Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, it created a great deal of challenges to pre-service Chinese teachers, as they were not prepared for the sudden changes to online teaching. It is not very obvious to many pre-service teachers how Chinese reading can be taught interactively online. Many pre-service Chinese language teachers have not received training to teach online, and their lack of online learning experience also creates a barrier that prevent them from developing creative and effective online reading lessons.

Besides, the government proposed STEM education for the first time in the 2015 Policy Address (Education Bureau 2016). According to the latest CLEKLAG (P1-S6) 2017, there are about 8 Key Learning Area Curriculum Guides. These include:

1.Opening learning materials and attaching importance to classic readings

2.Broadening the scope of reading, increasing the amount of reading, and enhancing the depth of reading

3.Cooperating with the development of information technology education, and enhancing the effectiveness of learning and teaching in Chinese language. The above information reflects that the Education Bureau emphasizes reading and technology application in Chinese language education. It also promotes the good use of information technology for boosting learning and teaching through online and blended modes.

The Project aims to:

1. To develop an online model of skill-based training for increasing interactions, feedback, and reflection

2. To increase students’ knowledge of theories and practices in teaching Chinese reading through online and blended modes

3. To enhance students’ capacities of using technological tools for teaching reading online

4. To develop reflective teachers through peer-reviewing and reflection

The Project period runs from April 2021 to November 2022 funded by University Grants Committee (UGC) [1]. Dr. HC Lin, member of the CACLER, applied and mentioned the Centre as part of the research infrastructure. The co-investigators included Dr. SY Hui.

For the further information and resources, including developing lesson plans and learning material, please download and refer Dr. HC Lin's personal website 中文閱讀寫作研究室 Chinese Literacy Lab [2].

[1] https://www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/ugc/index.html

[2] https://chineseliteracylab.com/enhancing-micro-teaching-through-peer-review-and-reflection/