Together We Shine: mLang – e-Pedagogy and Learning Platform Supporting Junior Primary School Students to Learn Chinese 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 better learning environment for students and teachers from different language and cultural backgrounds.

We are a social enterprise listed on the Social Enterprise Directory of The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) 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 institutes to facilitate their teaching and learning in eight subjects. About 10,000 teachers and students are benefited from our service.

Project Details

Objectives:

This project aims to support both Chinese and non-Chinese speaking kindergarteners coming from low-income families for a smooth transition to primary schools. Tutors will be trained to provide:

1. Online storytelling and comprehension discussion for primary 1 and 2 students once a week, to strengthen the young children’s Chinese language proficiency.
2. Online homework consultation once a week to support primary 1 and 2 students’ Chinese language learning.

Programme schedule:

• Week 1 – 12: Deliver online service and support
• Training for tutors (2-hour face-to-face workshop; date to be recommend on weekend and before starting class)
  • Introduce mLang platform and operations
  • Storytelling and comprehension discussion
  • Skills to teach struggling learners
  • Differences on culture and learning styles between Chinese and Non-Chinese speaking students
  • Tutors debriefing and knowledge exchange

Details of work to be assigned to students:

1. Online storytelling and comprehension discussion: picture books will be given to tutors for storytelling (20 mins.) with 40 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’s e-learning platform.
2. Tutors will review and give verbal/written feedback/encouragement to tutees via mLang’s platform once a week.
3. Tutors will provide one-hour online learning support to tutees once a week, so that tutees can ask questions related to their Chinese language learning via mLang’s e-learning platform.
4. Tutors need to share their observation to 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 1,500-word self-reflection report.

Remark: Ratio of tutor and tutees = 1: 3-4 tutees (3-4 Non-Chinese speaking students)