Dr Julia CHEN, Department of English and Communication

Directions for English Across the Curriculum: Lessons from WAC. International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference 2023. International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference, Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, 14-17 June 2023.

Abstract
This keynote situates the development and influences of WAC in Hong Kong, where the overwhelming majority of people speak Chinese as their mother tongue and learn English as an additional language, within a (supposed) trilingual and biliterate education system. Many students enter university with public English examination scores that are equivalent to around 50-75 in TOEFL iBT and consequently experience difficulty studying in English as the medium of instruction and assessment. In addition, the packed undergraduate curriculum does not allow much space for the development of academic literacy in English. It is in this context that WAC has grown in Hong Kong and taken the form of English Across the Curriculum. This talk traces the development of EAC by presenting some key milestones and discussing several of the major considerations necessary for positioning EAC to embrace the future. Challenges abound: innovating and transforming while maintaining the current and the past; building capacity for future literacies; leveraging technology and reshaping strategies in the rise of AI; finding continuous resources; generating impact and increasing visibility; managing risks; remaining in the periphery or gaining a foothold in the mainstream; expanding in reach and influence; and strengthening into a sustainable initiative.