The Role of Mentoring in Supporting

Novice English Language Teachers in

Hong Kong
STEVE MANN AND ELAINE HAU HING TANG
University of Warwick
Coventry, England

This article reports on qualitative case study research into the

experience and support of four novice English language teachers in
Hong Kong (HK). It describes their perceived experience and socialisation, particularly with regard to the induction and mentoring support they receive during the first year of teaching. While the benefits
of different forms of induction support (mentoring in particular)
have been established, few studies have focused on specific factors
that affect the perceived effectiveness of mentoring, from the point
of view of both the mentors and the mentees. The current study
therefore breaks new ground in investigating the perspectives of different stakeholders in the mentoring process. What is more, the
majority of research reports the nature of the first year of teaching in
one snapshot, often not paying attention to the professional development and changes throughout the year. This study follows a group of
novice language teachers for the whole of their first year in teaching.
doi: 10.1002/tesq.38

he purpose of the case study is to give voice to the perspectives of

individual novice teachers within the complex wider sociocultural
context that these teachers must negotiate. Consequently, the article
begins by establishing key aspects of the HK context that impact the
experience that novice teachers have in their first year. It then provides a literature review that details important contributions to an
international understanding of induction and mentoring, as well as
relating these to the specific HK situation. After presenting an overview of the research methodology, the article provides an analysis and
discussion that details the needs and challenges of the four participating novices and investigates the provision and perceptions of schoolbased induction and mentoring. In particular, it explores the role that
mentoring plays in their professional development, support, and socialisation. The article concludes by providing recommendations on
how schools can better support novice English language teachers.

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2012 TESOL International Association

The research study investigates two main research questions:

1. What concerns and difficulties do novice English language
teachers have in their first year in Hong Kong?
2. What support do the teachers receive from mentors and
colleagues? What is the nature of this support, and how is it
viewed by the various stakeholders?

CONTEXT
It is internationally recognised that a teachers work is highly
demanding, with complicated educational issues to be faced and the
practical demands of classroom teaching to be handled (e.g., Pollard,
2008). Novice teachers in Hong Kong are often expected to perform
effectively and assume full teaching responsibilities right from the first
day on the job (Worthy, 2005). In Hong Kong, it is claimed that there
has been a deterioration of employment and work conditions for
teachers due to economic pressures (Choi & Tang, 2011). At the same
time, educational policy initiatives have had adverse effects on employment security and made the teaching role more challenging. This
section considers a number of HK contextual features (social,
economic, educational) that impact novice English language teachers
experience and workload.
In Hong Kong, experienced teachers can find the job stressful due
to serious issues of burnout, teacher dissatisfaction, and turnover
(D. W. Chan, 2009; Wong & Li, 1995). The attrition rate for teachers
in Hong Kong is significant (3.9%9.3% in the primary sector and
3.9%6.6% in the secondary sector, between 2001 and 2009). Rates of
job dissatisfaction and morale among teachers are low (see Cheng,
2009), and issues of workload are a core factor in this dissatisfaction
(Choi & Tang, 2009; Chung, Pang, & Chan, 2006). Most teachers in
Hong Kong still work in government or aided schools (on an official
pay scale), but there is increasing privatisation of school education
through the Direct Subsidy Scheme. In this scheme, schools are free
to decide on their curriculum, fees, and entrance requirements
(Education Bureau, 2011). Teachers salary and fringe benefits need
not follow those of aided schools (Yung, 2006, p. 99), and this has
disrupted the job security of teaching (Choi & Tang, 2009, p. 769).
Meanwhile, education reform has spurred a quest for excellent
performance with stronger reliance on performance indicators,
benchmarking, managerial and consumerist accountability, school selfevaluation and external school review than previously (Choi & Tang,
MENTORING AND NOVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

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2011, p. 55). Increased workload has created extra stress for teachers
(Choi & Tang, 2009), and changes in the curriculum and examination
system brought about by the New Senior Secondary Curriculum and
the HK Diploma of Secondary Education have also had an effect.
Although the changes were designed to alleviate students exam pressure, they have led to more formative and school-based assessments,
with teachers bearing the responsibility for designing and carrying out
assessment. Furthermore, due to the requirement for all students to
stay on at school longer, teachers now have to find ways to motivate
and challenge less academically inclined students.
Economic pressures and a declining birth rate led to an unpopular
class shrinking and school killing policy (Choi & Tang, 2009,
p. 770), administered from 1997 to 2007. This process of school downsizing and school closure happened at a time of rising unemployment
and inevitably increased competition for fewer teaching posts, while
tactics used to boost intake (such as the introduction of open days)
have increased workload. Additionally, language policies running up
to and after the 1997 handover, which prioritised the aim of trilingualism (Cantonese, Mandarin, and English) and made Chinese the medium of instruction in all public sector secondary schools, added to the
pressure on English language teachers to increase English levels when
contact hours have been reduced. Gao (2011) documents teachers
professional vulnerability in a perceived context of falling English
language standards in Hong Kong. Much of this pressure comes from
parents; despite various HK government policies to raise the status of
Cantonese and Mandarin, English is often the chief educational concern, being a habitus for the community, a way of life to the millions
of westernised, cosmopolitan local residents (E. Chan, 2002, p. 282).
On top of these pressures, newly qualified teachers face specific
challenges. They compete in the open market with experienced teachers, and their initial employment is often short term. Novice teachers
also face unstable work conditions at the system level, which have
impeded collegial support (Choi & Tang, 2009, p. 771). At the same
time, there is an increased need to comply with the current school in
order to increase chances of re-employment or invest time in seeking
work elsewhere (Draper & Forrester, 2009, p. 79) while working full
time with no reduced workload.
There are considerable variations in the amount and type of support that these novice teachers receive. Induction is not mandatory,
and there is no prescribed pattern of support or noncontact time.
Although mentoring often exists in some form, it is not always formally adopted. The only official document available to schools for supporting their new teachers is the Induction Tool Kit designed by the
government-funded Advisory Committee on Teacher Education and
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Qualification (2009). Schools are advised to use the tool kit at their
own discretion, adapting the tools to suit their needs and to keep
paperwork minimal.

NOVICE LANGUAGE TEACHERS EXPERIENCE

Beginning to teach is internationally recognised as a particular and
complex stage of a teachers career (Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development, 2005); it can quickly become a battle
for survival, as teachers become swamped by the complexity of the role
and the demands and expectations of students, colleagues, and
parents. Teaching is generally a stressful and demanding job, and for
novice teachers it can be overwhelming (Bullough, Young, Hall,
Draper, & Smith, 2008). There continue to be higher rates of attrition
and turnover in teaching compared to other professions (Ingersoll &
Strong, 2011), at least partly because novices are faced with the discrepancy between the expected (ideal) and the actual realities of
teaching, and this constitutes a transition shock (Corcoran, 1981,
p. 19). Veenmans (1984) international perspective established the
main challenges (classroom discipline, motivating students, assessing
students work, organising class work, dealing with individual student
differences, coping with insufficient or inadequate teaching materials,
and dealing with parents). Recent international studies (e.g., Bullough
et al., 2008; Totterdell et al., 2008) have confirmed that these same
problems are still viewed by novice teachers as the most challenging.
It can be argued that nonnative-speaking novice teachers of language
encounter additional challenges in terms of language teaching skills
and, in some cases, issues with their actual or perceived linguistic competence (Tsui, 2007). However, while the first year of teaching has been
well documented in general education, not many studies have been
done in the area of second language teaching (Farrell, 2008; J. C. Richards & Pennington, 1998). Borg (2010, p. 88) claims that experientially
we know a lot because we all work with these people [novice language
teachers] but empirically in terms of research not much has been published. Most studies address the transition from specific language teacher education courses to learning to teach on the practicum (Farrell,
2006, p. 212) and not the first year of actual teaching. Kanno and Stuart
(2010), for example, offer an instructive account of two teachers and
the reciprocal relationship between novice teachers identity development and their changing classroom practice, but this is part of their
masters programme. Of the studies that do feature novice language
teachers in their actual first year of teaching, most are comparisons of
experienced and novice teachers (e.g., Akyel, 1997; Gatbonton, 2008;
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475

Tsui, 2009). Farrells (2008) collection of articles, however, concentrates solely on the experience of novice teachers and provides valuable
insights into their experience and support. It contains studies undertaken in 11 settings. One of the papers features HK novice language
teachers: Urmston and Pennington (2008) report that it is difficult for
these teachers to adopt interactive and innovative approaches that they
have been exposed to in their teacher education courses due to constraints such as public examinations.
We now consider relevant literature concerning the induction process and mentoring in particular. Induction is the process by which
novice teachers adapt to and learn about their roles as teachers
(J. Schwille, Dembele, & Schubert, 2007, p. 89). Mentoring is understood as the support given by one (usually more experienced) person
for the growth and learning of another (Malderez, 2001, p. 57), and
the role of mentors is to facilitate novice teachers induction into the
culture of the profession and the specific local context (Hobson,
Ashby, Malderez, & Tomlinson, 2009, p. 207). In recent decades,
teacher mentoring programs have become a dominant form of
teacher induction and indeed, the two terms are often used interchangeably (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011, p. 203). However, mentoring is
not the only form of support. Induction can refer to a variety of different types of support for novice teachers, including orientation
sessions, subject-related collaboration, developmental workshops,
reduced workloads, and extra classroom assistance. Ingersoll and
Smiths (2004) study reveals that the most effective induction elements
are having a mentor from the same field, common planning time with
other teachers teaching the same subject, and regularly scheduled
collaboration with other teachers.
Hobson et al. (2009) provide an overview of various studies that
establish positive developmental outcomes for mentees. However,
there may be a danger in being overly positive about the importance
of the mentor. Colley warns against favourable, even celebratory,
regard where positive endorsement is not matched by detailed
empirical investigation of mentoring (Colley, 2002, p. 258). Ingersoll
and Strong (2011) find weaknesses and limitations in all the empirical
studies they review; despite these doubts, taken together the studies
provide empirical support for the claim that induction for beginning
teachers and teacher mentoring programs in particular have a positive
impact (p. 225), typically producing improvements in classroom management as well as maintaining a positive classroom atmosphere.
There are also positive benefits in the mentoring relationship for the
mentors themselves, including reflection on practice, professional
growth, and development of leadership skills (Ganzer, 1996; Hobson
et al., 2009; Lopez-Real & Kwan, 2005).
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THE MENTORS ROLE

Mentor roles vary from providing short-term technical assistance to
being more long-term reflective companions, just as mentoring programs can vary from a single mentormentee meeting at the beginning of a school year to a highly structured and frequent program in
which both parties have timetabled release time (Ingersoll & Strong,
2011). When more time is spent together, it shifts the balance towards
emphasis on socialisation and constructed learning and away from
the transfer of knowledge from the teacher education programme
(Hobson et al., 2009). Such a shift recognises that learning about
teaching is a situated process, where the teacher is socialised into a
community of practice in which novices move toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community and gradually learn
about the relations between newcomers and old-timers, and about activities, identities, artefacts, and communities of knowledge and practice
(Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 29). However, there can be a tension
between the mentors roles as concerned with collaborative development and enlightenment and an approach whereby the mentoring
initiative is based on meeting standards (Ingleby, 2011, p. 17).

QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

This section provides details of the approach and data collection
instruments and briefly discusses issues of sample selection and generalisability. The research featured here is a qualitative case study and
one of a growing number in the TESOL area (e.g., Hayes, 2010;
Lamb, 2007; Tsui, 2007) that provide insight into teachers beliefs and
experience. Case studies are able to track complex social phenomena
in a way that cannot be adequately researched in any of the other
common research methods (van Lier, 2005, p. 195). Through a rigorous thematic analysis, the study aims to provide in-depth insight into
complicated situated and social issues involved in providing support
for a novice teacher.
The case study focuses on four novice teachers and their mentors
and so can be viewed as a collective case study (Stake, 2005), allowing
the researchers to investigate both the uniqueness and similarity of
the novice teachers. The case studies are individually and collectively
bounded (Merriam, 1988, p. 9), through paying attention to individual schools and also the wider HK educational context. Duff (2008)
argues that it is usual to select four to six focal participants for study
in one or more sites, thereby providing interesting contrasts and
corroboration across the cases. The four form a strategic selection
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(K. Richards, 2011, p. 216) of novice teachers in Hong Kong; there

are novices working in different sectors (two primary and two secondary) and different ability bands (13). Participants were invited either
through emails forwarded by their preservice education institutes or by
personal connection.
Case studies vary in the extent to which they are longitudinal, but
an important contribution of this study is that it tracks novice teachers experience and support over a full year. Such longitudinal design,
drawing on data collected from multiple sources, allows useful comparisons across the multiple cases and increases reliability. Appendix A
outlines the multiple data sets. In analysing this data, we followed the
steps of thematic analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). After
data collection, the data were systematically analysed with regard to
the main research focus (novice teacher experience, support, and
mentoring). Relevant data were then assigned to corresponding initial
codes or themes. The themes were then reviewed, and attention was
given to how the different themes related to each other. Thematic
maps functioned as a heuristic in arriving at relationships, contrasts,
and commonalities. Following the review, the themes were further
defined and related back to the wider literature.
Generalisability is not considered to be a feasible demand of a case
study (see Gomm, Hammersley, & Foster, 2000). Rather, we take the
line suggested by Keith Richards (2011, p. 216) that, rather than working within an inappropriate trajectory from representative sample to
generalisable findings, we provide a strategic selection of cases that
might generate illustrative outcomes (drawing strength from the
rich particularity of individual cases). This article aims to provide outcomes that can be judged by readers in terms of

the strength of their resonance with other researchers or professionals,

the success of the practical recommendations they make, and
their contribution to the development of theory.

The multicase approach adopted here guards against the possibility

of unreliable accounts, and there is triangulation in the form of
accounts from mentees and mentors, as well as field notes and other
documents.
As far as possible, the cases have been studied in their natural context, although access issues have meant that the study relies primarily
on interviews. Following Kvale (1996) we have used a series of semistructured interviews to elicit narratives and also to clarify and extend
previous insights gained. We recognise that interviews are coconstructed (see Mann, 2011; Talmy & Richards, 2011) and that,

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although we have a framework of themes or questions to cover, these

are adapted and shaped to ongoing articulations, understandings, or
beliefs. Through the later interviews, we sought to include novice
teachers own judgments about representativeness and typicality. All
interviews were conducted in Cantonese (the participants mother
tongue), but transcripts were translated into English (Cantonese has
no written form). This translation issue is complex (see Cortazzi,
Pilcher, & Jin, 2011; Temple & Young, 2004), partly because sentence
structure and lexical nuance are inevitably changed. Despite this shift
from Cantonese to English, we have included some interactional features so that the translation is as close as possible to the original meaning and delivery. A transcription key can be found in Appendix B.
We aimed at anonymity for these teachers and mentors, although
such an aim can be problematic in qualitative inquiry, because rich
description can make deductive revelation possible. Walford (2005)
advances arguments for considering rejecting anonymity in certain
circumstances. We decided to keep the pseudonyms but have
checked both individual vignettes and the final version of the article
with the principal participants both for ethical reasons and as a validity check.

VIGNETTES
This section starts by outlining the first-year experience of the
participating teachers through brief individual analytic vignettes (see
Erickson, 1990) and a collective summary. In addition to providing
background information from individual school contexts, the vignettes
aim to describe novice teachers needs and challenges. We then discuss the school-based support they experienced, focusing particularly
on mentoring. Drawing on perspectives from both mentees and mentors, the section raises a number of prominent issues and concerns
that have emerged from the interview, observation, and document
analysis process.
Mary had wanted to teach in secondary school but ended up teaching in one of the top primary schools in Hong Kong. Like the vast
majority of top schools, it used English as the medium of instruction.
Many parents were educated and outspoken, and the principal often
stressed the importance of not offending them. There was an induction scheme, but the hierarchy created by the seating in the staff room
stopped Mary from approaching her mentor as often as she wished.
Mary also felt a sense of isolation because most teachers were middleaged, and there were few Mary felt comfortable talking to. High expectations for herself and for the students, as well as dealing with parents,
MENTORING AND NOVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

479

caused Mary to experience tremendous stress, and this led to sleeping

problems. In the end, however, she was glad she had survived the year,
and she decided to stay for a second year.
Sarah taught in a low-banding secondary school. The students had
performed poorly in school-based assessment at the end of their primary education. There were a lot of behavioural problems, and it was
difficult to motivate students. Students also had little respect for teachers, especially new ones like Sarah. Sarah cotaught each of her three
classes with another more experienced teacher, and one of them was
also her mentor. She benefited quite a bit from this in terms of professional development and finding support, and other colleagues were
supportive and helpful. Despite the challenging school conditions, she
stayed on for a second year.
Ray had just completed a second degree in education. He worked
in a new school under the Direct Subsidy Scheme. The school was
gaining reputation and popularity in the area mainly because it was
an English-medium school and entry was very competitive. Most
teachers were young and passionate, and students were generally well
behaved. Ray and his mentor were form teachers (homeroom teachers) of the same class, and they also taught students with similar
English levels. The mentor had only 1 year of teaching experience,
and there were no guidelines, briefing documents, or preparation for
mentor teachers in the school. Nevertheless, Ray and his mentor
worked together collaboratively on almost everything, including planning lessons, designing materials, and resolving students behavioural
problems.
Linda worked in a low-band primary school with challenging students who exhibited quite a few behavioural problems. Moreover,
some of her students were new immigrants who had significantly
lower English proficiencies than other students. There has been a
steady increase of immigrants from mainland China (Education
Bureau, 2011) posing particular challenges, because immigrant students often have lower English proficiency than HK students. These
challenges were exacerbated by a tight teaching schedule. Much of
Lindas time and effort was therefore spent on planning classroom
management and catering for diversity. Linda was the only participant assigned two mentors instead of one; one mentor was the panel
head, who supported her on anything related to the English subject,
and the other was the teacher in charge of the schools induction
scheme, who helped her with administrative matters. Linda quickly
gained trust and recognition from the management and was invited
early on in her first year to be part of a special publicity team, which
involved offering courses to kindergartens as a way of boosting future
intake.
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GROUP SUMMARY
The classroom experiences of this group of novices suggest that
some problems were shared and perceived as especially difficult. The
teachers particularly worried about the flow of lessons and students
negative responses. In the following interview extract Mary (NT)
reveals to the interviewer (I) some of the anxiety that can build up for
the novice teacher when there are worries about classroom dynamics
and students ability to work at the level the teacher expects. Mary
talks about her inability to maintain an appropriate classroom atmosphere, even when she has put a great deal of time into preparation:
208

NT: but even when you were in bed ((laughs)) your brain was

209

still running through what needed doing tomorrow

210

I:

211

(.) so mainly you were thinking about what you were to teach
the next day were you?

212

NT: yeah

213

I:

214

NT: ((laughs)) you know I was worried that the atmosphere in

215

what else was giving you such pressure actually?

class wasnt good,

216

I:

217

NT: =because sometimes I am concerned that Ive prepared a lot

218

for a lesson but the students cant give me the responses (.) I

219

mm=

feel really bad then.

(Marys individual interview 18.03.2010. See Appendix B for
transcription conventions.)

The other novice teachers expressed similar worries to Marys in

their individual interviews. Taken together, these views confirm
Gatbontons (2008) findings that novice language teachers were often
preoccupied with student behaviour and reactions to activities as well
as maintaining the flow of instructional activities (Akyel, 1997, p.
678). Novice teachers were relatively comfortable when classes progressed as planned but lacked a repertoire of pedagogical routines to
cope with unexpected events arising during the lesson (see also Tsui,
2009). This is evident in Lindas writing class. She assumed that, by
explaining the task on the computer once, students would be able to
work on their own. When students were not working and started
leaving their seats to ask her questions while she was helping the ones
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481

who required the most assistance, she got really annoyed. The writing lesson was always chaotic, and at the end of the year she had yet
to find a solution to the problem.
One issue that was particularly problematic was negotiating policy,
local practice, and individual beliefs regarding English-only in the language classroom. This was partly an individual decision (e.g., Ray
insisted on using English only with his students and their parents).
However, the other teachers adopted a more pragmatic code-switching
approach in the classroom to negotiate tension-ridden spaces where
they needed to make interpretations of policies/signs around language use and how these seemed to be received by colleagues and
superiors (Ramanathan & Morgan, 2007, p. 453).
The teachers also faced other challenges specific to the HK context.
For instance (in comparison with more middle-class students), most of
the working-class Cantonese-speaking students typically live in a lifeworld where few will (and can) speak or use English for any communication or sociocultural purpose (Lin, 2005, p. 50). Some novices
(Mary and Linda) had students newly emigrated from mainland China
with both economic disadvantage and comparatively low English proficiency. Catering for this diversity in the classroom was a further challenge for the teachers. The new teachers found it hard to provide
appropriate support and learning activities, given the class size. Some
of the novices workload and stress also came from the schools desire
to raise (or at least maintain) the number of students (in the context
of a low birth rate and school downsizing). Further issues are raised in
the following sections, which highlight prominent factors affecting
mentoring that emerged from the thematic analysis.

MENTORS STATUS
None of the mentors involved had been formally invited or briefed
on performing the mentoring role. It tended to be seen by the school
as just one more administrative duty among the very many:
No one invited me (.) I found out that I needed to be a mentor when
I looked at the duty allocation (Marys mentor)

Other mentors said similar things (Its the schools decision. . . . I

wouldnt say Im passionate about it [Lindas mentor]) and the hierarchical selection of mentors is partly a perceived issue of the low status of the role:
Anyway the school doesnt see this duty as very important, you know
how they put this duty? (.) under others (.) mentor to so and so (.) so

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I think they dont really regard this as a big duty (.) no I dont think
so (Rays mentor)

Those old enough (Marys mentor) knew that all experienced or

senior teachers in their school were expected to mentor novices at
some stage, but it was not something that they volunteered to do.
Mentors also had little involvement in deciding what the mentorship
would involve. Lindas mentor was the only one involved in designing
the induction programme and the only one with any mentor training.
The others were not given any guidelines or job descriptions stating
what was required and expected of them:
Apart from going through the staff files (.) I wonder what the schools
expectations of a mentor are (Rays mentor)

Taken together, mentoring was seen as a compulsory duty rather

than a self-selected professional development opportunity. There was
little information about the role and little training, and even if training was available, there was a perception that there would not be any
available time for preparation and training.

MENTORS ROLES
Although all participants were assigned at least one mentor as part
of their induction programmes, there were important differences
in the ways in which their mentors both saw and performed their
roles. These ranged from local guides to educational companions (FeimanNemser & Parker, 1993). The following list establishes key features of
the roles mentioned by either mentors or mentees:

taking care of/looking after mentees

giving advice and suggestions
familiarising mentees with the physical setting of the school
explaining the school-based syllabus, curriculum, and scheme of
work
dealing with administrative arrangements (e.g., arranging meetings)
giving mentees everyday reminders (of the routines) and daily
support
answering questions and giving suggestions regarding marking
and paper setting
providing mentees with emotional support
observing mentees lessons and giving feedback

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483

helping mentees with anything related to the classroom and

teaching
advising mentees in dealing with difficult students and classroom management
helping mentees in dealing with parents
helping mentees with technical problems such as using the
school-based computer systems
explaining school policies (e.g., regarding applying for reimbursement)
evaluating mentees in the middle and at the end of the year
discussing ways to motivate students learning
talking about students and teaching on a regular basis

This list suggests that mentors were supportive in many ways and that
the support was wide-ranging. Sarahs mentor was not available for
interview, but there is a clear contrast between Marys and Lindas
mentors, who primarily saw their role as fixing the new teachers problems rather than treating them as co-inquirers into problems (Wang &
Odell, 2002), and Rays mentor, who spent a great deal of time discussing ideas and collaborating. Marys and Lindas mentors established a
procedural mentoring relationship rather than a reflective one. This may
partly be because the relationship was not established as a result of
choice and goodwill but rather as a fulfilment of obligation and entitlements (Rippon & Martin, 2003, p. 215). Also, while mentors tended
to focus on what they saw as their duties and responsibilities, such as
giving reminders and taking care of the mentees, prominent in the
mentees recollections (and probably what they valued) were the
mentors advice, suggestions, and emotional support as well as the opportunities for discussion and regular contact. Except for Rays case, there
was little evidence of a partnership based on professional and interpersonal collaboration beyond procedural requirements. The others were
more like a form of hierarchical apprenticeship (Carter & Francis, 2001) in
which the majority of the role centres on reinforcing conformism.

AGE AND EXPERIENCE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

MENTORS AND MENTEES
One interesting finding in the study is that it was not necessarily an
advantage to have an experienced or senior mentor. Although there
were pros and cons associated with both, Ray had the most positive
relationship and experience with his mentor. Whereas the other three
mentors were quite experienced (7 + years), Rays mentor only had
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1 years teaching experience. It was clear that Ray and his mentor
characterised their relationship more as peers, and Ray would volunteer to help her (e.g., with maintaining students order during the
reading sessions) even when it was not part of his duties. Their collaboration extended beyond the official mentoring relationship:
I dont feel like a mentor to him because hes helped me a lot (.) you
know I think its a relationship like this (Rays mentor)

There were high levels of cooperation between the two of them,

embracing teaching, material design, and setting exam papers. A close
relationship and frequent collaboration was perhaps more possible
when there was not much of a gap in teaching experience:
How would someone with 10 years of experience work with you (.)
who on earth would ever do that (.) they know everything and dont
need any collaboration (Rays mentor)

Interestingly, Lindas mentor (who was experienced) felt that someone who had taught for only a year might be better suited as there
would be no generation gap and therefore would be more empathy,
because his or her novice experience would be more recent. Rays
experience and Lindas mentors views suggest that younger mentors
have several advantages: good sources of emotional and practical support, perceived as more approachable, and with more attainable suggestions. Carter and Francis (2001) found in their study that young
mentors are better at empathising and recalling what it is like to be a
beginning teacher. However, they also argue that physical proximity
and general availability are much more important factors than age and
experience, and we return to these issues in a later section.

OBSERVATION
One thing that all mentors and some mentees thought would have
been helpful in the development of a beginning teacher was having
more reciprocal lesson observations. The main barrier to its implementation was lack of commitment from school management (priority in
timetabling). For example, Mary had the chance to observe her mentor
only once in the whole school year. The timetabling in all the schools
was not particularly novice-friendly, except arguably in Sarahs school,
because she cotaught all lessons with other experienced teachers, so
she was essentially observing and being observed in all her lessons.
In some schools, lesson observations were still used only for assessment rather than developmental purposes. For example, in Rays
school, new teachers were observed in one-off whole-year assessments
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485

by the vice principal. Rays mentor was not involved in any observations, which she thought would have been helpful for both her and
Rays professional development.

PRINCIPAL INVOLVEMENT
There are ambivalent comments on the involvement of the principal in the mentoring system. Although mentors resented the fact that
principals did not follow up on their role as mentors and that not
much attention was paid to mentorship, all four mentors were actually
happy to be left alone:
actually its best that the principal doesnt pay any attention on me
((laughs)) (.) you know its fine now (Rays mentor)

When principals were physically present in meetings, it was inhibiting:

(.) its awkward whenever the principal is present (.) yeah . . . its simply, you know (.) if the principal is there you dare not say anything (.)
even for the experienced teachers (Lindas mentor)

Neither mentors nor mentees felt discussions with the principal

present were helpful (you know no one will dare talk about it [in
front of the principal], even I myself wont tell the principal when Ive
made a mistake [Lindas mentor]). Formal meetings were perceived
as adding to workload, in contrast to informal meetings where novices
could share their mistakes and areas of uncertainty in the principals
absence. Although there was little contact between mentees and principals, what the latter said had a strong impact on how the novices perceived themselves and their teaching. Paradoxically, for some teachers
having little contact was perceived as recognition of doing well. In
Lindas school there had previously been new teachers who were often
asked to see the principal in response to parental complaints, so not seeing the principal positively affected her perception of her teaching and
identity as a teacher. Mary, on the other hand, was particularly affected
by the principals comment about her being cool (shy), and this made
her even more conscious of her inability to socialise with other teachers.

INTERACTION WITH OTHER STAFF

All the teachers felt that interactions inside staff rooms were important and that these interactions were significantly affected by the physical settings (e.g., furniture, seating arrangements) and the differences
in age between the participating novices and their colleagues. Novice
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teachers particularly valued interacting with the more experienced

teachers on a regular basis. Tellez (1992) finds that novice teachers
value seeking help from experienced teachers they perceive as
friendly and caring, independent of whether the teachers are formally
recognized as their mentors (p. 214). This kind of contact was much
more possible in flexible staff rooms where novices were able to sit
close to mentors and other more experienced teachers. In Marys case
there was a physical separation between a more senior group (e.g., the
panel heads) and the small potatoes. Her mentor sat with the more
senior group, and this proved problematic because Mary would not
take the initiative to approach her mentor because of the perceived
hierarchy. On the other hand, in Rays school all English language
teachers sat together regardless of experience, and there was a common room where teachers could work and eat together. Many natural
and informal conversations about students and teaching were therefore made possible. Similarly, Sarah sat close to her mentor and all
coteaching partners, and there was no barrier to approaching them.
These interactions with other teachers often centred on students,
especially their background and behaviour in previous years. Another
valued topic was discussing schemes of work from previous years. In
addition to student- and pedagogy-related discussions, novice teachers
appreciated being able to grumble, mostly about how students were
(not) behaving. This kind of emotional support was an important survival and identity-building mechanism; grumbling gave the teachers
mutual confirmation that the students, and not the teachers, were to
[be blamed] for the situations (Kainan, 1994, p. 119).

INDUCTION TOOL KIT

The Induction Tool Kit (ACTEQ, 2009) has been widely promoted in
Hong Kong; however, it was only used in one of the four schools in
this study, and only then in a greatly simplified and adapted version.
The fact that other schools did not use it at all is surprising, given that
it has been available since 2008. Comments elicited on it suggest that
it was seen as complicated and mechanistic:
It would be really complicated if we were to follow that kit, its
very detailed and they dont expect us to do everything (.) (Lindas
mentor)

Although the tool kits supporting literature recognises the importance of both community (mentors and colleagues) and autonomy
(self-reflection and self-evaluation), the actual tools reinforce the
importance of existing practices rather than helping novices become
MENTORING AND NOVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

487

reflective practitioners. The emphasis is on the new teachers performance being in line with existing school-based practices and
that there should be regular feedback on mentees performance
(ACTEQ, 2009, p. 5). Prompts such as mentees satisfactory fulfillment of daily responsibilities (p. 9) and has the mentee fulfilled the
following? (p. 14) reinforce the essentially evaluative dimension of
the tools. Review profiles such as these assume that criteria of competent teaching can be clearly itemised, widely agreed upon, and used as
the basis of teacher assessment (Calderhead & Lambert, 1992). The main
problem with checklist-type competence-based lists is that they need to
be detailed enough to capture the complexity of teaching and can as
a result become unwieldy and difficult to use (Randall & Thornton,
2001). This may well be what happened in this case; the tool kit has
20 pages of items and domains to check against and comment on.

IMPLICATIONS
This section presents a number of recommendations that have
arisen from the preceding analysis and discussion. These are offered
as illustrative outcomes (K. Richards, 2011, p. 216). In making these
practical recommendations, we hope that they provide resonance with
other researchers or professionals involved in the provision of support
for novice teachers in wider contexts. The following comments summarise our case study outcomes and make suggestions that we feel are
most important in helping support novice language teachers.
Mentors play a key role in supporting novice teachers and they
need proper recognition within schools. Although lack of recognition
does not necessarily stop mentors from playing an important role in
supporting novice teachers, it may limit their effectiveness. The case
study found that mentor training in these schools was limited at best.
The same can be said for ongoing in-service mentor support and the
encouragement of shared practice. Principals, in particular, need to
value and support mentors, provide training, and encourage the sharing of good practice when possible.
Mentors make the most positive impact on the novices first year of
experience when they have opportunities to collaborate, to work on
things together (e.g., teaching the same classes, planning lessons
together, sharing teaching ideas and materials). This study supports
the findings of Ingersoll and Smiths (2004) study, in which mentees
particularly valued collaboration, whether with the mentor or other
teachers in the school. The school can facilitate a more collaborative
approach to mentoring by at least making sure that the novices and
their mentors have some simultaneous free periods and that there are
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no barriers to easy access and support from mentors and colleagues in

the staff room. Schools should not overlook things that might look
trivial, such as where the novices are seated (so that there is proximity
to mentors and other supporting staff).
Novices need priority in timetabling to allow them and their mentors to observe each others lessons and to meet with each other.
Opportunities for mutual observation are seen as key by mentors and
mentees. If instruments and tools are used in observation or mentor
mentee meetings, it is better if they are developmental and reflective
in nature rather than mechanistic and evaluative. Overly evaluative language should be replaced by questions that prompt novices and their
mentors to be reflective and to collaborate.
Stakeholders in this study expressed the view that it does not matter
whether mentors are experienced. Experience does not seem to be
the most important factor affecting the perceived helpfulness of mentors. Indeed it may be a good idea to further encourage mentoring by
relatively new teachers. An alternative might be to provide two mentors, with the experienced mentor playing a more advice- and information-giving role and the relatively inexperienced mentor playing a
collaborative and empathetic role.
Finally, principals need to be sensitive to the relatively fragile professional status that novices have, in which being questioned by others
(principal, parents) about their professional identity (Kelchtermans,
2005, p. 997) can lead to a culture of fear or complaint (e.g., encouraging parents to approach the principal directly instead of first discussing issues with the teachers involved). This adversely affects the
development of new teachers, who already feel less powerful than
other more experienced teachers.

CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that in Hong Kong competition between schools
is adding to the pressure on novice teachers. These pressures are
varied (having open days and being observed by parents, and running
extra language classes for prospective future students). Language
teachers often have to negotiate their pedagogic roles with demotivated students, unsupportive parents, critical mass media and educational
authorities (Gao, 2011, p. 495). However, mentoring currently plays
an important role in negotiating these pressures and demands. This is
not to say that mentoring could not play an even more significant role.
The fact that induction is not compulsory in Hong Kong and that novice teachers do not feel that they have the right to mutual observation,
for example, is problematic. This collective case study would suggest
MENTORING AND NOVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

489

that factors affecting the impact of mentoring, such as timetabling

(for discussion, collaboration, and mutual observation) and proximity
to supportive colleagues, are more important than whether the mentor
is experienced.
As a whole, the collective case study shows that mentoring roles varied in the extent to which they played a significant part in the firstyear experience of these four novice language teachers. In addition,
we found little evidence of a structured programme of reflection and
development. However, engagement and interaction with mentors
were seen by novice teachers as useful for their professional support
and development. Except in one case, the ACTEQ (2009) tool kit was
not being used in the schools, and in fact the researchers considered
the language of its tools to be evaluative rather than developmental.
All in all, we question Draper and Forresters (2009, p. 79) claim
that (in Hong Kong) professional development is generally driven by
individual teachers self-evaluation and reflection, with no framework
to guide or shape experiences. Although we agree that mentoring systems could be improved, we feel that the existing practice supports
assimilation into each schools community of practice. This group of
novice teachers all survived the first year, and although they found it
difficult to cope with the demands of students, staff, and parents, they
went on to their second year in the same schools. Although it is true
that novice teachers have a pressing need to comply with the current
school in order to increase chances of re-employment (Draper & Forrester, 2009, p. 79), and that part of this socialisation could be characterised as compliance, we found evidence of useful mentoring
involving personal and professional engagement, the willingness and
ability to share understandings and values, and the whole school
(Sundli, 2006, p. 213). We also found that interaction and support
from other members of staff were as important as, if not more important than, support and engagement with mentors, and that in schools
where the atmosphere was more collaborative and supportive, mentoring seemed to work better.
THE AUTHORS
Steve Mann is associate professor at the Centre for Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick. He has experience in Hong Kong, Japan, and Europe in both
English language teaching and teacher development. He supervises a research
group of PhD students who are investigating teacher education and development.
Elaine Hau Hing Tang is a PhD student at the Centre for Applied Linguistics at
the University of Warwick. Her doctoral project is on the support for and development of novice English teachers. Before furthering her studies in England, she
worked in Hong Kong and mainland China as an English language teacher.

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APPENDIX A
DATA SETS USED IN THE STUDY
Core
data

Interviews

Documents

Other data

494

Audio recordings of interviews with participants (novice English

teachers) (N = 24)
Audio recordings of interviews with participants mentors (N = 3)
End-of-year focus group with all participants (N = 1)
Induction Tool Kit (ACTEQ, 2009)
School-based induction documents
1. Guidelines on appraisal (N = 1)
2. Guidelines on lesson observations (N = 1)
3. Lesson observation forms (one filled and one blank; N = 2)
4. Teacher appraisal form (filled; N = 1)
5. School bulletin (N = 1)
6. Induction programmetimetable (N = 1)
7. Induction programmeyear plan (N = 1)
8. Induction programmedaily responsibilities: interim and
final reviews (filled; N = 1)
9. Induction programmeindividual domains: interim and final
reviews (filled; N = 1)
Research diaries
Transcriptions
School visit (N = 4)
Lesson observation field notes (N = 4)

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APPENDIX B
TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS
[
=
(.)
(2.5)
(())

Overlapping utterances
A second utterance being latched immediately to the first utterance with no
overlap
Short untimed pause within an utterance (less than 0.2 of a second)
Timed pause (in seconds). These may occur within a turn or between turns
Description of nonverbal elements in the conversation, e.g., ((points to teaching
materials))

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495