Purpose: This study introduces a non-orthodox approach to the dominant policy-based approaches to graduate employability through contextualizing international students' everyday experiences within their educational and wider structural contexts of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach: The study used narrative frames to collect data from…

This article reports on a case study of a Hong Kong undergraduate student's lived experiences of second language (L2) investments and identities across different contexts, including inside and outside the classroom on the university campus, in the professional workplace, and during study abroad. Findings indicate that the student's differential L2…

This study assesses the extent to which situational authenticity has been implemented in three commercial ELT textbook series in Hong Kong, which are designed to reflect the local sociolinguistic setting. The analysis involved the quantification and categorization of both written and spoken texts in the textbooks. The results of this analysis were…

The gendered speech in a foreign language has been found to pose barriers for learners due to different gender norms associated with their mother tongue and the foreign language. The problem is especially serious with the masculine and feminine forms of speech in the Japanese language, as these are strongly linked with social inequality between…

Reports data from the initial stage of a large-scale, multi-method survey of the current use of Chinese and English in the professional workplace in Hong Kong. Results indicate that reading and writing in English are demanded frequently in the professional Hong Kong workplace, but that English appears to play a less important role in workplace…

Examines language in the workplace, specifically the construction industry in Hong Kong. Provides detailed information on language use in a professional context at the time of Hong Kong's return to China and shows that written communication is mainly in English, while spoken language is predominately Cantonese. (Author/VWL)