BA (Honours) in Contemporary English and Education

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Introduction

The Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Contemporary English and Education programme is a 4-year degree programme jointly offered by Lingnan University and The Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) from 2005-06 onwards. It will produce graduates with a high level of knowledge and skills in English and in Education, fully qualified to teach in Hong Kong schools. The programme draws on the expertise of both institutions. At Lingnan, students take courses in contemporary English language and its literatures as part of a Liberal Arts curriculum. This will give them a strong foundation in English Studies relevant to English teaching. At HKIEd, they take further courses in English studies and, additionally, focus on education, especially the theory and practice of English language teaching. Students have an opportunity to conduct supervised teaching practices. Students also spend a semester living and studying in an English-speaking country. Programme graduates are exempt from the Language Proficiency Requirement for English.

 

Aims and Philosophy

This innovative programme was initiated by the SAR Government's Education and Manpower Bureau to meet the need for better qualified English teachers in Hong Kong. The aim of the joint degree is to produce graduates who have a high level of knowledge and skills in the English language and a high competence in the teaching skills required to teach English effectively.

The philosophy behind the degree is both practical and intellectual. The practical aspect is the belief that properly qualified and linguistically able teachers will have the right background to become effective teachers. The intellectual side is based on the premise that proficiency in English alone is an inadequate basis for good teaching in a productive and forward looking environment. Subject knowledge must also encompass cultural and theoretical knowledge about English as a world language in the local context. The two institutions are able to deliver these two inter-related aspects of the proposed degree programme.

 

Intake Quota Per Annum

31 students

 

Entrance Requirements

The admissions requirements of the degree programme reflect the general requirements of the two institutions and the needs of the degree programme in English and Education. The required grade in the AS ‘Use of English’ is set at D so as to ensure a good level of proficiency in English at the outset of the degree. The programme hopes to attract students with aptitude for and interest in the English language.

 Applicants must have obtained:           

(a)              grade E or above in two subjects in the Hong Kong or GCE Advanced Level examination; or

 

                  grade E or above in one subject in the Hong Kong or GCE Advanced Level examination, and in one Advanced Supplementary (AS) subject other than ‘Use of English’ and ‘Chinese Language & Culture’; AND

 

(b)              grade D or above in AS  ‘Use of English’; AND

 

(c)              grade E or above in AS  ‘Chinese Language & Culture’.

 

Programme Structure

The first two years of study take place at Lingnan University where students follow a course of study very close to the existing BA (Hons) in Contemporary English Studies. This will consist of 60 credits. The remaining two years will be spent at the Hong Kong Institute of Education following a course of study which will equip students practically and theoretically to become effective teachers.

 

There follows a course structure for the Lingnan University part of the degree:

FIRST YEAR		Number of Credits
ENG101	Introduction to Language (R)	3
ENG102	Practical Phonetics (R)	3
ENG103	Introduction to English Grammar (R)	3
ENG106	Literary Analysis I (R)	3
ENG107	Literary Analysis II (R)	3
ENG108	Models of Speech and Writing (R)	3
ENG111	Models of Speech and Writing II (R)	3
LCC101	Practical Chinese I (R)	3
LCC102	Practical Chinese II (R)	3
	* General Education Course (Category A)	3
		30

SECOND YEAR
ENG202	Language and Society (R)	3
ENG203	Discourse Analysis (R)	3
ENG204	Contemporary Fiction in English or	3
ENG205	Contemporary Drama in English
ENG266a	Psycholinguistics and Second Language Acquisition (R)	3
ENG378	Words: Their Form and Meaning (R)	3
EPC1137	Human Development (R)	3
	* General Education Course (Category B)	3
Electives
Discipline Electives# (at least one from the Literary Strand)		6
Free Electives# (two courses)		6
		33

(R) denotes required course(s).

* For details, please see the General Education Section.

# Among the 12 credits for Discipline Electives and Free Electives, students have to use 3 credits to take a course listed under Multimodality Electives. 

Discipline electives		Number of Credits
ENG274	Literature and Adaptation	3
ENG381	Modernism in Painting and Literature	3
ENG382	Theatre as Visual Spectacle	3
ENG383	Painting and Poetry	3
Free electives from the Visual Studies Programme
(Details of the following courses can be found from the website of the Visual Studies Programme)
HST262	The Historical Experience in Film	3
PHI269	Appreciating Art	3
PHI373	Cinema and Philosophy	3
VIS101	Introduction to Chinese Art	3
VIS102	Visual Studies: An Analytic Introduction	3
VIS103	Western Art from Antiquity to the Enlightenment	3
VIS104	Western Art from Romanticism to Modernism	3
VIS105	Introduction to Film Studies	3
VIS201	Visual Culture and the Digital Media	3
VIS251	Art and Power: A Historical Survey of the Political Uses of the Visual	3
VIS252	Avant-Garde Art	3
VIS253	History of the Cinema	3
VIS254	Pictorial Art since 1900	3
VIS351	Film Genre	3
VIS352	Film Theory and Criticism	3
VIS353	Non-fiction Film	3

 

Career Potential

Graduates are qualified to teach the English language subject in secondary schools. The high level of knowledge and skills in the English language enables graduates to fill posts in education with distinction.

 

Information about the programme at HKIEd

Students who are enrolled in the BA(Honours) in Contemporary English and Education Programme will spend their 3rd and 4th years of study in The Hong Kong Institute of Education to extend their English Studies and take courses in teacher education. The modules in Years 3 and 4 offered by HKIEd will be tightly linked with those of the Lingnan University. The programme will include:

a)	2 different Areas of Study, namely Subject Knowledge and Professional Studies (see content* in Table 1 below)
b)	A full semester of immersion study in an English speaking overseas university (se content * in Table 2 below)
c)	Field Experience (Semesters 4, 5, 6 & 8) (see details* in Table 3 below)
	* The module titles and arrangement are indicative and subject to change.

Hostel Requirements

HKIEd accords high importance to supporting the personal and professional growth of students by providing an enriched hostel life education programme.  Through self-governance, hostel residents learn the skills necessary for independent and interdependent living.  To this end, HKIEd strongly encourages each student of this collaborative programme to live on campus for any 2 semesters during their two years of study in the Institute. 

Table 1:  Content Overview of Year 3 & Year 4 of the Programme

Areas of Study	cps	Module Titles (The module titles are indicative only and are subject to change)
SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE This area provides essential subject knowledge that builds on and extends the foundational knowledge gained from modules in Years 1 & 2, incorporating an additional pedagogical component to develop the students’ skills as potential teachers.	24	Pedagogical Grammar English Language Curriculum Classrom Discourse Analysis Information Technology and English Language Teachng Assessment for Learning in ELT   One elective from the following: Adolescent Literature and Language Arts The Development of Literature in English from Romanticism to the Present Day Film and Drama in ELT Multi-literacies   Pragmatics (Immersion semester)* Language and Culture (Immersion semester)*
ENGLISH PROFICIENCY SKILLS	3	Ethnography in a Community Context (Immersion semester)*
GENERAL EDUCATION This area provides elective studies in various subject-related areas of interest. It will introduce flexibility into students’ programme of study, offering a range of topics which help to broaden and enrich students’ subject knowledge as well as tertiary education experience.	6 (to be taken during  immersion)	General Education: Elective 1 (Immersion semester)* General Education: Elective 2 (Immersion semester)*
PROFESSIONAL STUDIES a. Generic Professional Studies You focus on the kinds of knowledge and skills which are likely to form part of initial teacher education for teachers of any subject (i.e. generic knowledge). This area offers you psychological, philosophical, social, and theoretical perspectives on education, within the local language teaching and learning context b. Subject Specific Professional Studies These develop essential practical skills in English language teaching, which form part of an initial teacher education directly relevant to the teaching of English language as a subject at secondary level in Hong Kong. c. Academic Project & Educational Research Methods This area gives you the opportunity to synthesise essential issues covered in the programme and explore a chosen issue through appropriate educational research methods.	27	Human Development Teaching and Learning Creating Positive Classroom Environments Curriculum and Assessment Critical Issues in Education     Secondary ELT Methods 1 Secondary ELT Methods 2       Education Research Methods and Project (6 cps)
Total academic module cps	60

Table 2:  The Immersion Semester

The Immersion Semester	cps	Module Titles
The English immersion semester abroad provides strong support for students’ development of high level English language ability. The immersion experience also helps to broaden students’ perspectives on language teaching and on life and education in a different cultural context.	15	5 elective modules to be offered by the overseas institute. Modules may include: IT for language classrooms Critical Multi-literacies English Literature: Across Cultures & Centuries Film Studies in ELT Drama for Teaching Comparative Language Studies English Proficiency

 

Table 3:  Field Experience

Field Experience	cps	Proposed Arrangement
Field experience places students in schools which are important sites for learning to teach and where they interpret, generate, interact and experiment with theories within a supportive environment.	8	Year 2 (Sem 4) ·     Students will be on school attachment for a total of 5 days while they are based in their respective collaborating institutions. This gives them the opportunity to be involved in the early part of the programme in the day-to-day life of a school as interactive observers. Year 3 (Sem 5) ·     Students will conduct their first Block Practice (4 weeks) in November, which provides them with opportunities to teach and to be engaged in the life and work of the school. Year 3 (Sem 6) ·        Students will spend 15 days (an attachment) in an overseas school as part of their immersion semester. Year 4 (Sem 8) ·    Students will conduct their second Block Practice (8 weeks) when they have taken the majority of the pedagogy-oriented modules.