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This paper proposes and describes a context- and subject-specific professional digital competence (PDC) framework for beginning English language teachers in Hong Kong. Taking a localised approach, the framework was developed through a four-stage data collection process, (1) Literature review of empirical studies conducted in Hong Kong of English language teachers' technology use, (2) Review of local government curriculum documents; (3) An online survey of English language teachers' technology use (n = 83); (4) follow-up individual interviews (n = 22). The study revealed that the local subject-specific PDC of teachers includes five aspects; Technological proficiency; Pedagogical compatibility; Preparing students for the digital world; Risk, well-being and ethical awareness and Professional work. Each aspect includes ability statements. The framework can be used to evaluate existing teacher education programmes, support the development of pre-service English-language teachers and facilitate self-, peer- and teacher assessment. The elements of PDC can be converted into programme- and course-level learning outcomes or incorporated into assessment rubrics. In addition, the methods used to develop the framework can be used by scholars in other contexts and subject areas to develop localised subject-specific PDC frameworks.

Purposeful and strategic use of L1 can help with L2 learning. However, in many contexts, monolingual immersion approaches dominate, leading language teachers to refrain from using L1. It can also mean that teachers are not professionally prepared to implement evidence-informed uses of L1. In this article, we share the findings of an intervention study that aimed to raise preservice English language teachers' awareness of purposeful L1 use while co-exploring ways generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g. ChatGPT) can aid teachers' knowledge development and strategic utilization of L1 in L2 classrooms. Data were collected from fifty-six preservice language teachers in Hong Kong through a pre- and post-intervention mixed-method survey and follow-up group interviews. The findings show that explicit instruction on the use of L1 in L2 classrooms can increase preservice teachers' intention to use L1 as well as their knowledge about the evidence-informed use of L1 and the ways in which generative AI tools can assist their implementation of L1.

Technostress is a phenomenon in which rapid technological advancement affects teachers' psychological well-being. It is an emerging concern in English language education, which may be exacerbated by the advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT. This study explores the factors that influence technostress among English language teachers using GenAI tools and strategies that can alleviate it. Based on the analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with 16 instructors at higher education institutions in Hong Kong, the study identifies the rapid advancement of AI technology, inadequate training and lack of experience as contributors to technostress. It also names mitigating strategies including targeted professional development, online engagement and gradual integration. These techniques can foster Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and reduce the challenges of incorporating GenAI into English teaching. The findings align with existing literature on the impact of technostress and the role of TPACK. The practical implications include the need for comprehensive training, supportive communities and a balanced approach to AI integration. This investigation also expands the theoretical understanding of technostress in English language teaching and the use of GenAI tools, providing empirical support for existing frameworks. It also suggests directions for future research, which could investigate teacher well-being, effective AI integration and the impact of TPACK.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances technologically, it will inevitably bring many changes to classroom practices. However, research on AI in education reflects a weak connection to pedagogical perspectives or instructional approaches, particularly in K-12 education. AI technologies may benefit motivated and advanced students. Understanding the teacher's role of student motivation in mediating and supporting learning with AI technologies in the classroom is needed. This study used self-determination theory as the undergirding framework to investigate how teacher support moderates the effects of student expertise on needs satisfactions and intrinsic motivation to learn with AI technologies. This experimental study involved 123 Grade 10 students, and used chatbots as AI-based technologies in the experiment. The analyses revealed that intrinsic motivation and competence to learn with the chatbot depended on both teacher support and student expertise (i.e. self-regulated learning and digital literacy), and the teacher support better satisfied the need for relatedness, and it less satisfied the need for autonomy. The findings refined our understanding about the application of self-determination theory and expand the pedagogical and design considerations of AI application and instructional practices.

Beginning teaching is challenging during normal circumstances. Yet, in the summer of 2020, the newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in Hong Kong, as well as many other global contexts, entered schools that were severely disrupted by COVID-19. This qualitative study, through the use of a qualitative online survey, explored the sense of preparedness and first-semester experiences of one cohort of NQTs who graduated from an ITE programme in Hong Kong in the summer of 2020. Findings suggest that the disruptions to their programme and teaching role fundamentally affected their sense of preparedness and defined their first-year experience. Specifically, the NQTs did not feel practically or psychologically prepared to teach online using digital technologies. However, some NQTs reported positive school-based practices that aided their transition. Based on the study's findings, professional digital competence beginning teachers require for online teaching environments, as well as recommendations for ways ITE programmes can help develop this competence, are provided.

In-person teaching abroad experiences, where pre-service teachers spend a defined period teaching in schools in a foreign country, have received considerable research attention in recent years. However, virtual alternatives have yet to be explored. This exploratory study sought to understand the effects a virtual teaching abroad experience had on pre-service teachers' professional learning. Data included teaching logs and reflective writings of two groups of pre-service teachers from Hong Kong who participated in a virtual teaching abroad experience hosted by a university in the United Kingdom and interviews with their course coordinators. The findings suggest that the PSTs found the virtual teaching abroad experience novel and unique, contributing to professional learning. Specifically, the experience (a) increased the PSTs' confidence and flexibility; (b) improved their synchronous online teaching skills; (c) gave them greater awareness of learner differences and needs; and (d) exposed them to innovative pedagogical approaches. The study suggests that virtual teaching abroad experiences could have a place within initial teacher education, especially as the financial costs associated with them are lower than in-person experiences. However, they do not seem adequate to replace a sustained period immersed in an overseas school context.

Synchronous online teaching through video-conferencing software (VCS) has become a common mode of instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. This mode brings unique challenges for teachers that require specific professional digital competences. One such challenge is conducting formative assessment. Through the use of in-depth interviews with nine Hong Kong university teachers who had taught synchronously online for one semester, this exploratory study explored the challenges of conducting formative assessment during synchronous online lessons and the strategies teachers deploy to conduct formative assessment. The findings indicate that the key difficulties include gathering information on students' needs, checking students' understanding, giving individual feedback, and building relationships with students. To address these challenges, the teachers suggested four pedagogical strategies: (1) Combine synchronous with asynchronous approaches; (2) Utilise breakout rooms; (3) Utilise poll functions of the VCS and combine it with other online platforms; and (4) Provide time before or after lessons for informal conversations. The findings suggest that teachers need to develop specific pedagogical strategies to conduct formative assessment. This provides an initial conceptualisation of one important dimension of Professional Digital Competence, teaching using digital technologies, and one aspect of that dimension, how teachers use digital tools and strategies to conduct formative assessment.

This article reports on a study that investigated primary-school English-language teachers' use of digital technologies in their in-person classrooms after a period of online teaching necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explored the perceived effects the period of online teaching had on the teachers' practices. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with sixteen experienced Hong Kong primary-school English-language teachers approximately one year after they returned to in-person teaching. The findings suggest that the period of online teaching has led to a greater utilization of technology for teaching. In addition, they suggest digital technologies are now embedded in teachers' regular teaching practices, with the digital technologies adopted primarily those that enhance existing practices. Common digital technologies include: (1) learning management systems; (2) digital noticeboards; (3) interactive digital worksheets and quizzes; and (4) interactive presentation software. Examples of how teachers use digital technologies, and considerations for their use, are provided.

Synchronous online language lessons (SOLLs) are distinctly different from in-person lessons. Although digital tools, specifically, videoconferencing software, make doing SOLLs possible, these tools have specific affordances and constraints pertaining to how we engage, interact, and relate -- creating new literacy practices. This study reports on a project which explored how five Hong Kong university English language teachers engaged in teaching SOLLs over a 13-week semester. The aim of the project was to understand and conceptualize the professional practices of synchronous online language teachers; specifically, our goal was to explore the relationship between identified practices and the competences needed to use digital tools during SOLLs to facilitate classroom interaction and therefore create appropriate conditions for language learning. The study expands our understanding of the professional practices teachers are engaged in when doing SOLLs. Furthermore, our data exemplify the context-specific teaching strategies and related competences needed to assist and mediate interaction in SOLLs. We propose that by improving synchronous online language teachers' interactional competence, they will be well-placed to help language learners achieve their learning goals. The findings have implications for the preparation and professional learning of online English language teachers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on schools around the world with many forced to suspend in-person classes. This has meant teachers have been required to find ways to continue teaching remotely. Remote teaching requires specific and extended skills and knowledge from those required in the in-person classroom. This two-stage qualitative-dominant sequential mixed-method study, using a survey of Hong Kong primary and secondary school English language teachers (N = 73) and follow-up interviews (N = 10), collectively explores teachers' readiness for using digital technologies before the pandemic, how they have innovated and professionally developed throughout the pandemic, and what impact the pandemic has had on their pedagogical and technological development. The findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for teacher innovation and development. Teachers went through a three-phase period of innovation as they responded to the school closures and adjusted to the new digital environment. To support their innovation, teachers engaged in both school and teacher-initiated professional development. The findings have theoretical implications, proposing a model to explore innovation during times of crisis, "Phases of Innovation in Response to Crisis Process". They also have practical implications, providing examples of innovations adopted by teachers during this period of radical change.

Opportunities for pre-service teachers to participate during their initial teacher education (ITE) in teaching-abroad experiences, where they spend time teaching in a foreign country, have become increasingly popular. However, studies to date have collected data during or soon after the participant's return. Little is known about how recently qualified teachers (RQTs) who participated in such experiences during the ITE perceive their benefits. By collecting and analysing reflective writings of ten RQTs in Hong Kong, who participated in a teaching-abroad experience in China, this small-scale study sought to explore its impact on their perceived preparedness for their current roles in their home context. The findings suggest that the teachers feel that the experience added to their preparedness, in areas such as lesson preparation and planning, teaching confidence and flexibility and professional collaborations. The RQTs attributed these benefits to the unfamiliar teaching context and the additional teaching practice that the experience provided, as well as the opportunity to work closely with peers, course tutors and teachers in China. The study adds to the growing teaching-abroad literature by including the perspectives of RQTs, providing further justification for including such experiences in ITE programme curriculums.

This article reports on a small-scale exploratory study that examined how native-speaking English teachers (NETs) working in the Primary Native-speaking English Teacher (PNET) Scheme construct their professional identity(ies) and explored the barriers to their professionalism that exist within their role and context. Data were collected using questionnaires and a group interview with qualified NETs. The findings of the study show that NETs' identities are complex with NETs having to negotiate their professional identities to fit into "their" role and local context. Although other stakeholders endorse this modification, it does not come without cost. NETs sacrifice their authentic selves while facing barriers to their own personal beliefs of good teaching and professionalism. The author suggests that if these barriers are not addressed, NETs may feel marginalised and be unable to be their professional selves. A number of suggestions are made for NETs, teachers, school administrators and policy-makers on how to better support NETs' professionalism.

COVID-19 has forced universities around the world to suspend in-person teaching and adopt emergency remote teaching (ERT). To compensate for the suspension of in-person teaching, many universities mandated that teachers utilise video-conferencing software (VCS) to deliver synchronous online lessons conducted through VCS. This study explored the impact of ERT and the requirement to teach synchronously online through VCS on the motivation of university teachers at a major university in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine teachers who had completed a full semester of ERT. The findings suggest that the teachers fell into two distinct groups. Teachers in one group (n = 5) seemed to thrive, reporting mainly positive effects of ERT on their motivation, while the others (n = 4) seemed to be just surviving, reported mainly negative effects. For members of the "thriving" group, the semester reinvigorated their teaching and provided them with new skills; members of the "surviving" group, by contrast, questioned their ability to teach, found it hard to build a rapport with learners, felt isolated, and struggled to find job satisfaction. The study concludes with a discussion of measures that could help university teachers to maintain their motivation during online instruction.

This small-scale exploratory study explores the practices and experiences of two experienced Hong Kong Education Bureau Advisory Teachers (ATs) engaged in school-based professional support (SBPS) of teachers during school closure caused the COVID-19 pandemic. It documents the ATs usual practices, conditions for effective SBPS, the effect the pandemic had on their practices, and the specific support they provided remotely during the pandemic. Key findings indicate that effective SBPS requires clear role expectations, a collaborative support approach, building strong relationships and durability. The SBPS model is resilient and allows ATs and teachers to adjust to the evolving situation. ATs have continued to provide support throughout the school closures, something that would not have been possible without the existing SBPS model, relationship cultivated over an extended period of support and available technology. The authors recommend that Education Bureaus explore SBPS as a way to continue supporting teachers during school closures.

This article reports on a collaborative self-study conducted by the authors (two teacher educators) as we attempted to implement a pedagogy of care during the disruptions to teacher education caused by COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, we were required to conduct our teacher education courses synchronously online through video-conferencing software. Although this mode of instruction allowed us to continue teaching despite the restrictions necessitated by COVID-19, the relational aspect of teaching and the role of care seemed to be limited and became an important concern for us. Through self-study, we aimed to improve our online teaching practices by enacting a pedagogy of care during one full semester. We detail our attempts to conceptualise a pedagogy of care for the online classroom, begin our courses from a position of care and prioritize and maintain care throughout the semester. We also present the ongoing challenges we experienced in implementing a pedagogy of care online. While recognising that everyone has been affected by COVID-19 in different ways, we hope through sharing our experiences, others can learn from them and conceptualise and implement a pedagogy of care in their contexts.

This study explores the professional learning of ten pre-service teachers from Hong Kong and ten host teachers in a school in China who participated in a teaching abroad project. The participants' professional learning during the project is conceptualised within five knowledge domains of quality teaching for the twenty-first century: personal, contextual, pedagogical, sociological and social. The findings suggest that by immersing pre-service teachers in an unfamiliar teaching environment, they can learn professional knowledge for teaching in an increasingly complex world. This complements the knowledge they are acquiring in their domestic courses and practicums. Furthermore, through the pedagogical exchange of ideas, the host teachers are also found to benefit. We recommend that teaching abroad opportunities be included in initial teacher education (ITE) programmes and that host teachers' professional learning are considered in their development.

COVID-19 has led to dramatic changes in the way teachers teach and students engage in higher education (HE). To cater for social distancing and learners' diverse needs, including being in different geographical locations from their HE instruction, different modes of teaching and learning have been adopted. One such mode is HyFlex. HyFlex sees teachers teaching students at the same time in a physical classroom and synchronously online through video-conferencing software. This small-scale exploratory study considers the experiences and perceptions of nine post-graduate students who attended a six-week course delivered through HyFlex. Findings suggest that while there were communication challenges between students who attended through different modes, participants did appreciate the flexibility it afforded. The utilisation of various features of the video-conferencing software and other digital tools were seen as essential to the effectiveness of HyFlex.

Involving parents in their children's school-based English language learning is beneficial to learners' academic achievement as well as their language and literacy development. However, involving parents can be challenging. This study reports on one teacher's use of a digital learning platform, Seesaw, with his third-grade (7 to 8 year-olds) English language writing class in Hong Kong to address the lack of parental involvement. The platform became a space for parents to be involved in their child's school-based writing. It enabled them to view, like and comment in response to their child and other children's English work. Although parents were seen to be involved on the platform, it was observed they mainly viewed and liked rather than commented. Future pedagogical directions will be discussed with suggestions provided on how parents can be encouraged to take a more active role on such platforms.

The author introduces the literature selection bookmark, a tool that inservice and preservice teachers who are teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in international contexts can use to guide them in selecting authentic children's English literature and analyze its utility in the elementary English-language classroom. Authentic children's English literature, stories written for children to read for pleasure in English-speaking countries, are a useful teaching resource in the EFL classroom. The author describes the tool's function, design, and use in a teacher preparation course for preservice EFL teachers in Hong Kong. The author also includes preservice teachers' thoughts about the bookmark's potential usefulness in the EFL classroom.

This report introduces a children's English literature library project the author implemented in his undergraduate English language teacher education programme. Through modelling literacy practices found to be effective with young English language learners, he aimed to increase his students' readiness for teaching. The project was found to be beneficial to the development of students' pedagogical content knowledge regarding children's English language literature and its uses in the classroom. Implications for initial teacher education are included.

Homework is an important and commonly expected part of students' out-of-class learning internationally; however, homework practices as experienced by teachers are little understood. This study draws on the experiences of two English language teachers working in primary schools in Hong Kong to explore how standardized homework practices affect their teacher autonomy, an integral part of teacher professionalism and an essential factor underlying teachers' professional practice. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with two teachers and samples of students' homework the participants assigned. Analysis of the data revealed that standardized homework practices do affect the teachers' autonomy. However, they affected the two teachers differently, with one teacher feeling suffocated and unable to be the kind of teacher she wanted to be, while the other saw the practices as normal and part of her role to deliver the homework as prescribed. The data suggest that these differences can be attributed to the teachers' professional beliefs about their schools' standardized homework practices and their role as a teacher. Aspects of the teachers' teaching experiences, own educational experiences, professional development, and cultural norms were explored to justify the effect of the practice on their autonomy. The article concludes with practical implications and a call for more research to be conducted on teachers' homework practices, which are widespread yet under-researched.