Education Commons^™

It's A Black-White Thing, Donna Bryson

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Hanban Teachers’ Culture Shock And Adaptation In The U.S.: A Mixed Method Study, Yufei Guo, Huiwen Li, Hui Pang

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

When entering into the United States, Hanban teachers will face a totally different cultural environment. The different culture may lead to culture shock. This research, by employing mixed methods, investigated the culture shock the Hanban teachers in the United States have experienced. By looking at the teachers’ personal characteristics and the happenings to the teachers in the culture shock period, it also identified the main factors that significantly predict the culture shock. In addition, practical ways were suggested to help the teachers cope with cultural shock effectively.

Keywords: Hanban teachers, culture shock, predictive factors, culture adaptation

American K-12 Cfl Teachers’ Expected Competence, Actual Qualifications, And Needs For Professional Training: A Concurrent Mixed-Method Study, Xiongyi Liu, Ying Feng, Shunqin Li, Xiaocong Ding

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

In recent years, there has been a growing demand in the global labor market for proficiency in Chinese as a foreign or second language. Yet not much is known regarding how Chinese language education is provided by the U.S. schools in order to meet this demand. The present study investigated the competence that a Chinese teacher is expected to have as well as the qualification that currently in-service K-12 teachers of Chinese are actually possess. In addition, this research explored teaching philosophies, attitudes, pedagogy, challenges and needs for professional training among the Chinese teachers who are currently hired by U.S. …

Developing Effective Exercise Forms In Chinese Newspaper And Periodical Reading Class, Haiyan Liu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

Applying good exercises in extensive reading class is an indispensable measure for Chinese language learners. By employing newspaper and periodical extensive reading course as an example, this paper introduces technology-based reading techniques developed from the teaching practice, including rhythmic spacing, speed-reading, news-telling, and English video translation. Suggestions are also made on teaching resource identification and future research. The aim of this pedagogical report is to help extensive reading teachers learn how to develop systematic teaching methodology.

The Past And Present Of Chinese Language Teaching In Ireland, Caitríona Osborne, Qi Zhang, Yongbin Xia

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

China’s booming economy is indeed one of the main reasons for the popularity of learning Chinese as a foreign language (henceforth CFL). With this growing interest in CFL, Ireland is likely to be behind global trends as Chinese is not yet included as a State-examined subject at any level in the Irish schooling system. Chinese language teaching (henceforth CLT) began to develop significantly in formal UK schooling during 2004-2005 (Zhang & Li, 2010), whereas the earliest occurrence of CLT seen in the Irish education system was in 2006-2007 when two Confucius Institutes were set up in Ireland. During this time, …

New Approach To Chinese Writing: An Exploratory Study Of Writing Performance On Social Q&A Online Community, Lin Zhu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

Many studies have investigated how the online community has informed language acquisition and teaching. In the scholarship of Computer-Mediated Communication Theory (CMC), while most of the studies have emphasized second language English writing using the CMC framework, evidence is shown to support CMC in foreign language instruction. However, there is a lack of research on how feedback from native speakers of Chinese influences Chinese learners’ writing in a web environment. In response to the research gap, drawing on sociocultural and CMC, the current exploratory study probes the nature of feedback on Zhihu, the largest Chinese social question-and-answer website, and how …

Challenges Of Employing Voicethread To Enhance U.S. Collegiate Chinese Language Learners’ Oral Proficiency, Guangyan Chen, Junyu Zhang

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

The digital age in education inspires Chinese teachers to integrate Web 2.0 technologies into Chinese as a second language (CSL) curricula to enhance teaching effects. However, few studies examine the challenges that teachers face when integrating Web 2.0 technologies to improve student oral proficiency in Chinese. This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the Web 2.0 technology VoiceThread (VT). It examines the challenges of integrating VT to enhance student oral proficiency. The authors conducted two studies with 31 students responding to a questionnaire in Study 1 and 48 students responding to the same questionnaire in Study …

Techniques And Methods Change, Methodology Remains The Same: Web Technology Use As Cosmetic Change In Cfl Classrooms, Justin Olmanson, Xianquan Liu, Nannan Wang, Christopher Heselton

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

Technology has been a staple in the language classroom for more than fifty years. From audio cassettes, to video tapes, to multimedia CD-ROMs, to static and interactive web technologies, language teachers have taken the time to learn these tools and integrate them into the classroom experience. Each new technology, each new app, creates an opportunity to alter the experience of teaching and learning—often supporting increased authentic interactions with the Chinese language. This potential however can go unrealized when the ways the technologies are used align with more traditional grammar and vocabulary-focused teaching methodologies and promote efficiency over communication. In this …

A Study Of Cfl Teacher Competency In The U.S.: An Overview Of Professional Guidelines, Resources, And Standards, Haixia Wang, Gang Liu, Shunqin Li, Lingjing Luo

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) is a critical language in the United States, and the importance to have competent CFL teachers has been more and more realized. However, the literature does not show sufficient research on CFL teacher competency. To fill the gap, a series of exploratory research studies are initiated. As a part of the initiation, this study overviews the professional guidelines, resources, standards and requirements for CFL education in the U.S. at the national and state level. The findings will be useful for designing teacher education program and teacher training program. In addition, students teachers, pre-service teachers, …

Chinese Language Teacher Competency: A Literature Review For A Study Series, Huiwen Li, Hui Pang, Zhenzhen Hu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

This literature study reviews the definition and the most significant research studies of teacher competency. A chronological order, from the 20th to the 21st century, is followed to introduce the development of the teacher competency. The current status of the Chinese (as a foreign language) teacher competency research is also revealed, which shows a big gap that needs to be filled.

Using Thinking Maps In Chinese Novel Analysis And Instruction, Qiuping Yuan

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

The technique of Thinking Maps created by Hyerle proves effective in helping comprehending complex information. This paper employs Hyerle’s eight thinking maps to illustrate how to analyze a novel, for the purpose to help CFL students better understand the elements of a novel and improve students’ Chinese language reading comprehension skill. The novel “Charlotte’s Web” is used as an example.

First Language Transfer In Mandarin Compositions Written By Learners With English As Mother Tongue, Rui Liu

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

To help Mandarin learners express their ideas in compositions is one of the toughest jobs for teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) who frequently find that their students’ works are rife with inappropriate expressions as well as grammatical errors. Mother tongue transfer, which is an important part of second language acquisition study, has always been used to account for the various problems occurring in second language learners’ study process. This study carries out both quantitative and qualitative analyses on the errors in compositions made by Mandarin learners with English as their mother tongue. Four categories of errors are …

Motivating Students To Talk: Ted Conference In University-Based Chinese Language Classrooms, Danping Wang

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

This paper presents an innovative teaching method that uses TED conference to stimulate and support learners of Chinese in improving their speaking skills. In non-target language countries, students are often reluctant to use Chinese in real life. This study overviews a case where TED conferences were integrated into a university-based Chinese language course in New Zealand. It also discusses the major findings emerging from implementing this innovative pedagogy as well as the recommendations for future research. While motivating students to use Chinese in public setting, the approach has also enhanced critical thinking skills and co-learning in language classrooms. This paper …