| Programme Code: | A1M060 / C2M012 |
| Study Mode: | One-year Full-time / Two-year Part-time |
| Programme Leader: | Prof. TSOU Ka Yin Benjamin |
| Hotline: | (852) 2948 8329 / 2948 8647 |
| E-mail: | maelacs@ied.edu.hk |
Introduction
Language in society and particularly in education is critically important to Hong Kong as she faces the evolving complexities of 2 official written languages and 3 spoken languages (兩文三語). This is especially so because the Hong Kong education system has generally integrated students of normal ability and those with special needs in the same class under the policy of Inclusive Education (融合教育). As a result, teachers and speech-language therapists face new challenges, especially in identifying and assisting special education need children, including those with language disorders.
The new MA programme in Educational Linguistics and Communication Sciences (MAELACS) is jointly offered by the Faculty of Languages and the Research Centre on Linguistics and Language Information Sciences, as well as other departments at The Hong Kong Institute of Education. It aims to provide foundation knowledge about language and linguistic analysis for students with relevant professional interests, careers and concerns, specifically for teachers and health professionals interested in caring for and handling individuals with exceptional language learning and communication requirements.
programme aims
MAELACS has the following aims:
- To enable students to acquire a rich understanding of the systematic nature of language, through the comparison of linguistic phenomena between relevant cognate languages and dialects.
- To provide students with background knowledge on the nature of language and its complex relationship with the society and culture of Hong Kong.
- To sharpen the students’ intellectual ability to function more effectively as language professionals in their careers.
- To enhance students’ understanding of the complexities of language learning and assessment, especially for individuals with above- or belowaverage linguistic abilities, in the context of multilingual and multi-dialectal communities
- To sensitize students to theoretical implications of practical linguistic problems faced by professional language users, and enhance their abilities to approach and solve such language-related problems in a principled way, with requisite specialist knowledge.
- To equip students with methodological tools for the analysis of language structure, and for the empirical study of the dynamics of language learning, teaching and assessment processes.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
The programme comprises 30 credit points (cps). Students can choose either part-time mode over a normal period of two academic years or full-time mode over a normal period of one academic year.
Programme Curriculum
The courses offered in MAELACS cover two major strands: (1) Linguistics and (2) Communication Sciences and Disorders in the contexts of Chinese and of education. These courses are carefully designed to meet the needs of both Chinese language education specialists and speech-language therapists working in Hong Kong (as well as Greater China) and to enhance the students’ ability to identify and to deal with language-related problems, and to prepare them for further professional growth on their own through advanced studies.[tentative course outlines] The programme offers 11 courses out of which students have to take 7 core courses and 3 (out of 4) elective courses, totaling 30 credit points (cps).
| 7 Core Courses | 21 cps |
| 3 Elective Courses | 9 cps |
| Total | 30 cps |
* Elective courses (additional electives may be offered as appropriate) | ||||||||||||
STAFF STRENGTH - [Profiles of the teaching staff]
The teaching team involves a large number of multidisciplinary staff from different departments with specializations in (Chinese) linguistics, language acquisition, language disorders, language teaching and assessment, computational linguistics, speech therapy, and computerized language learning tools and related software.
MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION
The courses will be conducted in Chinese and English.
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENT
Applicants should normally have
- a relevant and recognized Bachelor’s Honours degree or equivalent, with (1) professional qualifications in teaching, (2) speech therapy, (3) equivalent;
- prior credentials in teaching or in speech therapy, or equivalent areas will be an advantage;
- proficiency in spoken and written Chinese, and English;
- some familiarity with Cantonese.
Non-native English speakers are required to demonstrate competency through one of the following minimum English proficiency requirements: IELTS 6.0; or a TOEFL score of 550 (paper-based test) or 80 (internet-based test) or 215 (computer-based test); or other equivalent qualifications (such as CET), or completion of first degree at a university where English is the medium of instruction.
PROGRAMME ENQUIRIES
| Hotline : | (852) 2948-8329/ 2948-8647 |
| Fax : | (852) 2948-6199 |
| E-mail : | maelacs@ied.edu.hk |
| In person : | Faculty of Languages, Block B2-G/F-04 The Hong Kong Institute of Education 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong |
