EN210905-HKU-CAES-Annual-Report_2021-22-V03-0222

MA PROGRAMMES CAES WORK CAES runs a Masters in Applied Linguistics (MAAL) and co-runs a Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages [MA(TESOL)] with the Faculty of Education. Despite the pandemic, the two programmes remained highly competitive, notably with a very low acceptance rate of under 20% for full-time places in the 2020-2021 academic year. In response to COVID-19, a number of courses on the two Masters programmes were taught entirely online while others adopted a dual-mode delivery. The dual-mode delivery was realised in a variety of forms: (1) a few sessions of some courses were taught in a hybrid mode and the remaining sessions were taught entirely online; (2) some courses were taught entirely online, with supplementary support sessions offered face-to-face; (3) in the case of courses with two subclasses, one was taught face-to-face and the other online via Zoom. Despite various technical challenges, our courses continued to receive high satisfaction ratings from students. Having been postponed twice because of the pandemic, the MAAL curriculum review took place in November 2020. The review panel met with various groups of stakeholders, including members of the Curriculum Team, teachers, students and graduates. The panel highlighted a number of commendations and affirmations: The MAAL has been highly regarded by our stakeholders largely because of the high standard of teaching and learning that has been upheld. In the 2020-2021 academic year, seven students graduated with an overall distinction, accounting for 21.9% of the graduating cohort. Two top-performing students were selected to receive the Peter Cheung Memorial Prize. Another outstanding graduate has applied to pursue a PhD to further advance his knowledge of Applied Linguistics. The panel also provided a number of constructive suggestions for our consideration. A strategic action plan has been formulated to further strengthen the programme offerings and delivery: MODE OF DELIVERY MAAL CURRICULUM REVIEW ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS 1. The Curriculum Team for building a strong reputation for the programme over the years; 2. The Curriculum Team’s emphasis on good communication and their commitment to enhancing support for students; 3. The organizational structure of the Curriculum Team; and 4. The commitment to improvement and the open-minded approach to the enhancement of the programme. 1. The Curriculum Team’s efforts in mentoring students; 2. The efforts of the Curriculum Team to develop online resources; 3. The Curriculum Team’s plans to enhance support for teaching; and 4. The Curriculum Team’s commitment to the diversification of assessment modes. 1. A MAAL alumni association will be established to involve alumni to a greater extent in academic and career advising to current students; 2. An online repository will be set up to serve as a centralised platform capable of keeping students and teachers informed about the Programme; 3. More courses will adopt a variety of assessment modes instead of relying solely on a written essay. 4. A more cost-effective academic support system for students will be explored; and 5. The scope of the programme will be re-evaluated and contextualised in relation to the MA(TESOL) course. THE PANEL COMMENDED THE PANEL AFFIRMED CAES WORK 15 14