Two steps forward, one step back (and a few to the side) : embedding English language teaching in a discipline subject

Abstract

At Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU), the compulsory English language provision consists of six credits of general and academic English in the first two years and two further credits of English, as part of the Discipline Specific Requirement (DSR), which focus on English for students’ particular field of study, in Years 2-4. Most of these DSR language courses are stand-alone courses taught by the English Language Center (ELC) but in a few, the ELC teaching is embedded into a course run by the discipline department. In January 2015 the first of these embedded courses was rolled out, and six others were introduced by January 2018. Many are preparation courses for the students’ Capstone (Final Year) Projects, which include input on research skills and expectations by the discipline department and language from the ELC. Embedded courses were new to the ELC, having been introduced as part of the university’s response to the territory-wide education revamp, which reduced secondary schooling by one year and extended university study to four years. Course development involved learning the preconceptions, expectations and communication style of other disciplines. Often the approach to course design was very different and the value placed on English language training varied greatly between disciplines. The pattern of moves taken to achieve a workable course which aligned with the discipline department varied greatly between the different courses. This paper reflects on the practical implementation of embedding these English courses into the discipline subjects and the lessons learnt about this inter-departmental collaboration.