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Prof\nKatherine Chen is the director of the English Language Centre (ELC) and\nassociate professor of applied linguistics in the Faculty of Arts and\nHumanities (FAH), University of Macau (UM). As a specialist in linguistic\nanthropology and sociolinguistics, she sees language as a window into\nunderstanding human social relationships. Prof Chen not only teaches and\nconducts research, but also works with ELC instructors to facilitate effective\nEnglish and academic learning at UM.<\/p>
The Challenges Ahead<\/b><\/p>
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In\nrecent years, the number of students enrolled at UM has grown and they arrive\nwith varying proficiencies in English. It is a challenge to bridge the gap\nbetween students\u2019 existing English knowledge and the needs of an\nEnglish-language university environment. \u2018English for university use is\ndifferent from everyday English. Using the International English Language\nTesting System (IELTS) as a reference, each English level takes 200 hours of\nformal classroom teaching. In order to meet the basic proficiency and academic\nskills training needed for studying in an English-language university, students\nneed to reach IELTS 6.5 (equivalent to lower C1 level in the Common European\nFramework). We are eager to meet this challenge and I am requesting additional\nresources from the university to enhance ELC\u2019s provision.\u2019<\/p>
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Prior\nto joining UM, Prof Chen had experience training international PhD students to\nbe English-medium instructors at the University of Michigan, as well as teaching\nEnglish linguistics and sociolinguistics at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).\nShe received a Teaching Excellence Award from HKU\u2019s Faculty of Arts in 2011. Considering\nthat UM has emerged as one of the best young universities with a burgeoning\nglobal reputation over the past few years, Prof Chen decided to embark on a new\nchapter of her academic career at UM in June 2018.<\/p>
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When\nasked what changes she will make to the ELC, Prof Chen said, \u2018I wouldn\u2019t call\nit changes because it\u2019s like saying that what my colleagues have been done before\nis not good enough. What I have noticed is that every ELC instructor is\ndedicated and professional. I\u2019m impressed with the work they are doing. At the\nsame time, any successful curriculum requires constant modification to improve\nlearning outcomes. My colleagues and I are proposing to conduct a student-need\nanalysis to further develop and modify the English language curriculum. The\nanalysis will tell us how to help our students perform more effectively in UM\nclassrooms that use English as the medium of instruction.\u2019<\/p>
English: Second\nLanguage or Foreign Tongue<\/b><\/p>
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Teachers\nand parents tend to compare the English competency of students from Macao with\nHong Kong (HK), but Prof Chen, who grew up in HK, points out that the\ncomparison is not fair. \u2018Which group of HK students are you comparing with?\nThose who get to the top universities in HK have attained to top C1 or C2 level\nin the Common European Framework and many of them are from a group of elite\nEnglish as Medium of Instruction (EMI) schools. They use English as a second language.\nYet three quarters of HK students are from Chinese as Medium of Instruction\n(CMI) schools, like students in Macao and China, and they regard English as a\nforeign language. They don\u2019t really use English that much outside of the\nclassroom. Chinese is their medium in the playground and cafeteria. Such\nstudents\u2019 exposure to English is, therefore, very different, and these environments\nare clearly less conducive to English learning,\u2019 says Prof Chen. At UM, a\nsignificant number of students come from CMI schools. They are required to take\nEnglish classes with students from EMI schools. \u2018A considerable challenge for\nus at the ELC is to address the needs of every learner,\u2019 says Prof Chen. \u2018There\nare pros and cons of putting mixed level students together in the same\nclassroom. It brings particular challenges to teachers. It\u2019s not possible to teach\nwith the same material; we cannot adopt a onesize- fits-all approach. The\ninstructor has to be very creative and dynamic and be able to spot what each learner\nneeds and gives them the right material and tools at the appropriate time.\u2019<\/p>
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One\nstrategy used to optimise mixed-level learning environments is to get students\nto work in groups. Prof Chen often encourages academically-strong students to\nhelp their classmates in such group work as she believes it brings benefits to\nboth. Learning how to guide others is a great way for stronger students to deepen\nexisting knowledge. Weaker students also benefit as they now receive both\nteacher and peer support. Prof Chen experienced this herself when completing\nher PhD at the University of Michigan. \u2018I was so bad at Theoretical Syntax, but\nmy classmates were willing to teach me and help me after class. In exchange I\ntaught them Experimental Phonetics, which I was good at; the result was that we\nall excelled in both subjects. When teaching at the ELC I explain to my students\nthat they are unique, have different learning styles, and skills that could\nbenefit the group.\u2019<\/p>
Be an \u2018Owner\u2019 of\nEnglish<\/b><\/p>
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English\nis a global language and a \u2018lingua franca\u2019 among non-native English speakers.\nIt is inevitable that people use English no matter where they are, especially\nin HK and Macao, and even in cyber social spaces (such as Line, WhatsApp and\nWeChat). Although most people do not view English as their own language, it is\nnonetheless part of their linguistic repertoire, notes Prof Chen. We asked Prof\nChen how to reach a proficient level of English, and she answered that \u2018it\ndepends on how much you want to take ownership of English. There are people who\nthink English is not our language. They think that as a Chinese, using Chinese\nis enough, but it is better to be open-minded in this globalised world. I\nreally hope that the new generation will embrace a multilingual identity. I\nconsider myself multilingual and am grateful that I am fluent in Cantonese,\nPutonghua, and English. It gives you a broader worldview when you have more\nthan one language at your command.\u2019<\/p>
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\u2018For\nstudents from CMI schools, it is always possible to catch up,\u2019 says Prof Chen;\n\u2018motivation is the key.\u2019 She explained that adults have higher cognitive\nabilities and are able to learn grammar rules and sentence structures more\nquickly than children, yet what most people lack are motivation and consistent\npractice. \u2018Which level students can achieve very much depends on their goal-setting.\nWhen the ELC designs teaching materials, we give top priority to piquing\nstudent interest and provoking the desire to \u201cown\u201d English.\u2019<\/p>
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Scaffolding and Positive Learning<\/b><\/p>
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Almost\nall students in Macao have been exposed to English since kindergarten. In other\nwords, they have more than 12 years of experience in English learning before\ngoing to university. Prof Chen has observed, with concern, that many suffer\nfrom learning stagnation. In her opinion, a positive learning experience is key\nto helping students develop, and teachers can play a central role in\nfacilitating this. \u2018I remember when I was in Form 3, I went for a solo verse\nspeaking competition. At that time I was not the best one in my class; I was in\nthe lower half. My teacher, Ms Tsui Wai Ting, picked me because she thought I\nhad a good voice and I was quite energetic in class,\u2019 Prof Chen said. \u2018I was\nextremely nervous and my English was not that good, but my teacher saw something\nin me and she gave me faith, so I worked really hard because of her.\u2019<\/p>
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The\npoem Prof Chen recited was The Sloth by the American poet Theodore Roethke. \u201cIn\nthe beginning, I couldn\u2019t pronounce the words correctly, so my teacher patiently\ntaught me the correct form. Later, I began to understand rhythm, how to\nemphasise and bring out emotion. My teacher gave me enough scaffolding that I\nneeded to become confident so I knew I could do it. Though I didn\u2019t win I was\nthe first in my school who received a Certificate of Merit and very positive\ncomments from the judges. My teacher was very pleased. Since then I have had\nthe confidence to develop my English language knowledge. I would like to instil\nthis confidence in my students.\u201d<\/p>
The Key to Learning<\/b><\/p>
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In\nresponse to the question of whether there are any special tips for students,\nProf. Chen remarked: \u2018Just remember there are no shortcuts in learning any language.\nYou can\u2019t just take a \u2018language pill\u2019 and know the language the next day when\nyou wake up.\u2019 Prof Chen prefers the metaphor of learning to swim. \u2018Can you\nlearn the skills by just watching other people swim? You can sit and watch\nOlympic medalists swim for hours but you would never be able to swim by just\nwatching. You have to get into the water and do it. Learning English is the\nsame, you need to use it, and you can do it by finding something in English\nthat you love. For instance, if you like English TV or movies, go watch them\nwith or without English subtitles (but not with Chinese subtitles!). Force\nyourself to go through with it. With time, you\u2019ll be able to understand the\nlanguage, and you won\u2019t think of it as something that requires hard work.\u2019<\/p>
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\u2018Each\nELC instructor works very hard. Every step we take aims to motivate our\nstudents to learn and to grow,\u2019 says Prof Chen. \u2018I would like to quote a\ncolleague of mine, Dr Alice Lee, one of the ELC\u2019s Senior Instructors. Last year\nin a retreat we shared our motivations for teaching. Dr Lee said she teaches to\n\u201cpay it forward\u201d. She had been taught by wonderful and inspiring teachers who\nmade such a positive difference to her life, and she wants to be such an\ninfluence to her own students. It summed up the approach of all of us at the\nELC; we aim to be an inspiring and positive influence on our students\u2019 university\nlearning, indeed their whole life.\u2019<\/p>
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