Traditional grammar pedagogy conceptualizing grammar as rules of thumb fails to provide learners with comprehensive, accurate, or systematic knowledge on the system. The present classroom-based study aims at investigating application of an alternative pedagogical grammar method integrating the pedagogical framework of systemic theoretical…

This study aimed to investigate the association between syntactic awareness and discourse-level reading comprehension in 136 Hong Kong Chinese children. These children, aged 11, from a longitudinal study, were administered a set of cognitive and linguistic measures. Partial correlational analyses showed that children's performances in two…

Despite the high frequency of occurrences of "wh"-interrogatives in daily use, there are repeated negative comments about the poor mastery of the wh-interrogative structure among Hong Kong students. However, so far little attention has been paid to their difficulties in the acquisition of the structure. There is a strong need to…

This paper examines one section of the objective paper of the Hong Kong Examination Authority's (HKEA) Use of English Examination. One of the test types in this section of the examination involves candidates completing a cloze passage based on a text. It is the HKEA's contention that the exercise involves summarizing/paraphrasing skills. The…

Describes an experiment in which rhetorically different texts, with identical subject matter were read by 490 Hong Kong Chinese school children, studying in English as a Second Language. Comprehension was measured by a cloze procedure and by recall protocols. Results showed a clear difference in comprehension between the text types and suggests…

Examines the processes employed by subjects in Hong Kong engaged in an English-as-a-Second-Language discourse cloze test. Think-aloud protocols obtained from test-takers indicate the reasoning and strategies employed in selecting items to complete gaps in the cloze passage. Findings reveal the test-taking behavior of the subjects and presents a…

Examines the process of developing an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) cloze test by computer based on a language corpus. Two such tests developed and pilot-tested in Hong Kong were found to have test items that were not as good as they would have been if designed by a competent human, but better than expected. (Author/MSE)

Reading and understanding a text presents a variety of processing problems for L2 learners. The organizational pattern of a text has been considered by some researchers to have an important influence in this process. This article describes an experimental study of a group of Hong Kong schoolchildren and presents evidence that learners reading in…

A British publisher conducted a readability study of its English language content area texts being used in foreign countries to determine how the texts could be made more readable. A cloze procedure assessment of a secondary school Hong Kong social studies series indicated that the English texts were too difficult for 91% of the pupils tested.…

Describes a computer program that takes multiple-choice cloze passages and compiles them into proofreading exercises. Results reveal that such a computerized test type can be used to accurately measure the proficiency of students of English as a Second Language in Hong Kong. (14 references) (Author/CK)

Articles and reports in this issue include the following: "Co-text or No Text: A Study of an Adapted Cloze Technique" (Dave Coniam); "Small-Corpora Concordancing in ESL Teaching and Learning" (Bruce K.C. Ma); "Interdisciplinary Dimensions of Debate" (S. Byron, L. Goldstein, D. Murphy, E. Roberts); "Can English…