A Comprehensive Call Solution for Writing in the Disciplines

The Hong Kong Tertiary Context

Although the English language skills of university students in Hong Kong are not particularly weak, these students need extra support for academic writing. With the introduction of the new 3-3-4 academic system, secondary school students enter a four-year university programme. To fulfill the general university entrance requirements, the students must take an exit exam, the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, and obtain Level 3 in English (equivalent to an International English Language Testing System [IELTS] score of 5.48–5.56). Although these university students are not particularly weak in English, 75% use their native language, Cantonese, during their secondary education courses (Poon, 2010). This lack of language practice in English poses challenges to students when they study at an English-language university and need to complete their assessed assignments in English. Evans and Morrison (2011) conducted a study with Hong Kong university freshmen and found that they needed extra support in understanding technical vocabulary, writing in an appropriate academic style, and meeting the disciplinary requirements. In addition to the university freshmen, a considerable number of students with an associate degree or a higher diploma who enter institutions of higher education have weak English language skills, but the students are exempt from foundation English courses. (See Wong, Ng, Mak, and Chan (2016) for a thorough discussion of these students.) In light of this, these students need additional disciplinary writing support.