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This dissertation, "A Study of Student Perception of Authentic Materials and Its Relationship With Language Proficiency" by Ki-yan, Carolyn, Ngai,, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled A Study of Student Perception of Authentic Materials and its Relationship with Language Proficiency submitted by Carolyn Ki Yan Ngai for the degree of Master of Arts (Applied Linguistics) at the University of Hong Kong September, 2003 In view of the recent trend of using authentic materials in language teaching in Hong Kong, this study aims to explore student perception of authentic materials and its relationship with language proficiency in a Hong Kong secondary school, in which the author is working. It examines the perceptions of 32 students towards authentic input in journal writing and interviews. These students are of similar age and educational levels with the same Chinese language backgrounds. To collect data, protocol analysis was used. The protocol analysis revealed some affective and pragmatic beliefs towards authentic materials. This study also examines the relationship between student perception and their language proficiency. The study found that the interesting content and the daily language inherent in authentic input engaged students' interest and they were therefore more actively involved in the learning process. Different responses were identified among learners and it was found that different views towards language learning had an impact on authenticity. Findings from the study could enhance our understanding of authenticity and impli