The effects of the medium of instruction in certificate-level physics on achievement and motivation to learn

Abstract

A 3-year study was launched in a Hong Kong secondary school to investigate the effects of the medium of instruction (MOI), specifically English and Chinese, on the learning of certificate-level physics. A total of 199 Secondary Four (S4 or tenth-grade) students, divided into three major ability groups, participated in a teaching intervention designed to determine the effects of MOI on their learning achievement and motivation. The results of conceptual assessments and physics examinations revealed Chinese to be a superior MOI in enabling low-ability students to attain a higher level of achievement, whereas English was more suitable for their high-achieving counterparts. However, little conclusive evidence regarding the role of MOI for the medium-ability groups was found. A questionnaire-based survey indicated that students were more motivated to learn physics through Chinese as the MOI (CMI) rather than English (EMI), although significant limitations to its use were identified for the topic of "Heat." Deficiencies in the vocabulary needed for abstract scientific concepts in Chinese may account for these limitations (for instance, Chinese uses the same word, "re" ( ), for both "heat" and "hot"). Finally, follow-up interviews at the end of the study revealed a sharp contrast between the learning prospects of EMI and CMI students. #

Mitigating the effect of language in the assessment of science: A study of English‐language learners in primary classrooms in the United Kingdom

“…Finally, in agreement with Fung and Yip (), due to the consistent performance gap between ELLs and ENSs we see across all questions traits and the increase in that gap for those with lower English language ability, we suggest that ELLs who have limited proficiency in English but who are literate in their first language may be permitted to use their first language for developing and demonstrating their subject‐specific knowledge in assessment scenarios. An example of the potential importance of this can be seen in Image , where a Hungarian speaker has correctly used their native language to label the plant's root.…”

“…The language of Science, however, does not only pose difficulties to ELLs but also, and often equally, to learners who speak English as their first language (Fang, ; Wellington & Osborne, ). Moreover, it is not only specialized scientific lexis that can pose comprehension challenges, but also ordinary words—such as “school,” “volume,” “power,” “heat”—when used in metaphorical ways where they have additional meanings of which learners are unaware (Fang, ; Fung & Yip, ; Gee, ). Both scientific and everyday words carrying subject specialized meaning also become a challenge to learners when used in assessment tasks, especially when learners are assessed through the medium of a language that is not their mother tongue.…”

“…Year 5 -such as "school," "volume," "power," "heat"-when used in metaphorical ways where they have additional meanings of which learners are unaware (Fang, 2006;Fung & Yip, 2014;Gee, 2008). Both scientific and everyday words carrying subject specialized meaning also become a challenge to learners when used in assessment tasks, especially when learners are assessed through the medium of a language that is not their mother tongue.…”

Conceptualising the potential role of L1 in CLIL

“…Engaging students in an explicit comparison of L1 and L2 (both everyday and scientific) terms like these will provide a fruitful learning opportunity deepening the cognitive processing of the science concepts (vs. everyday concepts). In the same vein, the Chinese word for 'heat' (technical term, a noun) and 'hot' (everyday word, an adjective) has the same form and pronunciation (熱) and this would have an impact on Chinese students' understanding of the science concept of 'heat transfer' (Fung & Yip, 2014). Engaging students in the explicit contrastive analysis of the L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English) terms for 'heat' (science term) and 'hot' (everyday term) will deepen students' cognitive processing of the science concept behind the terms.…”

SOLO taxonomy as EFL students’ disciplinary literacy evaluation tool in technology-enhanced integrated astronomy course

“…The differences in the literacy development process for monolingual and non-monolingual speakers of English suggest that EFL/ESL students may experience more difficulties whilst learning school subjects. Therefore, teachers may need to provide some scaffolding strategies to narrow the literacy gap between their monolingual and EFL/ESL students (Fung and Yip 2014;Kasper 2000;Menken 2013;Ryoo 2015).…”