E-learning and Language and Style in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article presents something of the experience of teaching and studying web-based Language and Style at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, concentrating mainly on the 2004–5 running of the course, which was taught in a blended traditional + web format. It concentrates on this experience and only briefly presents some degree of the socio-linguistic and cultural context to make the experience accessible for those not familiar with Hong Kong. Some quantitative data are given and are supplemented by qualitative discussion of student comments. A particularly important qualitative resource was the weekly journals kept by the students. The main conclusion to be drawn is that the students want to retain the major features of the traditional lecture and tutorial approach to teaching, but value having this supplemented with the interactive dimension of the web-based approach.