Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics 5,2 (2000); pp. 1–25 A survey of learner training for junior secondary school students of English in Hong Kong 1 David Gardner Jacky Hon Ming Yuen The University of Hong Kong Pooi To Middle School, Hong Kong Abstract This paper reports the findings of an investigation of the ways 60 teachers of English in Hong Kong public secondary schools perceive and implement learner training. Results indicate that even though these teachers have generally positive attitudes towards learner training they do not always help their students develop learning strategies in the classroom. This is largely because either they find there is inadequate classroom time available to deliver strategy instruction, or because they tend to follow rigidly the set textbooks which contain no learner training. This paper recommends the need for incorporating learner training into the existing syllabus, the inclusion of learning skills in public examinations, and the formation of a network of teachers to share learner training materials and knowledge. Introduction During the last twenty years there has been a growing interest in the notions of ‘learner-centredness’ and ‘learner autonomy’ a main focus of which is learners taking responsibility for their own learning (Holec, 1981) and thus becoming more independent as learners. While searching for ways to facilitate this new learner independence there has been a similar growth of interest in self-direction, self-access and independent learning (for an overview of these topics and their relationship to autonomy see Gardner and Miller, 1999:5-8). As independence and learner responsibility have become increasingly important, learner training has also received increasing attention because it aims ‘to prepare learners for independence’ (Ellis and Sinclair, 1 The data reported in this paper are taken from the dissertation written by Jacky Yuen in completion of his MA in Applied Linguistics at the English Centre of the University of Hong Kong.