Sima Sengupta

Supporting Effective English Communication within the Context of Teaching and Research in a Tertiary Institute: Developing a Genre Model for Consciousness Raising.

Abstract Genre-based approaches to curriculum delivery have been applied to primary, secondary, tertiary and graduate programmes. This paper takes this approach one step further and shows how such an approach was applied in conceptualising a funded staff development programme at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The programme described is entitled Effective English Communication for Teaching and Research (EECTR), and its remit is to provide English language support to all academic staff in the institution. In this paper we describe how we developed and modified our initial plans for programme delivery, took into account a number of contextual constraints, and attempted to apply a theoretical framework focusing on reflection within a broad genre-based approach. The description in this paper is based on an attempt to deconstruct the discourse of the providers and clients of EECTR. Through this description of the evolving theory of a contextualised, reflective genre-based approach to staff development, we attempt to show that such an approach can go far beyond the prescriptive, structural mode and can indeed be seen as a pedagogy of possibilities within a staff developmental context.

ENHANCING TEACHER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TeleNex - A COMPUTER NETWORK FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS'

This paper reports an attempt to enhance the continuous professional development of English language teachers by setting up a computer network, TeieNex. The paper first proposes that the concept “teacher development” encompasses three important facets: the development of knowledge and skills, the development of a collaborative culture, and the development of the teacher as a person. It then discusses how the two components of the network, namely the database component and the communications component, enhance these facets of development. Briefly, the database component provides, through its grammar database and teaching ideas database, a body of subject matter knowledge and a bank of teaching resources to help teachers to develop their knowledge and skills. The communications component focuses on the other two facets of teacher growth. It provides a platform for teachers to initiate cross-school collaboration, build confidence in themselves as autonomous professionals, and share reflections on their classroom practices with others, thus enhancing their collaborative and personal development. Messages sent in by users show that participating teachers have been using the network to enrich their knowledge base and to share ideas and frustrations. These messages demonstrate that the network is providing valuable support to teachers in their development as autonomous professionals. Copyright 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd

Creating a Hypertext Database to Help Hong Kong English Language Teachers Teach Writing.

Abstract This paper describes how a hypertext database Focus on Writing was created to assist English language teachers of Hong Kong secondary schools in the teaching of continuous writing. Focus on Writing is subsumed under the TeleNex Teaching Resources database, which is part of the TeleNex network. This network aims to provide continuous professional support to English language teachers in their own workplace through the computer. The Focus on Writing database is still in the process of development and constant revision of the hypertext format is taking place based on the feedback from users. This paper delineates the theoretical and practical rationale behind the evolving design of the Focus on Writing database, outlining the ways in which a hypertext format differs from the print medium. The emerging issues of this technology are discussed with reference to the advantages this kind of technology offers in providing English language teachers of Hong Kong with a coherent model of L2 writing pedagogy.

Developing and Evaluating a Web-based Resource for Writing Research Articles

Academics are increasingly expected to be research productive. An impressive research output requires the ability to communicate in sophisticated written English in order to ensure that a publication is of an acceptable standard. In response to the demands for advanced writing skills to maintain high standards in research publications, a pilot online writing network of information (OWN) has been developed to provide academics in the School of Nursing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with research writing support in English. In this paper the OWN database is introduced with an explanation of the theoretical foundations and the needs analysis that shaped each link. Then, with data from two questionnaires completed by the users and interview of four users, I present a user evaluation of OWN. The questionnaires suggest that users see certain links as more useful in providing individualised writing support, while the interviewees most appreciate the complete privacy in which support could be sought. Through this description and user evaluation, I argue that academics could benefit from English language support when writing for publication, and computer technology may offer both flexibility and privacy.