Investigating student difficulties in English-medium secondary classes: A functional linguist and a science educator in collaboration

This paper reports on an exploration into difficulties in junior secondary science lessons taught through English in the largely Cantonese-speaking context of Hong Kong. The study was carried out by an educational linguist and a science education specialist working in collaboration, and identified difficulties through student questionnaires, interviews with teachers, and classroom observation. Understandings of genre based in systemic functional linguistics were used in conjunction with knowledge of the science curriculum to investigate these difficulties. Extracts from lessons and teaching materials on energy conversion are discussed, with additional reference to interviews and questionnaires. Analysis revealed the influence of teaching materials on coherence between curricular objectives and teacher discourse. In particular, complex description detracted from explanations, affecting student understanding of the lesson.

Automated summary

This study investigates the difficulties encountered in teaching junior secondary science lessons through English in the predominantly Cantonese-speaking context of Hong Kong. The researchers, comprising an educational linguist and a science education specialist, utilized student questionnaires, teacher interviews, and classroom observation to identify these difficulties. They employed genre understandings based on systemic functional linguistics and knowledge of the science curriculum to investigate the issue. Analysis of lesson extracts, teaching materials, interviews, and questionnaires revealed the impact of teaching materials on coherence between curricular objectives and teacher discourse, particularly in terms of complex descriptions affecting student understanding of the lesson.