Abstract:
This TDG project, informed by the existing theories from language teacher identity and interdisciplinary perspectives of intercultural understanding, aims at using three foreign language (FL) teacher education programmes at EdUHK and HKU as the vehicles to explore reflective, experiential training methods to enhance the pre-service teachers’ awareness of cultural diversity, reduce ethnocentricity, and promote meaningful engagement pre-service FL teachers at postgraduate levels. 271 pre-service FL teachers of English and Chinese were invited to participate receive an integrated training programme that allows them to visualize and reflect upon various cross-cultural scenarios to enhance intercultural, competence critical thinking skills, and professional identification over a course of two years. This project equipped the pre-service FL teachers with knowledge and skills to tackle the communicative or analytical challenges that they may be faced with in their early-career teaching. The impacts of this project are: 1) establishing confident professional identity that allows pre-service FL teachers to efficiently communicate across institutional and cultural boundaries, avoid ethnocentric perspectives, and display cultural humility; 2) enhancing knowledge transfer and skill-set development in FL teacher education; 3) promoting cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration by establishing an engaging community of practice among teacher educators and student teachers.
Code:
T0250
Principal Project Supervisors:
Keywords provided by authors:
Start Date:
01 Dec 2020
End Date:
30 Nov 2022
Status:
Completed
Result:
Results of this project can be summarised as the following four points:
Improved professional identity: The project helped pre-service language teachers (English and Chinese language) to establish a confident professional identity that allowed them to efficiently communicate across institutional and cultural boundaries. This can help them to tackle the communicative or analytical challenges they may face in their early-career teaching.
Increased awareness of cultural diversity: The project aimed to enhance pre-service teachers' awareness of cultural diversity by using reflective and experiential training methods. The integrated training program allowed the pre-service language teachers to visualize and reflect upon various cross-cultural scenarios, which helped them to develop intercultural competence and critical thinking skills. This increased awareness of cultural diversity can help pre-service teachers to avoid ethnocentric perspectives and display cultural humility.
Promoted cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration: The project established an engaging community of practice among teacher educators and student teachers. This can promote cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration, which can lead to innovative approaches to FL teacher education.
Enhanced knowledge transfer and skill-set development: The project aimed to enhance knowledge transfer and skill-set development in teacher education. The reflective and experiential training methods used in the project can help pre-service teachers to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to teach foreign languages effectively.
Impact:
The impact of our project can be summarised as the following four aspects: Pre-service language teachers:
The project equipped pre-service language teachers with the knowledge and skills to tackle the communicative or analytical challenges they may face in their early-career teaching. They gained intercultural competence, critical thinking skills, and a confident professional identity that allows them to communicate across institutional and cultural boundaries, avoid ethnocentric perspectives, and display cultural humility.
Language teacher education programs: The project enhanced knowledge transfer and skill-set development in language teacher education by using reflective and experiential training methods. The methods used in this project can serve as a model for other teacher education programs.
Teacher educators: The project promoted cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaboration among teacher educators, which can lead to innovative approaches to teacher education. The engaging community of practice established by the project can continue to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among teacher educators.
Society: The project contributes to promoting intercultural understanding, reducing ethnocentricity, and promoting meaningful engagement among pre-service language teachers. The project's impact can extend beyond the classroom to contribute to building a more culturally diverse and inclusive society.
Deliverables:
Books/ Book Chapters/ Journal Articles/ Conference Papers
Li, Z., & Liu, Y. (Forthcoming). Theorising translingual professionalism: A study of Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong ethnic minority schools. In C. M. Si, S. M. S. Lam, & C. K. J. Lee (Eds.) Learning and teaching Chinese as a first language: International perspectives. Routledge.
鄧詩逸和李蓁(2023)：國際漢語教育碩士生之跨文化敏感度研究：以香港、北京、珠海三所院校為例，《國際中文教育學報》，13，頁137-161。
Li, Z., & Liu, Y. (2021, October 27-29). Translingual professionalisation: Theorising the dynamics of Chinese language teacher identity in multicultural schools in Hong Kong. Paper presented at the 6th Saarbrücken International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching (Online conference presentation), Saarland University of Applied Sciences, Germany (https://docs.google.com/document/d/18tHxzSJ9JPzNYQPyS1OGIzAegNhqnHBxnoYf...)
Li, Z. (2022, December 16). How to develop CFL pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence? Insights from a systematic review of intercultural training in pre-service teachers of all disciplines. Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, The Education University of Hong Kong. (https://www.eduhk.hk/tcsl_7/view.php?secid=55048&u=u)
Li, Z. (2021, December 8-10). From Authentic Assessment to Future-Skills Building: An undergraduate group video project for enhancing intercultural awareness and international mindedness. [Online conference presentation]. Presentation at the Symposium of The International Conference on Learning and Teaching 2021. The Education University of Hong Kong. (https://www.eduhk.hk/iclt2021/)
Seminars/Presentations/Sharing Sessions
Gu, M. Y., & Li, Z. (2022, May 24). Developing pre-service language teachers’ intercultural competence: A concept building approach. Sharing Session on Cultivating Students’ Global Perspectives for Departmental Learning and Teaching Committee (DLTC) Chairs. The Education University of Hong Kong.
Li, Z., & Gu, M. Y. (2023, March 27). TDG Project Seminar: Developing pre-service language teachers’ intercultural identity. [Webinar]. The Education University of Hong Kong. (https://www.eduhk.hk/lttc2013/view.php?secid=55162)
Financial Year:
2020-21
Type:
TDG