In Hong Kong, there is a considerable linguistic mismatch between the textbooks prescribed at upper-secondary level - often written locally for the specific target population of Cantonese speakers learning through the medium of English - and those prescribed at first-year undergraduate level, largely international publications written with no concession to second-language learners. Their educational background has often not equipped Hong Kong students with the appropriate skills for reading English effectively, and they often read word by word, seeking local rather than global meaning.
The rationale for the present project was dictated by a desire to enhance the efficiency of reading strategies in Chinese-speaking undergraduates having to study Business Studies and Economics through the medium of English, particularly at tertiary level in Hong Kong, and the data collected in this domain complement the compilation of similar corpora of extracts from first-year undergraduate textbooks in Computer Science (James et al. 1994) and Biochemistry, Biology and Chemistry (James et al.) The overall project for which these corpora have been compiled has two principal objectives: (I) an empirical determination of the nature of the comprehension problems of Chinese-speaking undergraduates in reading in English for academic purposes; and (ii) the development of materials to enhance reading skills, informed by the findings of the empirical enquiries.
