The impact of teachers' perceptions of LAC practice on students' learning effectiveness

Abstract

Under the fine-tuning policy of the medium of instruction (MOI) for secondary school released by the Education Bureau in 2009, Hong Kong secondary schools are allowed the flexibility of using English as the MOI in not more than two subjects. Schools may also include English elements in other subjects as “extended learning activities”. Under such practice, students at a lower banding may also have the chance of learning content subjects in English. This poses a challenge on both the students and the teachers. While weaker students may find it difficult to learn in a second language, the teachers also need to adopt new strategies to cater for the learner diversity thus created. In this case study of two mathematics teachers at a local secondary school, the writer sought to find out how teachers’ perceptions of LAC practice have affected their pedagogical approach in the lesson, including the use of code switching, the level of language used and class activities, and as a result, the learning effectiveness of students. Through a series of lesson observations and interviews, it could be seen that the teacher who showed a higher degree of language awareness could better incorporate LAC practice in his lessons, which helped students learn more effectively and to a greater depth. Despite the teacher’s claim that he did not believe he had a role to play in teaching students’ English, language-learning elements were frequently observed in his lessons and he could adjust to the level at which even lower ability students could learn well. Based on the findings, the writer also shed light on some implications on adopting LAC or CLIL approaches in local content subject lessons.