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Now, Darren Harbutt is not new to the teachers‘ Lift. Back in 2020, he featured in one of our early episodes when HKU hosts, Phil Smythe and Aditi Jhaveri, where he shared his expertise on blended learning with a focus on e-assessment. Now it’s the turn of Dawn Gillis and Eric Tindall asking the questions, as we take a look in the rear view mirror of the last two years and ask whether there have been any silver-linings to all the hurdles we’ve faced since the days when zooming required a telephoto lens. In this illuminating discussion, Darren introduces us to the exciting new world of HyFlex, where in-class instruction meets on- and off-line learning, and leaves us asking the question, will this become the new normal.

Bilingualism in Hong Kong is often the product of learning English as a second language (L2) after Cantonese has been acquired as the first language (L1). Issues of code-switching (speakers alternating between two or more languages), interference (use of elements of one language while speaking or writing another) and translanguaging (with an emphasis on the interconnectedness of languages allowing learners to use the full range of their linguistic repertoire) often come up in most discussions pertaining to teaching English to bilingual learners. Yet, when confronted with these issues, many teachers express ambiguity, and anecdotal evidence suggests that language educators feel unsure about which side of the debate they are on. In this episode, Professor Stephen Matthews from the Department of Linguistics at HKU, clarifies some of our common misunderstandings and responds to certain criticisms and confusions surrounding bilingualism.

Now in this latest episode from the Teachers’ Lift, we hear from Dave Gatrell, pedagogical consultant at PolyU's Educational Development Centre. Hosts, Dawn Gillis and Eric Tindall quiz Dave about his phd studies, and how video annotation software can help boost the communication skills learners for today's academic environment. Listeners keen to spice up their own classes can pick up a few tips and tricks from Dave as he waxes lyrical about his ongoing collaboration with teachers from the English Language Centre in an effort to add video annotation software to their ever-growing box of technological tools.

In this episode, our hosts Colin Tait and Levi Lam are chatting with Dr. Lisa Cheung about the work she has done in developing an English in the Discipline (ED) Course at the Centre for Applied English Studies at HKU. Lisa reflects on her long experience of engaging with colleagues in the Faculty of Dentistry to create a course that can best serve the disciplinary communication needs using a needs analysis informed development process.

From Nina Simone to Bowie, the Velvet Underground to the Rolling Stones, taking in Cairo and Beijing along the way, this wide-ranging conversation with the PolyU’s former Director of the English Language Centre, Bruce Morrison, looks back at his career and his thoughts on students teachers. Podcast hosts Dawn Gillis and Eric Tindall ask the questions (sometimes) and get a musical education at the same time.

What’s the role of self-access language learning centres in today's online world? Do they still have a place? Can they be re-imagined? In this episode of Teachers’ Lift, the tables are turned on host Eric Tindall as he is interviewed by Dawn Gillis and Jessica Xia from PolyU about how the ELC’s Centre for Independent Language Learning is changing with the times.

We’re always looking for ways to make our students more engaged and make teaching more engaging for us – one possibility is to incorporate design-based learning. But first, we need to know what this is, its benefits, its challenges, and how this can be applied to the courses that we teach in our respective centers. Listen to this episode with Mike Ladao to get some of these answers.

Why do Hong Kong university students learn German? What makes them interested in the German language and culture? And how do teachers build on students’ skills acquired while learning a first and second language to help them learn a new foreign language? Tune into this episode with Tonja Fung to know.

As HKU prepared to return to face-to-face teaching and learning this semester after almost 2 years of being online, Dr. Alvin Wong from the Department of Comparative Literature and Dr. Brenda Allegre from Gender studies, gauge the mood of their students and talk about their own feelings and experiences after being back on campus.

In this episode Levi Lam interviews Dr. Melinda Whong, Director of the Centre for Language Education at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, about two major initiatives she's spearheaded during her tenure- scholarship and competency-based assessment frameworks.

Mark Hopkins is a Lecturer in English and French for the Center for Language Education at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he has led the 3rd Languages team for the last 10 years. Some of the 3rd languages include Spanish, German and French. Tess and Thomas are also Lecturers of English in the same center and have been regular hosts on Teachers Lift. In this episode, they discuss some of the challenges of implementing 3rd language programs, how learning a 3rd language impacts overall academic performance, and what lies ahead for 3rd language programs for local universities.

The goals of the Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC) are to help academic staff improve their teaching, to help students improve their learning, and to develop opportunities for conversation and reflection among faculty, students, and staff around topics of teaching and learning. In this episode, Dr Miranda Legg, Associate Director and Principal Lecturer at the CAES, HKU, explains as the Chair of the TLC at CAES, how her team strives to accomplish these goals.

This episode of Teachers' Lift has Lillian Wong and Ashley Hazell tell us all about how they prepared for the originally planned face-to-face HKCPD Hub International Conference 2021 for English teaching professionals to be changed into an online academic conference within a few months' notice.

Dr. Nora Hussin is an Associate Director for the Center for Language Education at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Levi Lam is a Lecturer at the center. One of Dr. Hussin's many responsibilities includes designing and implementing a teaching observation program that would result in meaningful reflection and professional development, while being approachable for both observers and observees alike. This podcast explores how observations can be distinguished from evaluations, how observations are just a start to professional development, and how certain technologies may play a role in observations.

May Liao is a Lecturer of English for the Center for Language Education at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Levi Lam is also a Lecturer at the center. One of May's roles is to organize "socials" for first-year students in an English core course that focuses on English for academic purposes. This podcast explores some the challenges of organizing these socials, the many benefits for these students as they transition into their first year of university, and what the future holds for learning communities at HKUST.

In this episode of Teachers' Lift Eric Tindall and new host Dawn Gillis, both from PolyU, interview Fridolin Ting. Frid is a teaching fellow in the Maths department at PolyU. What you might ask, is someone who teaches maths doing on Teachers’ Lift? Well, as Fri explains in the podcast, both English and maths are languages and teaching involves communication whether it is through English or maths. Frid has been very active in designing different applications to help teachers teach better, and in this episode he shares why he developed the apps and how they can help teachers, as well as some exciting plans for the future.

As the Coordinator of English-in-the-Discipline Social Sciences programme at the Centre for Applied English Studies in HKU, Dr. Eleanor Kwan talks to us about addressing the academic and professional literacy needs of students by familiarizing them with different spoken and written genres. She also shares her own tips for running her team and ensuring that teachers on the programme are best equipped to teach the courses on offer.

In this episode we have Dr. Parco Wong from HKU and Dr. Linda Lin from HKPolyU talking about the considerations that go into the planning, design, delivery, and management of an 'English for Academic Purposes' course; the joy it brings them, the challenges they face, and the way they deal with a big teaching team and thousands of students enrolled in this course. One thing's for sure - this isn't a job for the faint of heart. Listen to know why!

In this episode, Clarence Wang from the Centre for Applied English Studies at HKU, tells us about the roles and responsibilities of a programme coordinator in English Language Centres in universities. From leading a programme team, designing curriculum, updating materials to liaising with faculty - there's a lot on their plate. Yet, they seem to manage it effortlessly and efficiently. Let's find out how!

This episode is unlike any other because in this show we have Connie Poon share her experiences of being a teacher of Chinese language at HKU. She talks about teaching Chinese in the discipline courses, which are aimed at enhancing students' practical and professional communication skills. We found her insights into pronunciation, style and register considerations especially interesting and valuable.