ENG-1988 — Page 170

138

EDUCATION

technical subjects at secondary level are expected to be available for use in prevocational and technical schools in September 1991.

Institute of Language in Education

The Institute was founded in September 1982 as a 'centre of excellence' on all matters relating to language learning and teaching in Hong Kong schools. It offers in-service refresher courses for teachers of English and Chinese in primary and secondary schools, conducts research into areas of language learning and teaching, organises workshops, seminars and international conferences on language and language learning, provides consultancy services on language teaching and language teacher education, designs and develops language learning and teaching resources for use in schools and publishes books and articles on language teaching. The institute also serves as a centre for courses leading to the Royal Society of Arts Diploma for Overseas Teachers of English.

During the year, 1 334 primary and secondary school teachers of English and Chinese participated in 16-week full-time refresher programmes offered by the institute. The secondary school English teachers' course was extended for seven weeks into the summer to include an intensive language proficiency programme involving residential components both locally and in the United Kingdom. Another 550 secondary school teachers of Integrated Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Economics and Public Affairs, Social Studies, Mathematics, Music, Home Economics and Design and Technology attended part-time courses on the use of Chinese for teachers of specific subjects. In addition to the refresher courses, the institute organised two seminars for primary and secondary school heads, two summer courses for the learning and teaching of Putonghua, one summer workshop on computer-assisted language learning for secondary school teachers of English, and a three-day international conference on 'Teaching and Learning Styles Within and Across Cultures: Implications for Language Pedagogy', which was attended by scholars from 21 countries.

The fourth volume of the ILEJ, the Institute's professional journal, two teachers' guides and two seminar books on Languages in Education in a Bilingual or Multi-lingual Setting, one in English and one in Chinese, were published. In the area of research, the institute completed a study on the effectiveness of extensive reading in English in secondary schools and launched a similar study on extensive reading in Chinese in primary schools. It con- tinued to focus on aspects of Cantonese pronunciation, the application of questioning in the teaching of reading and computer-assisted language learning in secondary schools. It also conducted research into approaches to help teachers to read professional articles and to undertake self-access learning. Two exhibitions of teacher-produced language learning and teaching materials were mounted, which attracted 1 200 visitors.

Education Research

The Educational Research Establishment (ERE) continued to monitor the academic standards of Primary 4 to Secondary 3 students in the three basic subjects of Chinese, English and Mathematics by means of the Hong Kong Attainment Tests. Construction of a battery of tests for Primary 3 was completed in April, while work continued on tests for Primary 1 and 2.

Reference materials developed by the Educational Research Establishment during the year included An Introduction to Educational Assessment for Teachers in Hong Kong and the Teacher's Handbook for the Aptitude Test for Secondary 3 Students.

Other research projects undertaken included an evaluation of the Expatriate English Language Teachers Pilot Scheme, a study of the effects of the change of medium of