explored this term, many including myself attempted to see how this practice fits under the paradigm of World Englishes - seeing Kongish as Hong Kong English, a mix variety-and community-based approach. While this provided a better explanation in explaining some dynamic natures of Kongish, but the theoretical assumption of community often implied the study of a shared practice instead of valuing distinctive features. Therefore, there has been a proposal of paradigm shift from Eckert. His three waves of sociolinguistic variations was used and positioned approaches such as World Englishes (and Hong Kong English in this case) under first and second waves. Eckert’s third wave emphasised how 1) variations constituted a robust semiotic system, 2) meaning of variables gained more specifics in the contexts of style, and 3) variations are both the reflection and the shaping force of social meaning. I noticed that the idea how social meaning was shaped by the variations as a force was often considered as an instantaneous, immediate process but not as a continuous, progressive state. As there has been a paradigm shift from the focus of named languages to the exploration of the practice produced by the speaker/understood by the listener, I explored the concept of languaging, in particularly translanguaging that how this theory may be a suitable approach in responding Eckert’s third wave and provide a better analytical lens for this Kongish project. Citing Li (2011)'s definition of translanguaging, he believed that the idea of translanguaging approach allows researchers to review how different linguistic structures and systems can interact within, and more importantly, beyond systems and structures, without being limited by the boundaries from named languages (such as English, Chinese, Cantonese) (2018), through the study of bilingual’s translanguaging space.

Deliverables

The outcome will be presented in the upcoming Sociolinguistics Symposium 24 and will be submitted for publication.

This paper analyses Kongish Daily, a Facebook page that trans-scripts local news in Hong Kong into a creative and dynamic mix of Cantonese in traditional Chinese characters, Romanisation and made-up characters, simplified Chinese, pinyin, English, Hong Kong English, other phonetic symbols, emoji and other signs and images. We trace the origin of the site and rationale for the Facebook page, and analyse it as a translanguaging phenomenon. The main objective is to understand the political motivations for the Facebook account and the social critique it offers through its dynamic translanguaging practice. In particular, we want to highlight the subversive nature of the translanguaging practice. Methodologically, it develops the participatory linguistics framework, which transformed our own understandings of the phenomenon as well as the cultural politics of translingualism and social media in Hong Kong. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The low English proficiency of Chinese nurse/nursing students affects their performance when they work in English-speaking countries. However, limited resources are available to help them improve their workplace English, i.e. English used in a clinical setting. To this end, it is essential to look for an appropriate and effective means to assist them in improving their clinical English. The objective of this study is to evaluate the learning experience of Chinese nursing students after they have completed an online clinical English course. Focus group interview was used to explore their learning experience. 100 students in nursing programs at Tung Wah College were recruited. The inclusion criteria were: (1) currently enrolled in a nursing program; and (2) having clinical experience. Eligible participants self-registered for the online English course, and were required to complete the course within 3. months. After that, semi-structured interviews were conducted on students whom completed the whole and less than half of the course. One of the researchers joined each of the interviews as a facilitator and an observer. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Finally, 7 themes emerged from the interviews: technical issues, adequacy of support, time requirement, motivation, clarity of course instruction, course design, and relevancy of the course. Participants had varied opinions on the 2 themes: motivation and relevancy of the course. Overall, results of this study suggest that the online English course helped students improve their English. Factors which support their learning are interactive course design, no time constraint, and relevancy to their work/study. Factors which detracted from their learning are poor accessibility, poor technical and learning support and no peer support throughout the course. © 2014.