Prof LITTLEWOOD William
Professor Emeritus


Qualifications and Awards:
B.A. (Honours) in Modern Languages, University of Cambridge
M.A. in Applied Linguistics, University of Essex
P.G.C.E., University of Leicester
President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Scholarly Work, Hong Kong Baptist University
Email: littlewo@hkbu.edu.hk



BIO
For several years I taught in secondary schools in England and then moved into teacher education at the University College of Swansea in Wales. I came to Hong Kong in 1991 on a one-year research contract and decided to stay. I taught at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University before joining Hong Kong Baptist University in 1998, where I remained until 2004. From 2004 to 2010 I taught at the Hong Kong Institute of Education and have now re-joined HKBU to lecture on the MA in Language Studies, in addition to serving as an Honorary Professor.Outside the university I have served on several government committees concerned with English, including the Key Learning Area Committee on English Language Education and the English panel for the Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence. In addition to my publications on language teaching and learning, I have presented conference papers and conducted workshops in many countries.


RESEARCH INTERESTS
Applied linguistics
Language teaching methodology
Foreign and second language learning



Professional Experience
2010-present: Professor Emeritus, Language Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University (also teacher of MA courses)
2011 (Jan.-June) : Visiting Professor, Department of English, City University of Hong Kong
2005-2010: Professor / Senior Lecturer, Department of English, Hong Kong Institute of Education
2004-2005: Visiting Professor, Department of English, Hong Kong Institute of Education
1998-2004: Professor for TESOL and Applied Linguistics, Language Centre, HKBU
1996-98: Associate Professor, Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
1992-96: Principal Language Instructor, English Centre, University of Hong Kong
1991-92: HongkongBank Research Fellow, Institute of Language in Education, Hong Kong
1990-91: Head of the Department of Language Studies, Christ Church College, Canterbury
1987 (Feb.-June): Visiting Professor, Centre for Second Language Learning, University of Ottawa, Canada
1973-90: Senior Lecturer / Lecturer in Education, University College of Swansea, U.K.
1963-72: Teacher of Modern Languages at secondary schools in the U.K.
1961-62: Teacher of English, Berlitz School, Augsburg, Germany



SELECTED PUBLICATIONS OR CREATIVE WORKS
Invited Plenary and Keynote Conference Papers (since 2010, selected)
2021 Invited webinar for Teacher Development Webinars (international webinar series, online, 2021)
2021 Keynote paper at the Annual CamTESOL Conference, Phnom Penh and online, 2021
2019 Plenary at the Special Interest Group Conference of the Korean Association of Teachers of English, Gwangju
2017 Featured paper at the KOTESOL National Conference, Seoul
2016 Featured paper at the Annual KOTESOL International Conference, Seoul Invited member at the Roundtable on Intercultural Communication, Applied Linguistics Association of Korea, Gwangju
2014 Plenary at the JALT Conference on Task-based Language Teaching, Osaka, Japan
Invited paper at the CUHK Symposium on Current Trends in Second Language Education
2013 Plenary at the Annual Conference of the National Association for Foreign Language Education, Beijing.
Featured paper and invited ‘pecha kucha’ presentation at the Annual KOTESOL International Conference, Seoul
Plenary at the International Forum on Primary School English Teaching and Innovation, Huizhou
2012 Invited paper at the TESOL Symposium, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul
2011 Plenary at the 9^th International Asia TEFL Conference, Seoul
Convenor, Invited Colloquium on ‘Tasks in Asian Contexts’ at the biennial International Conference on Task-Based Language Teaching, Auckland, NZ
2010 Keynote paper at the NCUE Fifth Annual Conference on Language Teaching, Literature, Linguistics, Translation, and Interpretation, Taichung, Taiwan
Featured paper at the 19^th International Conference of the Malaysian English Language Teachers Association (MELTA), Kuantan
Invited workshops at the 2^nd ESP in Asia Conference, Ningbo
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Books (authored)
Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 1981. Also co-published with the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press / People’s Education Press, Beijing, 2000. (Basque translation, 1986; Japanese translation, 1991; Bahasa Malaysia translation, 1992; Spanish translation, 1996; edition; Korean translation, 2007; Greek translation, 2008)
Foreign and Second Language Acquisition: Language Acquisition Research and its Implications for the Classroom.? Cambridge University Press, 1984. Also co-published with the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press / People’s Education Press, Beijing, 2000 (Basque translation, 1986)
(With Liu, N.F.) Hong Kong Students and Their English. Hong Kong: MacMillan, 1996.
Teaching Oral Communication: A Methodological Framework. Oxford: Blackwell, 1992. (Spanish translation, 1994.)
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Articles and Chapters in Books (since 2011, selected)
(With Wang, Shufang) Exploring students’ demotivation and remotivation in learning English. System, 103, 2021, 1-10.
Second language learning: Discovering an unknown path into a brand-new world. English Teaching, 76, Supplement 1, 2021, 31-35.
Developing a personal approach to teaching English for communication. Journal of Asia TEFL, 15(4), 2018, 1222-1229.
Task-based learning in language teacher education. ELTED Journal, 19, 2016, 9-13.
Methodology for teaching English for specific purposes. In V.J. Bhatia & S. Bremner (eds.). Handbook of language and professional communication. New York: Routledge, 2014, 287-302.
Communication-oriented language teaching: Where are we now? Where do we go from here? Language Teaching, 47(3), 2014, 349-362.
Developing a context-sensitive pedagogy for communication-oriented language teaching. English Teaching, 2013, 68(3), 3-25.
Mother tongue use in the foreign language classroom. In M. Byram & A. Hu (eds.) Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning. London: Routledge, 2013, 482-485.
Learners’ metaphors stimulate thinking and discussion. Modern English Teacher, 21(2), 2012, 12-16,
Communicative language teaching: an expanding concept for a changing world. In E. Hinkel (ed.) Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning, Volume II. London: Routledge, 2011, 541-557.
Process-orientation in language teaching: what are the processes and where are the products? In W.M. Chan, K.N. Chin, M. Nagami & T. Suthiwan (eds.) Processes and Process-Orientation in Foreign Language Teaching. Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, 2011, 21-40.
(With Su, F.) Teachers’ use of the mother tongue in English language classrooms in China’s Mainland and Hong Kong. Foreign Language Teaching in Schools, 34(8), 2011, 45-48.
(With Yu, B.) First language and target language in the foreign language classroom. Language Teaching, 44(1), 2011, 64-77.



COMMUNITY SERVICE
Chair of the EDB Appeals Board for Exemption from the Language Proficiency Requirement
Member of the High-level Advisory Panel of the Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence
Member of the EMB Key Learning Area Committee on English Language Education
Member of the EMB Assessment Panel for the Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence (English)
Member of the CDC-HKEAA Committee on Standards-referenced CE English Language Examination
Member of the Curriculum Development Council Ad Hoc Working Committee on Assessment for Learning
Member of the Curriculum Development Council Ad Hoc Committee on English (S1-7)
Member of the Hong Kong Examinations Authority CE English Language Syllabus Working Party
Member of the CDI “Use of English” Syllabus Committee (Sixth Form)
Departmental Academic Advisor, English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Member of the Advisory Board, Department of English, Lingnan University
External examiner for various English language courses, Open University of Hong Kong
Advisor and External Examiner, Dept. of English, Hang Seng School of Commerce
President of the British Association for Language Teaching
Member of the Department of Education and Science (UK) Steering Group for the Assessment of Performance Unit (Foreign Languages)
Secretary of the Committee for Linguistics in Education (UK)