First Year in a Multilingual University

Feng Ding has been teaching English in China for nearly 30 years, and holds an MA in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, an MA in TESOL and a Ph.D in English Education. She has predominantly taught comprehensive English for first-year and second-year English majors, in the course of which she has developed a kin interest in the whole-person development of first-year university students beyond their English skills. Once an overseas student herself, she is also passionate about the experiences of international students. During her Ph.D studies, she conducted an in-depth investigation of a group of Mainland Chinese students who did their first degree at a Hong Kong university.

• 1 Introduction.- 2 Transition and Autonomy.- 3 Methodology: Multiple-Case Qualitative Study.- 4 Profile of the Participants.- 5 Becoming More Independent in Life.- 6 Becoming More Independent in Academic Learning.- 7 Becoming More Independent in a Multilingual Context.- 8 Discussion.- 9 Conclusion.