Stephen Andrews

The Language Awareness of the L2 Teacher: Its Impact upon Pedagogical Practice.

The paper sets out to examine the ways in which a teachers language awareness affects their pedagogical practice. It begins by considering the relationship between teacher language awareness and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), arguing that there is something unique about the PCK of the L2 teacher, because the content and medium of L2 instruction are so closely interrelated. A model is proposed, in which the L2 teachers language awareness (TLA) is seen as a sub-component of PCK, forming a bridge between knowledge of subject matter and communicative language ability. The paper then considers the role in the instructed learning setting of the L2 teachers TLA, with specific reference to grammar. Following Andrews 1999a, the impact of TLA is examined through its interaction with the three main sources of language input for learners: materials, other learners, and the teacher. The paper then offers an overview of the effects of TLA on pedagogical practice, and identifies various potential influences on the operation of any teachers metalinguistic awareness. The paper concludes with discussion and illustration of one of these potentially influential factors, the teachers engagement with content-related issues, drawing on data from an in-depth study of 17 L2 teachers (Andrews, 1999b).

Targeting Washback--A Case Study.

Abstract The paper focuses on the effects of changes to high-stakes tests on the performance of those who take them. These effects are explored within the specific context of the Hong Kong Advanced Supplementary (AS) ‘Use of English’ (UE) oral examination. The UE is taken in students’ final year of schooling (Secondary 7), and a pass is a prerequisite for admission to university. A two-phase study was set up to shed light on two questions: 1. Is the addition of an oral component to the UE exam influencing students’ spoken English performance at the end of Secondary 7? 2. Is the impact of the test innovation on student performance immediate, or delayed? The results of the study seem to indicate that the introduction of the UE Oral is exerting some influence on students’ performance in spoken English, and that the impact of the test on student performance is delayed. However, the precise nature of the washback seems to vary from student to student. In some cases, the test may have led to improved performance, but in others only to superficial learning outcomes, such as the ability to conform to the requirements of the exam format, or to produce memorised phrases.

'All These Like Little Name Things': A Comparative Study of Language Teachers' Explicit Knowledge of Grammar and Grammatical Terminology

An in-depth investigation is currently being conducted into the metalinguistic awareness of a group of practising L2 teachers, all non-native speakers teaching English in Hong Kong secondary schools. The investigation focuses on teacher metalinguistic awareness (TMA) as it relates to grammar. As part of this in-depth study, a test was administered in order to explore the declarative dimension of TMA: the teachers explicit knowledge of grammar and grammatical terminology. The test was based largely on Alderson et al. (1996), which in turn draws upon Bloor (1986). The present paper reports on the test performance of these serving teachers as an indication of the level and nature of their explicit knowledge of grammar and grammatical terminology. It also compares their performance with that of two groups of prospective teachers of EFL/ESL: one group of native-speakers and the other of non-native speakers. Comparison with the former helps to shed light on the native/non-native issue (see, for example, Medgye...

The Evolution of Teachers’ Language Awareness

The paper focuses on the development of teacher thinking, specifically L2 teachers’ subject-matter cognitions, i.e. their Teacher Language Awareness (TLA) (see e.g. Andrews 2001, 2003). The study examines the evolving TLA, as it relates to grammar, of three teachers, each a graduate with more than 10 years’ experience of teaching English in Hong Kong secondary schools. All three teachers took part in a previous TLA study conducted in 1996–97 (see Andrews, 1999a), when they were in their early years of teaching and had received no professional training. In the present study, these three teachers’ TLA and cognitions about grammar were investigated once more (in 2004). The aim of this follow-up study was to tell the story of each teacher’s evolving TLA and grammar-related cognitions. In both phases of the research a mixed methods approach was adopted. Data from the two studies suggested that the teachers’ TLA and grammar- related cognitions had altered very little. Their underlying beliefs about grammar pedagogy and the role of explicit grammar teaching, and their knowledge about grammar (as measured by a test of LA) seemed largely unchanged. The main difference between the three teachers was in their interaction with the context in which they worked.

Impact and Consequences of School-Based Assessment (SBA): Students' and Parents' Views of SBA in Hong Kong.

School-based assessment (SBA) has recently been introduced into the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations (HKCEE) in English. The present study was conducted within the context of this assessment change to investigate students’ and parents’ perceptions of the impact of SBA. Two surveys were employed to explore students’ and parents’ perceptions of SBA and their perceptions of the impact of SBA on learning. The results from the student survey demonstrated a relationship between students’ perceptions of SBA-related learning activities and their perceptions of their own language competence. The results also showed significant differences between students’ perceptions of the learning activities they had taken part in during the previous school year and those they were currently engaging in. In addition, parents’ perceptions of SBA and the opportunities for them to know about SBA significantly and positively predicted their support for their children’s SBA learning. Parents’ education level and the amount of time they spent with their child daily also predicted their support for their children’s SBA learning, though to a lesser extent. Further, parents’ perceptions about the SBA are directly and significantly related to their children’s perceptions about SBA. Taking the results from both students’ and parents’ surveys together, we have gained a better understanding of the complexity of the impact of SBA within the Hong Kong educational context, as perceived by students and their parents.

Do test design and uses influence test preparation? Testing a model of washback with Structural Equation Modeling

This study introduces Expectancy-value motivation theory to explain the paths of influences from perceptions of test design and uses to test preparation as a special case of washback on learning. Based on this theory, two conceptual models were proposed and tested via Structural Equation Modeling. Data collection involved over 870 test takers of College English Test Band 4 in China. A perception of assessment questionnaire was given at the beginning of a 10-week preparation period; a test preparation questionnaire was given eight weeks later. Test takers who endorsed high-stakes, instrumental test uses as the primary purpose for taking the test tended to value test taking; test takers who perceived test design positively tended to attach high importance to test taking and appeared more confident. Furthermore, higher endorsed task value and higher expectation of test success jointly contributed to greater engagement in test preparation. Knowledge of the test was also related to increased self-regulation in test preparation and more practice of test-taking skills.

Washback Effects from a High-Stakes Examination on Out-of-Class English Learning: Insights from Possible Self Theories.

There is still limited understanding of the impact of high-stakes examinations on students’ out-of-class learning. The current study attempts to fill this research gap by addressing this issue in the context of tertiary education in Mainland China. The study examines how far the revised College English Test Band 4 (CET-4) actually influenced Chinese non-English-major undergraduates’ out-of-class learning by following three cases in one university from the day when they began their college English study to the day when they sat the examination. A total of 106 diary entries and 30 post-diary interview recordings were collected in the study. The data analysis shows that, under the influence of the target test, the informants were more likely to change what they learnt than how they learnt. Furthermore, the types of washback seemed to be closely related to how individuals imagined their possible CET-4 selves.

Researching and Developing Teacher Language Awareness

Teacher language awareness (TLA) is receiving increased attention among researchers, teacher educators, and those responsible for quality assurance in language education. This chapter aims to summarize current thinking and research about TLA and to consider future directions for work in the area. Whilst acknowledging the need for TLA to encompass a broad awareness of language in communication, the chapter concentrates specifically on TLA as it relates to the language systems. The first section of the chapter outlines the nature of TLA and explores its potential significance in pedagogical practice. The next section examines the main research findings within TLA and also in interconnected areas such as L2 teachers’ cognitions about the linguistic content of their teaching. This is followed by an outline of current approaches to the development of TLA in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) programs. The chapter then considers issues of current debate, in particular the TLA of native-speaker (NS) and non-native-speaker (NNS) teachers, before concluding with a discussion of future directions in researching and developing TLA.

Language and Literature Division, Faculty of Education, Hong Kong University

The Language and Literature Division (LLD) is the largest of the six divisions of the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong (HKU). It is currently home to 34 academic staff, who specialize either in the fields of Chinese Language, English Language and/or Literature Education, and to 60 full-time and 28 part-time doctoral students, who are researching a wide range of topics including subjects as diverse as corpus-aided language learning, task-based language teaching in primary schools, the English writing of Chinese undergraduates, and the impact of school-based assessment. Staff are very active in conducting their own research, much of which is rooted in classrooms and focuses on issues that directly concern the teaching and learning of languages, such as reading literacy, school-based assessment and assessment for learning in English Language, the teaching of Chinese characters, and good practices in English Language Teaching in Hong Kong secondary schools (see http://good-practices.edb.hkedcity.net/ ). Colleagues in the English Language area have played important roles in the HKU Strategic Research Theme ‘Language in education and assessment’. This initiative brought together staff from a range of disciplines in various forms of language-related research collaboration, culminating in two large and highly successful international conferences in June 2008: one focusing on language awareness and the other on language issues in English-medium universities (see http://www.hku.hk/clear/ ).