First Year in a Multilingual University (eBook)

Although both school-university transitions and cross-border transitions have been widely explored, comparatively little research has been conducted on those students who undergo both transitions at the same time. This book reports on a longitudinal qualitative study investigating the major issues faced by nine Mainland Chinese students during their first year at a Hong Kong university from the perspective of learner autonomy. It argues that the school-university transition is especially challenging for students going through a cross-border transition at the same time, which usually involves a linguistic and cultural adjustment, and challenges their autonomy in three domains: managing their personal lives; academic learning; and English learning.


Feng Ding has been teaching English in China for nearly 30 years, and holds an MA in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, an MA in TESOL and a Ph.D in English Education. She has predominantly taught comprehensive English for first-year and second-year English majors, in the course of which she has developed a kin interest in the whole-person development of first-year university students beyond their English skills. Once an overseas student herself, she is also passionate about the experiences of international students. During her Ph.D studies, she conducted an in-depth investigation of a group of Mainland Chinese students who did their first degree at a Hong Kong university.

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Although both school-university transitions and cross-border transitions have been widely explored, comparatively little research has been conducted on those students who undergo both transitions at the same time. This book reports on a longitudinal qualitative study investigating the major issues faced by nine Mainland Chinese students during their first year at a Hong Kong university from the perspective of learner autonomy. It argues that the school-university transition is especially challenging for students going through a cross-border transition at the same time, which usually involves a linguistic and cultural adjustment, and challenges their autonomy in three domains: managing their personal lives; academic learning; and English learning.Adopting the perspective of autonomy enables us to better understand student transitions so that more appropriate support can be provided for this group. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for educators at both the secondary and post-secondary levels, and underscores the need to help students bridge the gap between school and university, and thus advance along the continuum of autonomy more smoothly. It also has practical implications for students who are studying or intend to study abroad.