Fiona (Kwai Peng) SIU received her doctorate in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University, Sydney, in 2008. For the past 17 years, she has been an EFL teacher in the Language Centre. Her research interests include pragmatics (in particular, politeness strategies in making requests) and academic writing. The research studies completed and in progress touch upon the following areas:

• the effects of mode on rhetorical and syntactic complexity for EFL students,
• the pragmatic competence of EFL learners in the production and judgment of formal written requests,
• direct and indirect approaches to essay correction,
• teacher and peer feedback on written assignments,
• e-learning using ePortfolios,
• independent learning vs class learning,
• the use of hedges in academic essays and in workplace English.

Currently, she is working on the preparation for publication of a proposed book on making successful requests using effective strategies and the English language in collaboration with Robert B. Kaplan (Emeritus Professor, University of Southern California).

Publications

• 1986.
  The effects of mode on rhetorical and syntactic complexity for EFL students at three grade levels. Master’s thesis. Chinese University of Hong Kong. (ERIC number: ED274163)
• 2008.
  Exploring the pragmatic competence of EFL learners in the production and judgment of formal written requests. Doctoral thesis. Macquarie University, Australia. (ERIC number: ED505570)
• 2012.
  Rethinking feedback on written assignments: Teacher and peer view. In M. Zhu (Ed.) 2012 2nd International Conference on Economic, Education and Management (pp.220-225). Shanghai, China: Hong Kong Education Society
• 2013.
  The incorporation of ePortolios in EFL courses – barriers encountered in the diffusion of technology (2013). Journal of Interactive Learning Research 24 (2), 211-231.
• 2014. (Currently under review )
  Assessing learning control of English hedges among tertiary Cantonese-speaking EFL students.

Conference Paper

• 2011.
  The incorporation of ePortolios in EFL courses – barriers encountered in the diffusion of technology (June 2011). Paper presented at the 4th HAAL Conference, Hong Kong Association of Applied Linguistics, Hong Kong.
• 2012.
  Rethinking Feedback on Written Assignments: Teacher and Peer Views. Paper presented at 2012 2nd International Conference on Economic, Education and Management (June 1-2, 2012). The International Association of Education, Science and Engineering. Shanghai, China.
• 2013.
  An Assessment of Learning Control of English Hedges among a Group of Cantonese-speaking EFL Students at Tertiary Level in Hong Kong. Paper presented at the The Asian Conference on Cultural Studies 2013 (May 24-26). The International Academic Forum (IAFOR). Oska, Japan.
• The use of English Hedges among LC students taking a one-year EAP course: Hedges as a conversational aid. Paper presented at the LC Symposium 2013. The Position of English Language Provision in Hong Kong Tertiary Institutions (June 4). City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China.