Andrew Parkin, Emeritus Professor of English

When I joined the Chinese University in 1995, I lived in staff quarters on campus. Driving uphill to my office in the ELTU, I would occasionally give a ride to Andrew, who did not own a car at that time. During the short drive, he would entertain me with a joke or some anecdote which was a good start to my day. During that time, he was the Chair of the English Department and was the target of some disgruntled professors in the department. When I asked how he coped with these troubles, Andrew said that he would have a leisurely breakfast each morning on his balcony facing the Tolo Harbor and mentally compose an "academic" novel in which all the troublemakers would have roles.

In 1998, I was transferred to the English Department and Andrew became my boss. The troublemakers had been removed and the English Department was at peace. If he saw my door open when passing by my office in the morning, Andrew would stop to crack a joke or relate a little anecdote. We would have a hearty laugh and the world would be all right. An amiable, supportive boss, he united both the language and literature professors. His retirement in 2000 put an end to to the camaraderie that existed in the department.



Andrew, who now lives in Paris, is a Senior Tutor of CUHK's Shaw College and visits Hong Kong every few years. He was here in April and he visited my home twice. A poet and a raconteur, he has an appetite for conversation and the ability to keep his audience enthralled. He told me that during those troubled times in the English Department, he would call Francois, his wife, at home each time a new problem flared up. Francois would call back saying that "The trouble is in the fridge", meaning a bottle of champagne would await Andrew when he got home.


I took this photo of Andrew at the "Pavilian of Harmony" of New Asia College on his recent visit.

A previous entry on this blog dated May 10, 2008, carries Andrew's satirical poem "The Cricketing Song of J. Alfred Prufrock".

The "last" lectures

ENG3640

ENG2840

Last week, I taught my last classes and delivered the last lecture at the Chinese University. The courses were ENG2840 Lexical Studies in English and ENG3640 Englis Language Teaching & Learning. Although I may teach short, intensive courses as a consultant, these are the last, semester-long courses I would teach.

I began teaching English in 1968 as an 18-year old in Sri Lanka to students barely younger than myself. More than 40 years later, my students were young enough to be my grandchildren. It's been an interesting journey from Sri Lanka through the Sultanate of Oman and the USA into Hong Kong.

Strangely, I felt little emotion during this week.

Meeting old friends

From left: Jun Liu, me, Diane Belcher, and Diane's daughter Claire

I was at the TESOL Convention in Boston in late March and had dinner with two old friends. I have known Dian since the late 1980s. At that time, she was teaching at Ohio State University and I was just finishing my PhD at the University of Texas at Austin and starting
to teach at the University of South Alabama. We began a correspondence due to our interest in second language writing. Diane and I edited Academic Writing in a Second Language in 1994. The book is still selling and is now considered a classic in the discipline.

We also served together in the Test of Written English (TWE) Committee under the auspices of the TOEFL test. TWE meetings were held in various cities throughout the country and we continued to see each other at these meetings, and also at the annual TESOL meetings.

In 1995, I left the USA for Hong Kong. Diane later became an Editor of the English for Specific Purposes journal. In the past few years, she has visited Hong Kong on a number of occasions, sometimes staying with us in Sai Kung. Diane now the coeditor of TESOL Quarterly and teaches at Georgia State University.

Jun Liu is Diane's protege. Originally from China, he completed a PhD from Ohio State University. I recruited him for a position at the Chinese University's English Language Teaching Unit in 1996 but Jun was unable to take-up the position due to personal reasons. When I was setting-up the Caucus of Nonnative Speaker English Teachers (within the TESOL organization) in the late 1990s, Jun was my right hand man, ably coordinating the organizational activities in the USA. Jun became the second Chair of the Caucus and made history by becoming the first nonnative speaker of English to be elected President of TESOL, the world's largest international organization of English teachers. I encouraged him to apply for the Chair position of the English Department at the HK Polytechnic University and he was offered the position. Again, he was unable to accept it, but took-up the Chair position of the English Department at the University of Arizona. Jun is probably the first academic born in China to head an English Department in the USA.

I would travel all the way from Hong Kong to TESOL Conventions in the USA mainly to meet old friends. With retirement coming in July, this year's may have been my last Convention. Both Diane and Jun will be visiting Hong Kong on and off, and instead of in the USA, I'll continue to see them in Hong Kong.

Chung Chi Graduation Photo Day

At the Chinese University, I am affiliated to Chung Chi College, one of the four original Colleges. Each year, junior students hold a farewell ceremony for graduating Seniors, a festive occasion that is tinged with sorrow at the parting to come. The day ends with the Seniors posing for a group photo at the Chung Chi chapel. With my own retirement within sight, this was my own last Photo Day.


The chapel grounds with the Ma On Shan hills in the background.


Graduates milling around the chapel grounds.


The group photo. Although six English professors are affiliated to Chung Chi, only Tim Weiss turned-up, besides myself.

Near the Chung Chi pond, where students from each academic department had set-up stalls.

The book is out

The book I've been working on since Fall 2008 was released by Routledge at the TESOL Convention in Boston last month. The book sold out, probably because the publisher had brought only a few copies to the convention!

Excerpts from the book could be read at
http://www.routledgelanguages.com/books/Nonnative-Speaker-English-Teachers-isbn9780415876322