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Yin Ha Vivian Chan et al.
as a viable alternative to more expensive ongoing expenditures on teacher salaries. Ferugson and
Tryjankowski (2009) in their research conclude that simply transferring a face-to-face syllabus to an
online medium does not result in an equal learning environment. The lack of support, community and
connectedness, and a dearth of specific skills and attitudes needed for online teaching and learning in
particular tend to lead to this unfavourable result. In addition, Gardner and Miller (1999:31) remind us
that “a key element in success SALL [self-access language learning] is pedagogical input and this is
relatively expensive”. Littlejohn and O’Dell both have similar observations. Littlejohn (1985) suggests
that the effective use of self-access centres depends on the extent to which each teacher views
self-access work as valuable. O’Dell (1992) observes that students who made full use of the resources
of the Eurocentre Cambridge in the United Kingdom were those in classes where the teacher was
confident and well-informed of the centre. These researches indicate that attempts to use self-access
centres as a means to cut costs is the result of a misunderstanding of their purpose, and also brings
about little improvement in student learning, which should be the focus of a university.
The eight local tertiary institutions currently funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC) have all
established either a language or self-access centre, many times both. The establishment and facilitation
of these centres are both in line with the goal set down by Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, and the UGC
to increase Hong Kong’s global competitiveness. This blatant embrace of the global economy is deeply
disturbing as research has pointed out that in these circumstances the concern of language education
becomes “a service to global economy in which language skills represent a form of economic capital”
(Benson, 2001: 19), and that “[b]roader political concerns about autonomy are increasingly replaced by
concerns about how to develop strategies for learner autonomy” (Pennycook, 1997: 41). The push for
the economically-driven nature of these centres illustrates a larger problem in terms of the
commercialization of Hong Kong education and is worth more research and attention.
The major role of Hong Kong’s self-access centres is to help students to master language. So, it makes
sense that their two common features are the provision of language learning resources in different
formats and language consultations. Approximately half of these centres also run workshops. In
addition, the teachers at these centres act as facilitators and mentors rather than simply as teachers.
They direct students to relevant self-learning materials and guide them through their plan to improve
their language abilities, which includes providing advice at opportune times. These centres are
therefore significantly different from libraries in the sense that they not only provide materials, but also
provide tutorial support to help users develop language and study skills and design a suitable
independent study strategy.
The practice of providing human support in the form of teachers has been implemented with discretion
in these centres. In 1994, instructors from different Hong Kong institutions published research on the
self-access centres at their respective universities. This research revealed that self-access centres run
most effectively with the guidance of teachers and most properly utilized when the teaching and
learning behaviors changed from the giver-receiver mode to that of trainer-trainee. Star’s (1994)
research at the Hong Kong Institute of Education revealed three major points. 1) Users prefer some
guidance to save time and effort in searching for suitable materials; 2) they prefer some training in
cognitive as well as meta-cognitive strategies; and 3) they express the need for materials to help check
progress. She concludes that “learner training” is a key to the success of a self-access centre (Star,
1994: 165). While Star proposes various ways to promote self-access centres, she also notes that it is
necessary to improve consultations “by explaining their purpose to both students and tutors and asking
tutors to be more proactive in the area.” (1994: 166) Contrary to the nonprofessional belief that a
self-access centre does not need teachers, in fact research and actual practice reveal that tutors play
an important role in facilitating and promoting self-access centres in tertiary education.
Star’s findings do not represent an isolated case. Pang (1994: 37) from Lingnan University comments
on the potential of self-access centres as follows: “The SAC [self-access centre] acts to provide much
needed consultation and support — moral, pedagogical, linguistic and tactical.” While Miller and
Gardner (1994) from the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong respectively at
that time both point out the importance of learner training and teacher training, how the learner functions
as an independent learner and the teacher as learner trainers.
At present, in preparation for the new curriculum in 2012, some local self-access centres seem to be
narrowing their focus to writing, which may result in their apparent similarity to writing centres. However,
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