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Experiential Learning

mLang

Chinese Funcation: mLang – e-Pedagogy and Learning Platform Support Junior Primary School NCS Students to Learn Chinese Language as a Second Language

 

Background of Co-organiser

 

mLang is founded by a professional team from The University of Hong Kong, formed with members from the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Engineering with an aim of researching engaging, effective and innovative education technology and pedagogy. Since our launch in 2015, we are grateful to have been generously supported by the Quality Education Fund, the Language Fund from SCOLAR, TSSSU@HKU, SIE Fund and UBS Optimus Foundation, enabling us to forge a better learning environment for students and teachers from different language and cultural backgrounds.

 

We are a social enterprise listed in the Social Enterprise Directory of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) since 2019 and awarded as IncuTech Company at the Hong Kong Science Park Incubation Programme in 2020.

 

We have been serving more than 50 primary and secondary schools, NGOs and tertiary institute to facilitate their teaching and learning in eight subjects. About 10,000 teachers and students are benefited from our service.

 

Objectives

 

This project aims to support both Chinese and non-Chinese speaking primary students coming from low-income families to keep up with their regular school Chinese learning.

 

PGDE students will be trained to provide:

 

  • Face-to-face and online storytelling and comprehension discussion for primary 1 and 2 students once a week, to strengthen the young children’s Chinese language proficiency
  • Online homework consultation once a week to support primary 1 and 2 students’ Chinese language learning
  • Prepare storytelling and comprehension teaching materials and lesson plans
  • Create mLang cards to assist NCS students’ Chinese learning
  • Data collection.

 

Project Details

 

Details of work assigned to PGDE students:

 

  • Administer the tests to tutees to understand their language proficiency before delivering the lessons.
  • Storytelling and questioning skills for comprehension discussion: picture books are given to PGDE students for storytelling (40 mins.) with 30 mins. follow-up comprehension discussion and activities. Tutees will be asked to complete Chinese language tasks afterwards for consolidation of the newly learnt knowledge via mLang e-learning platform.
  • Review and give verbal/written feedback/encouragement to tutees via mLang platform once a week.
  • Provide 45-minute face-to-face or online learning support to tutees once a week so that tutees can ask questions related to their Chinese language learning via mLang e-learning platform.
  • Tell stories using the teaching theories they have learned from their PGDE courses and plan their lessons according to the ability of their tutees.
  • Share their observation with their tutees’ learning progress throughout the whole programme, with special focus on their learning difficulties and the most effective teaching strategy they have used by writing a 1500-word self-reflection report.

 

Ratio of tutor and tutees = 2 : 10-12 tutees

 

Date

 

  • 25 September - 31 October 2023
  • Programme schedule (Week 1-6: Deliver online service and support)

Week 1

  • Storytelling and questioning skills for comprehension discussion training for PGDE students
  • Data collection training

Week 2

  • Differences on culture and learning styles between Chinese and non-Chinese speaking students
  • Lesson observation 1, comments given to PDGE students.
  • Data collection

Week 3

  • Skills to teach struggling learners, how to cater for learners’ diversity
  • Lesson observation 2, comments given to PDGE students.
  • Data collection

Week 4

  • Lesson observation 3, comments given to PDGE students

Week 5

  • Lesson observation 4, comments given to PDGE students

Week 6

  • PGDE students debriefing and knowledge exchange, feedback from the course instructors

 

Location

 

  • Service delivery: Face-to-face or online (Tung Chung, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Causeway Bay or Cheung Sha Wan)
  • Training sessions: Hong Kong Science Park, Pak Shek Kok, New Territories

 

Eligibility

 

  • PGDE (full-time) students of all majors
  • Fluent Cantonese speakers who can read and write traditional Chinese characters
  • Passionate to serve the needy and open-minded to new technology and pedagogy
  • Major in Chinese language would be an advantage but not a must

 

Application Deadline and Procedure

 

11:59pm, 28 August 2023

 

  • Complete the application form at HKU Moodle (Part 1) AND
  • Upload the following documents to the respective project folder at HKU Moodle (Part 2) (Please combine all documents into one Word/PDF file)
    1. A personal statement (of not more than 200 words) explaining why you would like to join this EL project, with experience in teaching non-Chinese speaking students, if any.
    2. Your CV.
  • Shortlisted students may be invited to attend an interview arranged by mLang (details to be confirmed).

 

Remarks

 

  • Storytelling and comprehension discussion will be carried out on Monday morning/afternoon.
  • Online homework consultation support will be carried out on a weekday by negotiation with PGDE students and tutees.
  • Tutor training will be conducted on weekday or weekend by negotiation with the PGDE students.

 

Enquiries

 

  • Professor Elizabeth K. Y. Loh, Assistant Dean (Knowledge Exchange) (Faculty of Education, HKU) [Email: [javascript protected email address]]
  • Hina Butt (mLang) [Email: [javascript protected email address]; Telephone: 3504 2816]