New Horizons in Education

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the Chinese language remedial teaching in Hong Kong secondary schools. Specifically, the teaching content, teaching instruction, and types of assignment in the Chinese language remedial classes, as well as the s tudents' perspectives on the effectiveness of remedial teaching, were examined. The survey findings in this study revealed that teaching in Chinese language remedial classes was dominated by prescribed texts and lower-level word skills while higher-level reading and writing strategies were seldom taught. Moreover, teachers mainly focused on knowledge transmission rather than teaching students how to acquire knowledge by themselves. Students in remedial classes had very few chances to participate and they were mainly motivated by extrinsic reinforcement. Regarding the effectiveness of remedial teaching, the survey findings indicated that students had a moderate attitude on their learning in Chinese language remedial classes. Although they thought remedial teaching could not help them much, they did not completely disregard its importance. Finally, this paper posited that, in order to meet the special needs of Chinese low achievers and the recent educational reform in Hong Kong, the tradition Chinese langua ge remedial teaching practices should be altered through emphasizing the importance of higher-level reading and writing ability, metacognitive ability, and intrinsic motivation on learning Chinese language.

_{[Chinese Version | Index | New Horizons in Education | Other Journals | Subscription form | Enquiry ]}

Mail any comments and suggestions to hkier-journal@cuhk.edu.hk .