Faculty Publications and Conference Presentations

Dickinson (1987) stresses that self-access learning is using materials in a self-instructed way to facilitate learning. The term is "neutral on how self-directed or other-directed the learners are". Thus, students could choose to be either self-directed or tutor-directed learners in the centre. Seen in this light, tutor-guided schemes might be considered to be an appropriate device for students who opt for tutor-directed learning in the self-access learning centre. This article tries to look into the practical use of tutor-guided schemes in a self-access centre.

<p>This paper reports an exploratory study of questions about English grammar sent in by a group of Hong Kong ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers to a teacher support computer network, Tele Nex. The study examines the questions Hong Kong ESL teachers ask about the English language. Arising from the questions posed, the paper then delineates the kinds of language support that ESL teachers may need. Grammar questions sent in by teachers to the network constituted the data source. The questions were analysed in terms of the frequency of the content words used, linguistic categories, and teacher knowledge. The principal findings are that the teachers’ grammar-related questions typically arose out of their everyday pedagogical needs and these needs seem to be shaped by their implicit models of grammar as a set of rules for ‘correct’ language use. Such information on ‘correct’ use does not seem to be easily available from major reference books. These findings confirm the value of a computer network where teachers can obtain continuous informational support and participate in collaborative discussions, which can develop an awareness of grammar as a meaning-making tool.</p>