joantang@um.edu.mo
Tel
(853) 8822-4576
Office
E7-2003
Consultation Hours
Monday
13:00 – 15:00
Joan TANG Fun Hei
鄧歡喜
Interactive English 1 Course Coordinator
Introduction
Joan Tang has been working at UMAC for over 25 years, formerly in the Centre for Pre‑University Studies and in the Centre for Continuing Education. As an English lecturer and Senior Instructor at UMAC she has taught a wide range and variety of English courses to many different client groups, from university students to academic and administrative staff at university level, senior and junior professionals in many different businesses in Macau, to high school teachers in initial training and in-service training, and to staff in the Macau government’s Department of Education and Youth Affairs (DSEJ).
As a teacher of English for over 30 years she has considerable experience and expertise in working with different groups with very different levels of ability, motivation and achievement. This includes, for example, specific and multiple skills training, professional and academic English, preparing different parties to take external examinations in English (e.g. TOEFL and IELTS) and teacher education.
Dr. Tang has an ongoing interest in education, and her higher degrees have been in education, with a focus on English language teaching. She has published in academic journals and presented conference papers. Her doctoral thesis was An Investigation into Some Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of English Teaching, Learning and Achievement in Macau and her Master’s thesis was Problems in English Listening Comprehension: the Phenomenon in Macau. For her Diploma in Social Science Research Methods she conducted and reported research on Quality and effectiveness of English teaching and learning at the Center for Pre‑University Studies.
Education
Joan received her Ed.D. from the University of Durham, UK, in 2002, her Master of Arts (Education) from the University of London, UK, 1996, her Bachelor of Arts in English from the National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan, 1986, and her Diploma in Social Science Research Methods from the Macau Inter-University Institute (now the University of St. Joseph) in 2004.
Research Interests
Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in English teaching and learning; active and interactive learning in English; linguistic skills involved in learning English as a foreign language (EFL); teacher education.
Courses Regularly Taught
Prior to joining the English Language Centre, Joan taught several courses in the Centre for Pre-University Studies: Consolidating English; Essential English Writing I; Essential English Listening and Speaking; Level Four English I; Fundamental English; Competency in English; Syntax & Semantics of English Language I. She taught several courses at the Centre for Continuing Studies: English Summer Bridging Course; Workplace English for Receptionists and Telephone Operators; Workplace English for Frontline Service Personnel; Workplace English for Executives, Administrators and Associate Professionals; Advanced Diploma in Business English Management; Effective Business Writing Skills for Communication and Work; In-house training on Effective Email Writing for Communication and Work; TOEFL iBT training for UMAC students and secondary school teachers; IELTS training for UMAC students; Improving speaking for communication and work; Corporate Business English.
Dr. Tang has taught university students, university academic and administrative staff, senior and junior professionals in businesses in Macau, teachers in initial and in‑service training, and civil servants in Macau. She has run workshops for a range of client groups, on several topics: building your language foundation; English as the language of communication; the mechanics of correct writing; business letter writing; social business letter writing; how to prepare a press release; proposal writing; report writing; presentation and visuals; telephone skills and techniques; and English correspondence writing.
Dr. Tang served for ten years as the Convenor for the English Cluster I at the Center for Pre‑University Studies, University of Macau (2000-2010), during which time she was also a committee member of the Center for Pre-University Studies Academic Council. For seven years she was also a member of the University’s Library Committee.
Dr. Tang has also worked in several other higher education institutions. For twenty years she was a teacher trainer of initial training students in Macau; for three years she taught government-sponsored courses for serving teachers and civil servants at a university in Macau; and she taught English at Macau’s Institute for Tourism Studies. For several years, she was also a secondary school teacher in Macau.
Dr. Tang has been a peer reviewer for academic journal articles for many years.
Assessment in Macau schools (with K. Morrison). In Y. C. Lo (Ed.) School Curriculum Reforms and Teachers’ Professional Development: Cases in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Hong Kong: The Association for Childhood Education International, Hong Kong and Macau, pp. 65-95. 2008.
Problems and Possibilities in Assessment for Language Learning in Macau (with K. Morrison). Proceedings of the International Seminar on English Language Teaching and Translation for the 21st Century. Macau: Macau Polytechnic Institute. 2003.
Testing to destruction: a problem in a small state (with K. Morrison). Assessment in Education 9 (3), pp. 298-317. 2002.
Improving English Language Teaching and Learning in Macau’s Schools. Macau. Proceedings of the International Conference on English Teaching. Macau Polytechnic Institute. 2002.
When marketization doesn’t work: the case of Macau (with K. Morrison). Compare 28 (3), pp. 245-63. 1998.