ABSTRACT
Drawing on a number of recent research studies, this article evaluates the process
of implementation of a more student-centred task-oriented approach to English
language teaching in Hong Kong primary schools. The reform, essentially a
top-down system-level initiative strongly influenced by curriculum developments
in the UK and Australia, called for sweeping changes to existing learning and
teaching practices by promoting whole-person development, task-based syllabus
design, criterion-referenced assessment and pair and group work. The article
presents an analysis of the various stages of the curriculum decision-making
process – from the intended curriculum as manifested in policy documents;
through to the resourced curriculum, as exemplified in commercially published
textbook resources; to the implemented curriculum – what teachers teach –
and the experienced curriculum – what students learn. The article shows how
the reform was progressively reinterpreted by the various stakeholders, resulting
in a hybrid and evolving set of accommodations to local cultures which ultimately
may be assimilated by them. The article identifies the key factors which have
caused this slippage, including conflicting or unclear expectations, attitudes and
beliefs at all levels, as well as a lack of real understanding of the established
pedagogical cultures, and concludes with some implications for teaching, teacher
education and curriculum innovation.