This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Li, Ka Leung Emil Title: Chinese Language Needs of South Asian Undergraduates A Case Study in a Self-financing Vocational Institute in Hong Kong General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Li, Ka Leung Emil Title: Chinese Language Needs of South Asian Undergraduates: A Case Study in a Self- financing Vocational Institute in Hong Kong General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. Chinese Language Needs of South Asian Undergraduates: A Case Study in a Self-financing Vocational Institute in Hong Kong Emil Ka-leung, LI A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education September 2019 (Word Count: 45,125) I DECLARATION I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Bristol and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in this dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Bristol. The dissertation has not been presented to any other university for examination in the United Kingdom or overseas. Signed: _______________________ Date: 18 September 2019 II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my dissertation supervisor, Prof Leon Tikly, for his critical insights, unswervingly patience and constant guidance throughout the whole writing process. He was supportive in guiding me from the beginning till the end of this meaningful journey. The dissertation would not be successfully completed without him. Very special thanks should be given to Prof Catherine Chiu who inspired me with many ideas of conducting qualitative research studies and Mr Stephen Holyoak who spent his own free time proofreading and editing my write-ups. I am forever indebted to THEi’s teacher and student participants, without whom the writing of this dissertation would have never been accomplished. I sincerely hope that my research work will honour their volunteered participation and valuable contribution. Last but not the least, I am grateful to have unfailing support and continuous encouragement from my family, friends and doctoral classmates, powering me to reach the finishing line and open a new chapter in my career and life. Thank you with all my heart. It is to them that I dedicate this dissertation. III ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been growing concern over the hurdles home-grown ethnic minority (EM) students have to surmount in the local education arena in Hong Kong, of which the learning of the Chinese language is regarded as the most challenging. Insufficient Chinese proficiency is frequently cited as a major hindrance preventing them from successful recruitment and employment. In the context of Hong Kong’s education system, the mainstream Chinese language curriculum fails to cater to the diverse language needs that local EM students have. It is therefore of paramount importance to design a Chinese as a second language curriculum that truly accommodates their practical language needs for voational purposes. To this end, understanding the language barriers encountered by EM individuals in the local workplace and investigating what language requirements are needed in order to function linguistically in the local job settings should be the first step in the process of curriculum development. Adopting a qualitative case study approach and applying Hutchinson and Waters’ bottom-up needs analysis (NA) model, this research study aimed to explore the contextualised Chinese language learning needs of EM undergraduate students by examining the language barriers encountered during their internship engagement in various local workplace settings. Empirical data were collected via two key instruments: Focus Group (n=11) and Diary-interview Method (n=6), triangulated by semi-structured interviews of different stakeholders (n=6). The case being studied was a self-financing tertiary institution established by the Vocational Training Council. The major findings of this study revealed that three language needs (Necessities, Lacks and Wants) of EM undergraduate students encompassed not only linguistic needs such as spoken language skills, professional terminology, and different types of socio-linguistic, pragmatic and phonological knowledge for specific communicative situations and target audiences, but also affective desires for job security and sustainability, social inclusion and integration, and emotional wellness. In addition, these three language needs existed in relation to one another, i.e. Necessities arose according to the job requirements and workplace settings; Lacks referred to self-aware language deficiencies in that physical environment; and Wants stemmed from a desire for psychological betterment through the required language abilities. Necessities seemed to be fundamental for survival in the workplace, and only when Necessities were satisfied could Wants be addressed. What emerged was a progressively relational need translated from Necessities to Wants and this study coined it “Wanecessities”. Situated in the fissure between tertiary education and workplace paradigms, this study sought to contribute to conceptual and empirical knowledge relating to the NA-based curriculum design of learning Chinese as a second language for vocational purposes in Hong Kong. Only with a tailor-made Chinese language curriculum, can EM tertiary students build their linguistic competence as well as confidence to a level that will lead them to perform effectively in their future workplaces. IV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ApL(C) Applied Learning Chinese CMI Chinese Medium of Instruction CNP Communicative Needs Processor CSL Chinese as a Second Language CVP Chinese for Vocational Purposes DSE Diploma of Secondary Education EDB Education Bureau EM Ethnic Minority EMI English Medium of Instruction EOP English for Occupational Purposes ERB Employees Retraining Board ESP English for Specific Purposes FDE Faculty of Design & Environment FMH Faculty of Management & Hospitality FST Faculty of Science & Technology GCE General Certificate of Education GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education HKSAR Hong Kong Special Administrative Region IGCSE International General Certificate of Secondary Education IVE Institute of Vocational Education JUPAS Joint University Programmes Admissions System L2 Second Language LSP Language for Specific Purposes MOI Medium of Instruction NA Needs Analysis NCS Non-Chinese Speaking NGOs Non-governmental Organisations OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PSA Present Situation Analysis QF Qualifications Framework SA South and Southeast Asian THEi Technological Institute of Higher Education TSA Target Situation Analysis UGC University Grants Committee VTC Vocational Training Council V TABLE OF CONTENTS