Faculty Publications and Conference Presentations

Short Descriptions

With the continuous development of internet technology, online education has gradually become a new type of teaching mode (Anderson, 2004). In this context, the Chinese government began to implement the ‘Online Education and Research Network Demonstration Project’ in 1994 (Zhang and Han, 2005). As of March 2021, China has set up 68 colleges and universities with supplementary or elective courses for modern online education courses, and the coverage of online education has reached 31 provinces, autonomous prefectures, and municipal districts across China (Cao, 2021). The development and promotion of online education frees students and teachers from the restrictions of regions, countries and environments. Also, in online education, educators and students seem to face fewer restrictions, especially in the areas of creativity and autonomy (Vanslambrouck, et al., 2018). However, a part of students and educators have doubts about the quality and efficiency of online courses. It has been suggested that online courses impact the teacher-student relationship. In addition, there are concerns that other issues, such as evaluation, interaction, time, location, and participation, may alter the teacher-student dynamic (Kang, Wu and Fu, 2006).

Possible Benefits

This project explores the influence of online education on the relationship between teachers and students in higher education institutions in mainland China using quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative research will measure factors such as the communication platforms and the expectations surrounding the teacher-student relationship. In addition, the qualitative research will consider factors such as course types and if subject choices have positive or negative impacts on the relationship between teachers and students in Chinese higher education institutions. In accordance with the results of the quantitative and qualitative research, the project will make recommendations that could help improve the relationship between teachers and students in an online learning environment.

Deliverables

Research paper presentation at the International Conference on Education in Hawaii in January 2023

The inventor of Motion Pictures Thomas Edison was widely quoted as saying in 1913: “Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools. Scholars will be instructed through the eye. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years”. Almost a century later motion pictures are yet to be the dominant source of classroom instruction. We still rely on the physical presence of a teacher to provide instruction.  In the last years of the pandemic, we have seen an acceleration of digital media and online instruction; clearly, Thomas Edison overestimated the complete proliferation of film/ audiovisual media in education.

It is my scholarship endeavour to explore in-depth how social and technological development has made possible the emergence of new pedagogical theories that favour the inclusion of films in third language teaching. As a means to explore this topic, I recently collaborated on a course conducted in Spain by the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona “A dive into Contemporary Spanish Culture and History through Film”. The main objective was to analyze, review and critique the impact that cinematic representations have had on the construction of an imaginary identity contrasting them with the individual experiences of foreign and Spanish Students to understand a more inclusive, extensive and complex image of Spanish Cultural diversity.  I shared and presented my views on the perception and popularism of Spanish and Hispanic culture in Hong Kong. This forms the foundation of exploratory research on my forthcoming presentation and possibly a paper on the topic.

It is the opinion of some scholars that the use of audio-visual media in education as a whole has been forced and brought about by the multimodal communication in which we find ourselves immersed. This has resulted in bringing with it new literacies or multi-literacies that add a contribution significant to the traditional focus on verbal literacy. The use of film in relation to pragmatics; as a tool and effective teaching method is widely recognized by an array of scholars: (Atherton, 2013; Chang & Cryer, 2009; Engert & Spencer, 2009; Gregg, Hosley, Weng & Montemayor, 1995; Paddock, Terranova & Giles, 2001; Tognozzi, 2010). This particular format of teaching to undergraduate students through feature films has been used in courses on introductory Social Psychology, Political Sociology, Family, Social Stratification, Collective Behaviour and Mass Communications (Smith, 1982).

In determining the benefits of the use of films in the development of linguistic and cultural knowledge and in the promotion of cognitive abilities; one must bear in mind that the use of films in the classroom has not always been easy, or welcome and has its detractors. We have to consider and identify the historical obstacles this mode of teaching has had in being used widely and effectively.

There is no doubt about the benefits of the inclusion of films as an important tool in teaching languages.  Films are a cultural asset, a means of artistic education, a fact of social communication, an industry, an object of commerce, widely used in teaching, study and research. Today there is a recognition by universities; a reflection of the pulse of the relevance of films in third language education. This is reflected in the subtle change of attitude and the inclusion of films in teaching as referenced in some important documentation such as the: Common European Framework of Reference and the curricular plan of the Cervantes Institute.

Much of the work has been focused on EFL (English as a Foreign Language). I believe the same principle applies to the application of “Pragmatics” in any language. Using films in third language teaching is not new. Kutuzuova (1982) places more emphasis on the use of films than on reading passages or stories because films offer richer material for listening and speaking. Massi and Merino (1996) emphasized that giving visual messages a place in the classroom is interesting and entertaining for the learners, provides them with an opportunity to ask more questions, and offers a refreshing change of routine.

Given all the above scholarship research; it is my aim to delve deeper into this topic with a specific focus on improving the instruction of third language courses with the objective of providing learners with a richer, more comprehensive learning experience.  Through collaboration and a sharing of best practices, I hope my endeavour assists my peers and fellow linguists.

REFERENCES:

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. 1996. Standards for foreign language learning: Preparing for the 21st Century.

Atherton, M. (2013). Teaching through film: Utilizing popular criminology in the

classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 24(2), 77-99.

Chang, T. F. H., & Cryer, M. T. (2009). Popcorn and Politics: Teaching politics

through film. Labor Studies Journal, 34(3), 408-414.

Engert, S., & Spencer, A. (2009). International relations at the movies: Teaching and

learning about international politics through film. Perspectives, 17(1), 83-103.

Gregg, V. R, Hosley, C. H., Weng, A., & Montemayor, R. (1995). Using films to

remote active learning in the college classroom. Proceeding of the Annual

Conference on Undergraduate Teaching of Psychology, 32-43. Ellenville, NY.

International Journal of Instruction, January 2021, Vol.14, No.1

Kutuzova, G.I. (1982). Criteria for Choosing of Informative and Cognitive

Films. Moscow.

Lay, T. (2009). The effects of videotape sources on language learning.

Multilingual, 12, 26-38.

Massi, M. & Merino, A. (1996). Films and EFL. What's Playing in the Language

Classroom? English Teaching Forum. Vol. 34 No 1.

Paddock, J. R., Terranova, S., & Giles, L. (2001). SASB goes Hollywood: Teaching

personality theories through movies. Teaching of Psychology, 28(2), 117-121.

The New London Group; Group, The New London (1996). "A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures". Harvard Educational Review. 66 (1): 60–93.

The New York Dramatic Mirror (1913), The Evolution of the Motion Picture: VI – Looking into the Future with Thomas A. Edison by Frederick James Smith, Page 24, Column 3, New York. (Old Fulton.

Tognozzi, E. (2010). Teaching and evaluating language and culture through film.

Italica, 69-91.

Smith, D. D. (1982). Teaching Undergraduate Sociology through Feature Films.

Teaching Sociology, 10(1), 98–101.

Washburn, G. N. (2001). Using situation comedies for pragmatic language teaching

and learning. TESOL Journal 10(4), 21-26.

Zyubanov, V. Y. (2003). Using multimedia technologies during the English as a

second language classes based on "LINGUIST" complex.

Short Descriptions

Multimodal collaborative writing has become increasingly prevalent in the advent of technology-enhanced language learning, yet scant attention was paid to the verbal and on-screen interactions between learners during the construction process. This study narrows the research gap and investigates three pairs of EFL learners’ interactions when completing a multimodal collaborative writing task in an English for Academic Purpose (EAP) course. Using a multiple case-study approach, I intend to examine the dynamics of peer interactions through their interaction patterns, utilization of semiotic and multimodal resources and functions of languaging.

Short Descriptions

The TLIP gamification grant team will review the pilot of the Course 3 electives (LANG 1003, Spring 2022) and start revising the electives for Spring 2023 (CORE 1403).

Possible Benefits

A key objective for this project is to create new and innovative materials that make the best use of technological and pedagogical practices for the blended learning format in Course 3. The project will explore how gamification provides intrinsic motivation to complete online tasks and activities as well as to introduce and synthesize core competencies and learning areas in the course.

Deliverables

A report reviewing LANG 1003 Spring 2022 electives; a plan (with CEI) for Fall 2022 revisions of Articulate files; some revisions of Articulate files.

Short Descriptions

The Project will officially end on Jul 31, 2022. As it has been fully implemented in LABU2060 in the Spring term, some evaluation and research work is to be completed. CLE colleagues will be involved in the evaluative process, and I'll also work with a student helper to finish the outstanding tasks regarding the app and the project's website improvements.

Deliverables

- Conducting field observations, and individual and focus group interviews to collect more in-depth student users' views. - Writing a report to document research findings - Presenting at CUHK Community of Practice Symposium of Education Innovation and Technology 2022 and 2022 HKUST's Teaching and Learning Symposium, and CLE EYE - Attending an interview for the TLIP Project an inter-institutional collaborative project with CUHK, HKBU, and CityU

Multimodal collaborative writing has become increasingly prevalent in the advent of technology-enhanced language learning, yet scant attention was paid to the verbal and on-screen interactions between learners during the construction process. This study narrowed the research gap and investigated three pairs of EFL learners’ interactions when completing a multimodal collaborative writing task in an English for Academic Purpose (EAP) course at a university in Hong Kong. Using a multiple case-study approach, we examined the dynamics of peer interactions through their interaction patterns, utilization of semiotic and multimodal resources and functions of languaging. Our analyses showed that the three pairs enacted strikingly distinct patterns of interaction, with the more collaborative partners demonstrating a variety of prompting and feedback skills to facilitate their discussion. Surprisingly, all of them had strong tendency to attend to the texts rather than multimodal elements during the writing process. Another striking finding is that even non-collaborative partners occasionally engaged in various forms of private speech to keep track of the writing process.  Implications of these findings on fostering peer collaborations during multimodal CW are discussed.  

Short Descriptions

It is now commonplace for oral presentations to be recorded. Teachers record student presentations for grading and feedback as a regular practice. Students often have access to their own presentations in video format for reflection. It is also easy for students to use videos in rehearsals to serve as a basis for further improvements. Applications such as VEO provides a means to track important moments in a video so that personal and peer review can be built on. There has also been the emergence of automatic feedback tools, such as Speaker Coach of Microsoft, that might offer assistance to speaking skills training. Despite this wide availability of various technologies, it would still seem that teachers and students are not fully making use of such tools. A reason could be teachers themselves are too busy to learn about the technologies available. Another is ways to integrate such technologies into day-to-day teaching have yet to be found. Such integration also has to be attractive to students so that they are willing to use it. It is with these considerations that the scholarship project is proposed. The researchers intend to survey existing technologies that can be used to review / reflect on oral presentation performances and thus to explore the usefulness of different tools by applying some of them to review student oral presentations of LANG2030/H. The study will also explore oral presentation skills that specifically address the strengths and shortcomings of year 2 engineering students.

Possible Benefits

Findings of the study can inform the course development of LANG2030.

Deliverables

Summer EYE - short paper session

Summary of the Article

COVID-19 has influenced teaching all across the globe. The massive use of online learning has created a problem with teachers because of the differences between face-to-face teaching and online teaching. In this chapter, a discussion on how traditional face-to-face teaching differs from online teaching will be shown. How education in Hong Kong is affected by COVID-19 is also summarized. Additionally, the result of a case study in a linguistics course in a university in Hong Kong will be shown to demonstrate the attitudes of students regarding online learning. The mixed-method case study, which consists of survey data of 100 students and semi-structured interviews of eight students, showed that students hold a general mixed feeling towards online learning because of its drawbacks, such as lack of interactions despite the convenience that online learning provides. This chapter ends with a list of suggestions for online teachers.

Reference

Chan, K. L. R. (2021). What teachers should and shouldn’t do during online teaching: A case study in university setting. In C. H. Xiang (Ed.), Trends and Developments for the Future of Language Education in Higher Education (pp. 166-186). IGI. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7226-9.ch009

This article is available at HKUST library.

Have you ever come across a student who can speak with impressive fluency and accuracy or write with complex sentences and advanced vocabulary but is unable to grasp the nature of a task and cannot accomplish the goal as required by the assessment?   If you have, you may be looking at an issue with ‘functional adequacy’ (FA).  

FA can be understood as “the degree to which a learners’ performance is more or less successful in achieving the task’s goals efficiently” (Pallotti, 2009, p. 596) as well as “knowledge and employment of both linguistic and interactional resources in social contexts” (Révész et al., 2016, as cited in Bui and Wong, 2021). These definitions challenge the assumption that a student’s L2 performance is largely a matter of linguistic competence.  Without FA, a student, however proficient in the target language, may flail or even fail in pragmatic communication.

In order to link this pragmatic competence to the choice and quality of linguistic forms produced by a L2 student, there has been calls from TBLT (task-based language teaching) researchers (Pollatti, 2009, Kuiken & Vedder, 2017) to add FA as a separate component to the measurement of L2 performance in the widely accepted CAF (complexity, accuracy and fluency) and the more recently proposed CALF (complexity, accuracy, lexis and fluency) framework.   In so doing, the existing CALF framework will expand and become CALFFA where FA can be measured by “content, task requirements, comprehensibility and coherence and cohesion” (Kuiken & Vedder, 2017).  However, this latest framework is considered by some as merely a way to address FA in principle within the controlled environment of an assessment and there are bound to be issues to be dealt with once it is to be gauged in more ‘real-life’ communication.  Some issues with FA that linguist Bui (2021) has identified include whether and how a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic context may affect one’s FA and whether the generalized social appropriateness and a single idealized form as acquired in the classroom may affect one’s FA adversely over the long run and if so, how it can be corrected. 

To understand these issues, I participated in an investigation with a linguistic professor in a sister university this summer.  In this investigation, eight university students were asked to spot and describe the differences between two pictures of Western-style houses with features unfound in most Hong Kong/Asian contexts. They were also required to respond to a customer’s letter of complaint with limited time of reading.  They were divided into four groups with a varying level of difficulty and a different sequence of these two tasks.  They were then interviewed one on one about their experience.  Based on the transcripts, open coding was made at this stage and below are a few preliminary findings with some questions that I hope can spawn more discussions from our colleagues:

1.     Many participants are hindered by the unfamiliar concept or the vocabulary of ‘chimney’ in their descriptions; only a few are able to rely on paraphrases flexibly to get around it.  By comparison, many are much more familiar with the trouble-shooting procedure with dealing with a complainant whether they have had any real-world experience dealing with anything of such sort or not.  (What does this mean regarding the impact from the cross-cultural and context-dependent elements on FA in the assessment design?  Does it raise any question about whether a task successfully completed in one particular context necessarily predicts its equal competition in another context?)

2.     Many have not thought about a possible theme or a real purpose behind these tasks, only to have a sudden realization of them after being pointed out by the researchers.  (Would an understanding of them help one develop ideas more suited to the occasion and deliver better performance?  Would a purposeful mention help to enhance the retention of the learning points in teaching as well? )

3.     Many have observed the relative ease of structuring ideas in writing in contrast to the difficulty in applying that same skill to speaking.  (What is it that makes it difficult for students to transfer certain skills from writing to speaking or vice versa and what can be done to facilitate that transfer?)  

4.     Many predict better quality in their output if they could discuss the task (especially for the complaint one) with another participant in an exchange mode, compared to having to take it on all alone.  (What implications would this have for speaking assessments that may involve a pair or a group each time rather than the conventional one-on-one mode?)  

5.     When asked about the awareness of tone and formality and the use of a sequence and connectives, many have recollection of them having been taught in class but are unable to think of them on the fly or include them in their efforts expended to make the output more comprehensible for the audience.  (What does it say about the effectiveness of the teaching/learning of audience awareness to enhance comprehensibility?)

6.     Many have noted the lack of preparation time and have indicated more preparation may help them prepare the content in a better structure.  (Is the preparation time given in most assessments an arbitrary or logistically convenient one?  What is the ideal preparation time beyond which there would be minimal difference in the participants’ FA?)  

7.     Many have found it beneficial if the total number of points (information units in terms of content) to be covered can be mentioned in the instructions. However, there would be no such support in real-world communication. (Do we have a gap between the carefully controlled assessment and pragmatic competence? Do we find current teaching support sufficient to help our students to develop a way to quickly gauge the needs and the scope of a communicative situation without readily available information?)

8.     When asked if cultural background plays any role in helping or hindering their output, many have mentioned the benefit of having vicarious experience/exposure to certain features of objects or scenarios through TV or the Internet even though they are not brought up in that given culture.  (Considering the generation born and bred in the digital boom or the metaverse down the road, is vicarious experience/exposure as powerful as real-life ones to help students relate to certain subject matters?  How can teachers tap into such knowledge on the part of the students?)

9.     Many have found the task about spotting differences less challenging than the complaint letter one, citing the relative ease of description over having to come up with responses after critical thinking as the main reason.  They also see the spotting differences one as more language-based and the complaint letter task as more content-based and thus why the former is less difficult than the latter.  (What does this say about our students’ perception of content vs. language?  And more importantly, has FA, of which content is a component, been adequately emphasized in our teaching?)

10.  When asked if speakers (including native speakers of the target language) of a particular background have any advantage over other ones in the assessment, the participants have mixed responses as to whether proficiency takes precedence over familiarity with topics and themes (closely related to FA) or vice versa in the performance. (How do we emphasize FA in subject-sensitive language courses while striking a balance between subject content and language use?)  

References

Bui, G., &  Wong, C. H. (2021). From Linguistic Skills to Pragmatic Competence: The Role of Functional Adequacy in Task-Based Teaching and Learning. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 30, 61-76.

Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2017). Functional adequacy in L2 writing: Towards a new rating scale. Language Testing, 34(3), 321-336.

Pallotti, G. (2009). CAF: Defining, refining and differentiating constructs. Applied linguistics, 30(4), 590-601.