Table Of ContentDavid Coniam Editor
English
Language
Education and
Assessment
Recent Developments in Hong Kong and
the Chinese Mainland
English Language Education and Assessment
David Coniam
Editor
English Language Education
and Assessment
Recent Developments in Hong Kong
and the Chinese Mainland
Editor
David Coniam
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
The Hong Kong Institute of Education
Hong Kong, China
ISBN 978-981-287-070-4 ISBN 978-981-287-071-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-071-1
Springer Singapore Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014941698
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Pref ace
This volume is in three parts. The fi rst part describes the education and assessment
systems of the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. Part I describes the contributions
of authors in Part I of the book who focus on innovations and recent developments
in English language education in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR) and the Chinese mainland. Part II describes chapters that focus on issues
in testing and assessment in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland in Part II of the
book. The book contains 16 chapters. Part I consists of nine chapters. Part II contains
seven chapters.
T o avoid unnecessary repetition, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(HKSAR) will henceforth be referred to as “Hong Kong”. In the same vein, the Chinese
mainland (mainland China) will be referred to as “China”.
T he initiative for creating and developing the book was to expose readers both
in the South East Asian region and elsewhere in the world to important issues
relevant to curriculum change and implementation along with different forms of
assessment currently being practiced in Hong Kong and China. These two integral
parts of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong,
differ in many ways but recurring themes in the chapters in the book illustrate the
need, in both areas, for changes to teacher beliefs and practices through well-
developed and regular staff development. A number of contributors discuss how
once-and-for-all solutions are unlikely to work, with three specifi cally comment-
ing on the need to take account of societal, school and sociological factors in staff
training and development.
The book is intended for professional educators, graduate students and inter-
ested parties who wish to read about the innovations and changes that have been
taking place in these two closely-linked, although separate, regions. The book pro-
vides an opportunity to see not only what the two regions have in common but also
where they may differ.
v
vi Preface
The Hong Kong Education and Examination System
Before 2009 – when the education system underwent major curriculum and examination
reform – Hong Kong’s education system was modelled on the British system. Primary
schools enrolled students for 6 years. Secondary schools operated on a 5 + 2 model
with students being streamed (‘banded’) into three broad bands of ability, each band
covering approximately 33 % of the student ability range. The system therefore
consisted of 6 + 5 + 2 years.
Standard English language provision in Hong Kong primary and secondary
schools is approximately 4–5 h per week for the duration of the academic year.
Public examinations in Hong Kong are conducted by the Hong Kong Examination
and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). Prior to 2012, there were two major public
examinations. The Hong Kong Certifi cate of Education Examination (HKCEE) was
administered at the end of 11 years of education – Secondary 5 (Year 11). The total
candidature for the HKCEE was in the region of 100,000, of whom approximately
80,000 were school candidates.
At the end of Secondary 5 (Year 11) students could continue in full time educa-
tion for 2 more years – although there were only places for approximately 38 % of
the Year 11 cohort to continue on to Year 12 and 13 studies. At the end of Secondary
7 (Year 13), students sat the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE),
which was also used for university entrance purposes. In 2007, the total candidature
for the HKALE was about 36,000.
T he Hong Kong secondary school curriculum underwent signifi cant restructuring
in 2009. Secondary education now lasts 6 years with a single public examination,
the Hong Kong Diploma in Secondary Education (HKDSE) administered at the
end of Year 12 (age 18), the annual candidature in 2013 being approximately 82,000.
The corollary is that many more students now go on to Year 12 than went on to Year
13 previously – before the changes, the annual HKALE candidature was in the
region of 40,000.
The Chinese Education and Examination System
The broad framework of Hong Kong’s education system now refl ects that of China,
with the latter having 9 years of compulsory education (usually 6 years of primary
and 3 years of junior secondary).
While schools in China are not streamed as they are in Hong Kong, there are
‘key’ schools at both provincial and national level. Such schools are recognized as
prestigious and receive a high level of support from either the Ministry of Education
or the Educational Bureau of the province.
At the end of junior high (the 9 years of compulsory education) – on the basis of
performance in municipal-level high-school entrance examinations – students may
Preface vii
continue on to 3 years of senior secondary (high school) education. Students who
enter senior secondary education are streamed into either general senior secondary
education or vocational senior secondary education.
Standard English language provision in China’s primary and secondary schools
is similar to Hong Kong, in that children receive approximately 5 hours of tuition
per week.
U nlike Hong Kong, China does not have a public examinations body for school
examinations. Examinations at the end of junior high (the zhongkao) and at the end
of senior high (the gaokao , the National Matriculation English Test [NMET]) are
set and administered by municipal-level Education Bureaux. The candidature for
the NMET in 2012 was approximately nine million.
At tertiary level, undergraduates whose major is not English must pass the
College English Test. Similar to the NMET, the candidature for the CET in 2012
was in the region of nine million.
Hong Kong , China David Coniam
Hong Kong , China Peter Falvey
Contents
Part I Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Perspectives
1 Innovation in Hong Kong’s New Senior Secondary
English Language Curriculum: Learning English
Through Popular Culture....................................................................... 3
Phil Benson and John Patkin
2 Hong Kong Secondary School English Teachers’
Beliefs and Their Influence on the Implementation
of Task-Based Language Teaching ........................................................ 17
Winnie Laifan Chan
3 Implementing the Innovative 2003 English Curriculum
for Senior Secondary Schools in China: Teachers’ Beliefs
and Practices .................................................................................................... 35
Wenfeng Wang
4 English Language Teaching in Vocational Senior
Secondary Schools in China ................................................................... 51
Wen Zhao
5 EFL Teacher Learning in the Chinese Sociocultural Context ............ 69
Peiya Gu
6 Genre in the Teaching of English in Hong Kong: A Perspective
from Systemic Functional Linguistics ................................................... 87
Corinne Maxwell-Reid
7 How Much Do Students Benefit from Attending
Private Tutorial Schools? A Case Study of the Hong Kong
Shadow Education System ....................................................................... 103
David Coniam
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