An Investigation of the Impact on Hong Kong’s English Language Teaching Profession of the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers of English (LPATE) (original) (raw)
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2012
, The Hong Kong Education Commission published Report No. 6 (ECR6). In the Report, the Education Commission addressed the concerns expressed to the Hong Kong Government by business corporations about the "declining standards of language skills" among school graduates in Hong Kong. The Education Commission acknowledged the need for high level language skills among the workforce in Hong Kong as it moves away from a manufacturing to a service and high-tech industries and highlighted a number of areas for action. On the issue of standards of language ability of teachers about which there were concerns, two recommendations were made: ECR6 C1: The concept of "benchmark" qualifications for all teachers should be explored by the Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and Qualifications (ACTEQ) with a view to making proposals to the Government as early as possible in 1996. ECR6 C2: Minimum language proficiency standards should be specified, which all teachers (not just teachers of language subjects) should meet before they obtain their initial professional qualification. The standards should be designed to ensure that new teachers are competent to teach through the chosen medium of instruction. This is an ambitious attempt to step up the language requirements of all teachers, not just language teachers. However, work has progressed in the past decade (since 1996) mainly on developing and implementing the language benchmarks for language teachers. This paper focuses on the development of the English benchmark standards for English language teachers in Hong Kong. Some dilemmas in
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In December 1995, The Hong Kong Education Commission published Report No. 6 (ECR6). In the Report, the Education Commission addressed the concerns expressed to the Hong Kong Government by business corporations about the ���declining standards of language skills��� among school graduates in Hong Kong. The Education Commission acknowledged the need for high level language skills among the workforce in Hong Kong as it moves away from a manufacturing to a service and high-tech industries and highlighted a number of ...
The ‘falling’ language standards and teachers’ professional vulnerability in Hong Kong
Research Papers in Education, 2011
There has been a widespread belief that teachers in Asian contexts including Japan and China are well protected by a tradition that reveres teachers. However, in Chinese contexts, cultural traditions have been found to undermine the teaching profession, together with educational reforms and societal changes. This paper reports on an inquiry that explored the social censure of teachers, especially language teachers in Hong Kong. The inquiry took advantage of an Internet discussion concerning the 'falling' language standards, a widespread concern in the region. The analysis of the discussion revealed the high expectations that the public had for language teachers as well as the increasingly complex conditions for teachers' professional practices due to ongoing educational reforms and cultural changes. The Internet discussion also offers a unique opportunity to examine how the teaching profession was constructed in these discourses and provides insights into teachers' professional vulnerability in Hong Kong.
Language Assessment Quarterly, 2018
Over the past two decades awareness has been growing that English language teachers need good English language proficiency and professional training to teach effectively. To address this issue, a benchmarkminimum standards assessment test-was initiated, developed, and introduced in Hong Kong in 2001. Because more than a decade and a half has now elapsed since the introduction of the LPATE, the current study explores some of the changes and challenges that have emerged since the introduction of this minimum standards language test for English language teachers. Using a qualitative approach, the study collected interview responses from 24 participants in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Results indicate that changes were generally perceived positively, with English language teachers becoming better trained, with an enhanced awareness of professionalism in the profession, and English teacher standards becoming guaranteed through the implementation of the LPATE. Although the LPATE was not without its attendant controversies, 15 years later, respondents generally view the test as having fulfilled its mission and consequently now somewhat limited.
This study examines the language needs of pr e-service teachers of English for the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English) (LPATE)). More specifically, the study aims to identify 1) the language needs of pre-service teachers in terms of language difficulty(s) and 2) how different demographic backgrounds of these teachers (e.g. a major in an English language-related subject/ education and the length of stay in an English-speaking country) may affect their perceived areas of language difficulty(s) in English. A total of 124 pre-service teachers who were the participants in a language enhancement course offered by a local university aiming at assisting the pre-service teachers to attain the required level in the language assessment for English participated in a questionnaire survey. This study has identified several areas of difficulty that pre-service teachers have in English language. The findings can shed lights on course design and materials development for the language enhancement courses, may they be provi ded during undergraduate or postgraduate training or continuing professional development. In so doing, teachers can then be effectively assisted to meet the standards of the language assessment.
This study examines the language needs of pr e-service teachers of English for the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English) (LPATE)). More specifically, the study aims to identify 1) the language needs of pre-service teachers in terms of language difficulty(s) and 2) how different demographic backgrounds of these teachers (e.g. a major in an English language-related subject/ education and the length of stay in an English-speaking country) may affect their perceived areas of language difficulty(s) in English. A total of 124 pre-service teachers who were the participants in a language enhancement course offered by a local university aiming at assisting the pre-service teachers to attain the required level in the language assessment for English participated in a questionnaire survey. This study has identified several areas of difficulty that pre-service teachers have in English language. The findings can shed lights on course design and materials development for the language enhancement courses, may they be provi ded during undergraduate or postgraduate training or continuing professional development. In so doing, teachers can then be effectively assisted to meet the standards of the language assessment.
Preparing Primary English Teachers in Hong Kong : Focusing on Language Assessment Literacy
The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 2019
Literature Review Writing in 1991, Stiggins defined assessment literacy (AL) as the knowledge and skills needed for measuring student achievement, stressing the knowledge base that teachers need in order to conduct sound assessment. Drawn from this general concept, language assessment literacy (LAL) is a relatively new concept in language assessment and testing (
Views From the Chalkface: English Language School-Based Assessment in Hong Kong
Language Assessment Quarterly, 2007
The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) has recently moved from norm-referenced to standards-referenced assessment, including the incorporation of a substantial school-based summative oral assessment component into the compulsory English language subject in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Starting in Form 4, teachers now assess their own students' oral English language competencies through a range of classroom-embedded activities over 2 years (SBA Consultancy Team, 2005). This high-profile assessment initiative marks a significant shift in policy as well as in practice for the HKEAA. Although school-based assessment (SBA) is in line with the Education and Manpower Bureau's general move to align assessment with curriculum reforms, in the early stage of implementation the reforms raised a number of concerns in the wider school community, including sociocultural, technical, and practical concerns. This article first describes the specific content and structure of the HKCEE English Language SBA component. It then reports on the result of the initial analysis of teachers' and students' responses to the initiative in the first stage of its implementation, including the perceived benefits for learning and teaching. The article concludes with a brief overview of how this initial analysis led to the development of a number of subsequent research studies aimed at monitoring and developing teacher knowledge and skills and evaluating more systematically the impact of the reform on teachers, students, and schools in Hong Kong.
Exploring Chinese university English teachers' language assessment literacy: a mixed-method study
As the development of language assessment literacy (LAL) has grown to be a highly regarded and much-researched field of teacher professional education in recent decades, this study seeks to investigate the needs of in-service university English teachers for LAL development, teachers' current level of LAL as well as factors that facilitate or impede teachers' development of LAL. The primary aim of the study is to identify areas in which teachers require further knowledge and training in language assessment and to devise effective strategies for enhancing their language assessment competency. By running Principal Component Analysis, four dimensions were identified: assessment in language pedagogy; technical skills; language assessment for learning; and assessment principles and concepts. 871 in-service English university teachers participated in the survey. Descriptive analysis was employed to compare teachers' assessment knowledge with their actual practice. Moreover, Chi-square test was used to examine the correlation between teacher backgrounds and their development of LAL. Results indicated that the disparities in LAL development needs between different teacher cohorts gradually diminished as teachers gained teaching experience. Teachers demonstrated their confidence in the understanding of LAL, but there was still a need to enhance their knowledge of assessment principles and concepts, as well as psychometric analysis of language assessment.