In this engaging study combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches, Gao makes extensive use of a sociocultural research perspective to investigate second-language learner strategies. With theoretically-grounded rigor, he demonstrates how contextual realities (such as the threat of a given exam) mediate the language learning and use strategies of college students. A highlight of the study is his comparison of the same learners’ strategies and discourse about their experiences in studying in mainland China and then at an English-medium university in Hong Kong. What lends credibility to the study is that the author himself experienced challenges similar to those of his subjects, and that he was a participant observer by rooming for a year in a student dorm with one of his subjects.

Xuesong (Andy) Gao is an Associate Professor in the Division of English Language Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 A Sociocultural Perspective on Strategic Learning
Chapter 3 Mainland Chinese Students’ Migration to Hong Kong
Chapter 4 On the Chinese Mainland
Chapter 5 Learning English in Hong Kong
Chapter 6 Four Case Studies
Chapter 7 Agency and Context in Strategic Learning