HKU Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Award 2014

Date: 30/03/2015
Event, Awards

The project "A Meaningful Journey of Teaching and Learning of Chinese for Non-Chinese Speaking Students: Towards Local, Regional and International Advancement" by Professor Tse Shek Kam and team members comprising of Dr Mark Shum, Dr Ki Wing Wah, Dr Cheung Wai Ming, Dr Joseph Lam and Dr Elizabeth Loh won the Faculty KE Award 2014.
 

 

(From Top left) Prof. Professor Tse Shek Kam, Dr Mark Shum, Dr Ki Wing Wah

(from bottom left) Dr. Lam Wai Ip, Dr Cheung Wai Ming and Dr Elizabeth Loh

 

The Selection Committee unanimously agreed that the project was a comprehensive framework and massive project structure in curriculum design. It was a long-term project with meaningful initiative and great contribution to a large number of schools including kindergarten, primary and secondary schools with clear objectives in teaching and learning issues of non-Chinese speakers. The research evidence and engagement process of the project indicated that it was a first-class project which should be considered as one of the best KE projects in the University.

The Faculty Knowledge Exchange (KE) Awards were introduced in 2011 in order to recognize each Faculty’s outstanding KE accomplishment that has made demonstrable economic, social or cultural impacts to benefit the community, business/industry, or partner organizations. Following the successful launch of the Faculty KE Awards, the KE Award (Non-Faculty Unit) was introduced in 2012 with the same objective for the independent centres, institutes and units of the University.

 

KE Newsletter Issue No. 7

Language Help for Ethnic Minorities

https://www.ke.hku.hk/story/all/language-help-for-ethnic-minorities


 

A KE Lunch Meeting on ‘Promoting Teaching and Learning of Chinese for Non-native Learners Locally, Regionally and Internationally’ is held on 11 Nov 2014 at Room P6-03, Graduate House, HKU, to share experience and best practices as follows:

Abstract

Non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students’ learning of the Chinese language has become an increasingly pressing issue in the education sector of Hong Kong. Up till 2011, there were 14,000 NCS students studying in the mainstream schools (Census & Statistics Department, The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2011) and the number is growing. The current situation also presents a challenge for Chinese language teachers in mainstream schools as few of them are experienced in teaching NCS students while most are not equipped with effective teaching strategies to do so (Tse & Loh, 2010). The major reason lies in that these teachers are not trained to teach students in this age group with extremely low Chinese proficiency, nor are they prepared for teaching Chinese as Second Language (CSL) with classes having diverse learning needs. In this presentation, Prof. Shek-kam Tse will give an overview of a series of over 20 projects on teaching, learning and assessment for Chinese Language for NCS students ranging from kindergarten to secondary school levels. He and his team will also examine effective ways of the support provided for schools in terms of school-based curricula, differentiated authentic teaching materials, assessment and diversified teaching strategies in advancing teaching of the CSL in NCS or ethnically mixed classrooms.

 

More details of KE impacts are available:  

Education Matters Vol. 13.1, 2015 (page 4-5)

https://web.edu.hku.hk/f/page/856/Education-Matters-Vol-13-No-01-2015.pdf

The Review 2014 (page 34)

https://www4.hku.hk/pubunit/review/2014/knowledge-exchange_02.htm

 

In addition, our key members have had success bidding for GRFs in 2015/16 in relation to teaching and learning of Chinese for multi-cultural learners:

(1) Using genre-based approach to enhance Chinese written composition performance by ethnic minority students (RGC GRF Project Code: 17605415)

(PI: Dr. Mark SK Shum; Period: 7/2015 to 6/2016)

http://hub.hku.hk/cris/project/hkugrant115682

(2) Enhancing Teaching Efficacy and Creative Teaching and Learning Chinese for Hong Kong's non-Chinese students in Primary Schools (RGC GRF Project Code: 17606715)

(PI: Dr. WM Cheung; Period: 1/2016 to 12/2018);

http://hub.hku.hk/cris/project/hkugrant115885

(3) The role of orthographic knowledge in Chinese character learning amongst Hong Kong ethnic minority students (RGC GRF Project Code: 17605215)

(PI: Dr. EKY Loh; Period: 9/2015 to 8/2017)

http://hub.hku.hk/cris/project/hkugrant115784

 

Other KE Awards of our Project Investigators: