ENGLAutumn2009 Issue

ENGLink is publishedby the Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Contact for contributions or further information about the articles:

Email:egdept@polyu.edu.hk

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Highlights

PolyU Education Info Day 2009

New Publications by Academic Staff

ELABP Symposium

Sharing by MAELT Graduate

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Newsletter of the Department of EnglishThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University

5th International Symposium on Teaching English at Tertiary Level (16 – 17 October, Hong Kong)

The Symposium is regarded as a big success. It stimulated exchange of views and ideas at an international level with about 80 participants from 12 places in Asia, Australia, Europe and

South Africa. A total of 53 papers on various issues related to teaching English at tertiary level were presented which encouraged dynamic discussions among the participants.

Prof. Ken Hyland from the University of Hong Kong gave a keynote speech on "Disciplinary specificity and EAP". Another plenary speaker was Prof. Peter Skehan from The Chinese University of Hong Kong with a speech entitled "Processing Approaches to Task-based performance: The value of coordinated research".

The Symposium was a joint effort by the Department of English of PolyU and the Department of Foreign Languages of Tsinghua University. The departments will take turns to host the Symposium and the next Symposium will be hosted by Tsinghua in a place in China.

The parallel presentation sessions bring up lots of discussion among the participants.

Participants of the Symposium.

Event Highlights

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PolyU Education Info Day 2009

The annual university-wide event was held on 26 September 2009. Being one of the constituent units

under the Faculty of Humanities (FH), the Department has involved actively to promote its undergraduate programme, BA in English Studies for the Professions (BAESP), to JUPAS applicants. In addition to exhibition panels at the Department’s booth, both Year 1 and Year 2 students of BAESP also helped to promote the programme by sharing their experience with prospective students. The two info seminars of the programme have attracted about 300 participants who were interested to know more about the programme.

Postgraduate Programmes Orientation Day 2009

About 100 new full-time and part-time MA students participated in this event which was held on 28 August 2009. This one-day

activity covered individual programme orientations, and visits to the Library and the Centre for Independent Language Learning in the morning. There were two practical lectures in the afternoon helping students to manage their postgraduate study. One lecture was about developing academic reading strategies while the other one focused on developing academic writing skills. Dr Stephen Evans gives a lecture on “Developing academic writing skills”.

Departmental Seminars

Prof. Christian Matthiessen, Head of the Department of English is talking with a prospective student about studying opportunities in the Department.

Prof. Huang Chu-ren, Dean of FH (third from left), officiates at the opening of the Faculty exhibition together with heads and representatives of FH departments and centres.

Prosody in Hong Kong English: Aspects of speech rhythm and intonation (21 September 2009)The seminar was conducted by Dr Jane Setter from the University of Reading. In this talk, she reported her research on prosodic features of speech in Hong Kong English (HKE), specifically, rhythm and intonation. It was found that rhythmic patterns in HKE differ significantly in comparison to British English, and it was hypothesized that this may lead to reduced intelligibility in international communication in some settings.

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Scaffolding Literacy Online: Lessons from the SLATE project (28 September 2009)The Seminar was given by Dr Ahmar Mahboob from the Sydney University. In this seminar, he provided a broad introduction to the SLATE (Scaffolding Literacy in Academic and Tertiary Environments) which is a collaboration e-literacy project between the University of Sydney and the City University of Hong Kong. He also focused on the process of providing effective feedback to students using online resources. There was a good discussion afterwards regarding how these resources might be used in other contexts.

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Reference as a pragmatic act (8 October 2009)The speaker of this seminar was Prof. Jacob L. Mey, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at the University of Southern Denmark. He discussed the linguistic and philosophical problem of reference in relation to the notion of the instantiated pragmatic act or ‘pragmeme’. The whole presentation focused on discussing how to relate the language user and his or her language to the situation in which the language is being used - which is the premier issue in all of pragmatics.

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Department Updates

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BAESP Receives Endorsement and Recognition from the Education Bureau

The Department’s UGC-funded programme, BA (Hons) in English Studies for the Professions (BAESP) received confirmation from the Education

Bureau (EDB) in September that the programme is recognised by the EDB and its Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) as an English Language Major Degree Programme which also meets the Hong Kong Government’s Language Proficiency Requirement. BAESP is the only undergraduate language programme in PolyU that has been granted such dual recognition, which is a reflection of the high quality of the academic programmes offered by the Department.

New Academic Staff in 2009/10Dr Foong Ha Yap, Assistant Professor

Dr Yap grew up in multicultural Malaysia, and has spent most of her adult life abroad in Hong Kong, the US and Japan. She received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from UCLA

and is greatly interested in interdisciplinary research. Her particular areas of specialization include language typology, language change, and language processing and acquisition of tense and aspect. She is also interested in research on media and workplace discourse.

Dr Yap is currently editing a two-volume series on Nominalization in Asian Languages: Diachronic and Typological Perspectives (with Karen Grunow-Hårsta and Janick Wrona) to be published in 2010 by John Benjamins. These two volumes reveal how a wide range of Asian languages (e.g. Chinese, Tibeto-Burman, Iranian, Korean, Japanese/Okinawan, Austronesian and Papuan languages) extend their nominalization constructions to do not only referential but also non-referential functions, including the marking of speaker mood and stance. These studies allow us to situate what we know about the nominalization constructions in English (and other western languages) against the backdrop of indigenous languages in our part of the world.

A sequel to this nominalization project is another typological project entitled Stance Marking in Asian Languages: Linguistic and Cultural Perspectives. This project, which involves collaboration between the various departments in the Faculty of Humanities, examines similarities and differences in the ways Asian speakers express their mood, attitudes and viewpoints. Findings form these investigations have implications for intercultural understanding, as well as for the pedagogical teaching of both English and Putonghua within our regional context. This project also involves extensive collaboration with colleagues around the world, and we look forward to our undergraduate and postgraduate students interacting with scholars from La Trobe University (Melbourne), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok), National Taiwan University (Taipei), Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Seoul), and UCLA (Los Angeles), among others. Among the projected outputs of this project is an edited volume entitled Stance Marking in Asian Narratives and Conversations, and given our special strengths in discourse analysis here at PolyU, we hope to also receive interesting submissions on stance markers in Asian Englishes as well as in Chinese dialects as spoken among overseas immigrant communities.

In terms of teaching this academic year, Dr Yap is currently co-teaching Literature in English: An Introduction (with Dean Gui) and Analysis of Contemporary English II. Next semester she will be teaching Languages in Contemporary Societies as well as English for Advanced Academic Writing.

Department Updates

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From left to right: Geoff Thompson, Flo Davies and Dr Gail Forey.

In Honour of Flo Davies

In June Dr Gail Forey and Geoff Thompson honoured their colleague and friend, Lady Florence Davies (Flo to friends) at the book launch of

“Text Type and Texture” an edited volume by Forey and Thompson (2009) published by Equinox. The book was launched at the European Systemic Functional Workshop and Conference in Cardiff, where Gail and Geoff praised Flo’s contribution to the academic world and paid tribute to her influential, enthusiastic and supportive nature. Many of the contributors worked with Flo, or were her PhD students. As her PhD student, Gail like many others, felt extremely fortunate to have had such an influential, generous, inspirational teacher who encouraged herself and other into areas of teaching and research that they had not really considered before. Flo’s example as a teacher, her insights, the combination of her detailed work and broad vision, the passionate intensity of her commitment, her phenomenal energy – set standards that many of them aspire today. Flo has been a constant source of inspiration for Gail and for many others, and she feels fortunate to have been involved in collating this tribute to Flo's contribution to academia.

About the book, texture is the quality that makes a text ‘hang together’ as a text – is a key focus of investigation in discourse analysis and is the central theme in this book. This volume provides a systematic overview of recent research on textual resources that are used to construct texture, and on the ways in which these resources are deployed differently in different text types. Theme is the major resource that is explored in the book. The volume includes contributions from eminent scholars such as Michael Hoey, Jim Martin, Bev Derewianka, Peter Fries, Sue Hood, Caroline Coffin, among others.

New Book by Dr Mable Chan: 職時上位 — 名人英語全面睇(Master Your English in the Workplace)

The targeted readers of the book are working adults, senior form students and the public in general who are interested in business

English. Instead of another English learning book on the market, the essence of this book is about persuasion and how persuasion is an important element to be mastered, linking business genres such as negotiation, negative messages, sales letter and job application letters.

The format of each chapter is like this: The first part is some background information and input about the business genres in question, followed by language features (e.g. how to establish credentials in writing sales letters, ways to present a buffer in the introduction for negative messages) and sample analysis. The second part is the analysis of celebrities' speeches (e.g. Obama, Clinton, Bush, Song Mei Ling, etc) to examine how the persuasion techniques introduced are used and applied. The last part is the use of case studies to illustrate how the persuasion techniques can be used in authentic cases in the workplace or in daily life.

The book is now available on the market. You can also buy it online with a discount: http://www.popular.com.hk/. This book fills the niche in the market, which will greatly benefit our undergraduate and postgraduate students in the learning of business English.

Dr Mable Chan has been actively promoting the teaching and learning of English in Hong Kong and readers can see her effort in her new book.

Research

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New publication: Language for Professional Communication: Research, Practice and Training

This new book is a collection of twenty one papers that were presented at the Partnerships in Action: Research, Practice & Training, Inaugural Conference of the Asia-

Pacific Rim LSP and Professional Communication Association. As remarked by Professor Christopher N Candlin of Macquarie University in the preface, the book is remarkable in many ways: It presents “a widely diverse set of papers from an equally diverse geographically and institutionally-based authorship” and “represents the first of what we hope will be many similar collections and publications that lie under the aegis of the newly-formed Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional Communication Association”.

Staff and research students of our departments have contributed to the book: Janet Ho, Li Lan, Leung Chi Kong, Lucy MacGregor, David Qian and Amy Suen.

The book is edited by Vijay K Bhatia, Winnie Cheng, Bertha Du-Babcock and Jane Lung, and jointly published by City University of Hong Kong, Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional Communication Association, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (ISBN 978-962-367-652-6). http://www.engl.polyu.edu.hk/RCPCE

Recent Talks and Seminars by Research Centre for Professional Communication in English (RCPCE)

Prof. Winnie Cheng speaks at the talk.

2.CommunicativeCompetenciesinEnglishforAccountancyProfessionals

Co-organiser: TheAssociationofCharteredCertifiedAccountants(ACCA)

To be successful in today's globalised workenvironment,professionalsneed tobehighlycompetentcommunicators.Thisseriesoftailor-madeseminarsoffersaccountancyprofessionalstheopportunitytogainthecompetitiveedgeinprofessionalcommunicationinEnglish.

3.“Idon’tsupposeyoucould……:howtocommunicateeffectivelytoachieveyourdesiredgoalsCo-organiser:HongKongInstituteofCertifiedPublicAccountants(HKICPA)Date:10December2009(Thur)Speaker:Prof.MartinWarren

2.1ProfessionalEnglishWritingforAccountantsDate:17November2009(Tue)Speaker:Prof.WinnieCheng

2.2AccountancyReportWritingDate:7December2009(Mon)Speakers:DrChristopherGreenandDrLiLan

4.Politeness vs. impoliteness: How tocommunicateeffectivelytomaintainfaceCo-organiser:HongKongInstituteofUtilitySpecialists(HKIUS)Date:18December2009(Fri)Speaker:Prof.MartinWarren

1.Invitedtalk:"Servicedisruptions...":Professionalcommunicationincrisis-relatedpressreleases,16October2009,China&InternationalBusinessDivision(C&IB),MTRCorporationLimited

Research

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Symposium on English as the Language of Asian Business and Professions (ELABP), 5-6 November 2009, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

• Tony Bruno, Director of PCCW Teleservices• Georgina Chan, Executive Director, Hong Kong

Institute of Certified Public Accountants• Vincent Ho, Chairman, Hong Kong Association of

Risk Management and Safety

• Ruth Benny, Training Consultant, Centre for Professional and Business English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

• Deanna J McGonigal, Director of Learning and Development, Marco Polo Hotels

• King Wong, Secretary General, Hong Kong Utility Research Centre

6 November Moderator:Dr Christopher Green

5 November Moderator:Dr Gail Forey

The Symposium aims to1. gather together as many ELABP group members as possible to share

research findings undertaken by group members so far, and to work out the next stage of research activities, particularly to plan collaborative projects;

2. provide an opportunity for other researchers in ELABP to present their research; and

3. connect academics, researchers and professional communities with the view to conducting research and scholarly activities in partnership.

Plenary talks• Understanding risk, trust & quality: What can Discourse Analysis offer

to professional practice? Prof. Christopher Candlin, Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University

• Another look at Asian Business Discourse(s) – with an eye on ELABP, Dr Francesca Bargiela, Independent Researcher in Linguistics

Panel speakers

PresentationsThere will be about thirty paper presentations.

Website: http://www.engl.polyu.edu.hk/RCPCE/elabp.html

Students and Alumni News

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My MA Studies Opened the Door for Me to Academia

It is a wise decision to pursue my Master degree here at PolyU.

Nancy Guo 4 months after completing her MAELT working as a Research Assistant in the Department.

At the beginning, the tight schedule of lectures and assignments was really tough for me. I still remembered that I stayed up very late to finish the

first assignment. However, after the grueling start, I gradually learnt how to make the best use of my time. Such study skills involved selecting the topic for my assignment, searching for related articles and books, narrowing down and focusing on a specific point within the general topic, writing up the draft, and discussing questions with peers and lecturers. Now I know how to approach the daunting tasks and was able to finish every assignment in an organized way.

Our Department opens its door to various international academics, organises conferences and symposiums, such as the conference of the Asia-Pacific Rim Languages for Specific Purposes and the two PolySystemic symposiums. These precious experiences really broaden my academic horizon, and one particular lecture even stimulated my future interest for PhD study. In addition, the Department offered me an opportunity to work as a part-time Student Assistant, through which I became involved in some interesting projects and I learned how they actually work.

After the hard work of a year’s study, it was an honor for me to present my MA project with my Supervisor at the International Systemic Functional Linguistic Congress at Tsinghua University, July 2009. I was flattered that a number of well known academics attended our presentation. It was an extremely revealing experience as I received a lot of useful feedback and discussed my research with many experts in the field.

Now I am working as a Research Assistant at PolyU and teaching an undergraduate subject related to my research area. This is a great opportunity for me to put what I have learnt into practice. Meanwhile, I continue to work on my PhD proposal. I hope that one day soon I can start PhD studies in our Department. Being a college teacher has always been my dream. PolyU has helped me to get even closer to achieving this. I am sure, one day all my hard work here will bear fruit.

(P.S – A note from the Programme Leader – Nancy came to PolyU as a fresh graduate, worked extremely hard, listened, and grew tremendously throughout the year. She graduated on the MAELT with a Distinction, and a GPA of 4.0! We’re very proud of her achievements! Well done Nancy! Gail)

Students and Alumni News

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Dr Li Lan (left), Prof. Huang Chu-ren (second from right; Dean of FH) and Miss Janice Lui (right; former Student Ambassador and graduate of 2009 from BA in Language Studies for the Professions) congratulate Kitty’s appointment.

BAESP Student Appointed as PolyU Student Ambassador

BAESP Year 2 student Cheung Wai Ling, Kitty was selected as the PolyU Student Ambassador for the year 2009-10. Kitty will assist in

promoting the programmes of the University which include sharing her campus life and experience in going through JUPAS with the secondary school students. The programme is organised by the Academic Secretariat (AS) and there are 23 Student Ambassadors in this academic year. Kitty is the only representative from the Faculty of Humanities (FH) in the programme.

WIE Work Placements in Summer 2009

To develop students’ all-roundedness and academic excellence in a professional context, the Department organized three major WIE work placement programmes for our students in summer 2009. Our students were given opportunities to work in the UK,

Australia and China respectively. Through these overseas placement opportunities, they learned effective ways to work with people from different cultures and had a better understanding of the workplace ethos. Students appreciated the valuable experiences via these placements and below are some BAESP students sharing their experiences with us.

Leung Ka Wai Denny, BAESPYear2studentwhoworkedatWarwickSport,UK

“The job placement was a brand new

and useful experience for me, it was

viewed not only an opportunity to

learn working and technical skills but

also to know about different working

styles and workplace culture. The job

placement has made me become more

international and open-minded”

So Sze Nga, BAESPYear2 studentwho worked at Alstonville PublicSchool,Australia

“This WIE placement programme not only provides me with some valuable working experience, but also broadens my horizon. I can experience the working culture in another country and working with different people. I think it is really a memorable experience.”

Tse Wing In, BAESPYear2studentwhoworkedatTsinghuaUniversity

“I enjoy interaction with the local

people. I appreciate everyone I met in

Beijing.

Although I had not decided what

industry I will join after graduation, I

had recognized the importance of being

bi-literal and trilingual. I also see a lot of

opportunities in mainland China.”

University of Warwick Placement Programme(16 May -10 July)

Southern Cross University Placement Programmes (29 May-27 June & 12 June -11 July)

Tsinghua University Summer English Immersion Programme (3-17 July)