Interest-based language teaching : stimulating Australian students' interest in learning Mandarin

Abstract

This study responds to, and engages with Australian government initiatives to have more students exit Year 12 with fluency in one of the key Asian languages (Indonesian, Japanese, Chinese and Korean) sufficient for engaging in trade and commerce as part of their further studies (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2010). Specifically, it provides an account of an investigation into how to use interest-based language teaching to stimulate Australian primary school students' interest in the learning of Mandarin, exploring strategies for enhancing their interest in learning this particular language. This thesis aims to answer the following three research questions: How can lessons be designed to make connections between students' interests and their study of Mandarin? What factors constrain and/or stimulate Australian students' interest in the study of Mandarin? How can beginning teacher-researchers from China adapt to the Australian teaching environment and develop their professional learning about classroom management in order to stimulate students' learning of Mandarin? Concerns about the decreasing interest of students in the study of Mandarin throughout their years of schooling, raise the question of how to stimulate their learning of this language, given that the choice of this subject is an elective and so depends largely on students' preferences. Interest-based language teaching is the focus of the research reported in this thesis, which involved the design of lessons based on students' everyday interests and their interests in Mandarin and China's culture to create interestingness' (Michelsen and Sriraman, 2009) in these lessons. To improve students' Mandarin learning and to increase their interest in its study, a variety of motivational language teaching strategies, such as games, artistic activities and audio-visual tools, were used. Also, the role of my professional learning in achieving the goal of this research project was explored. Action research was the main method used in this study, and involved planning, enacting, evaluating and reviewing the strategies of interest-based language teaching through a cyclical spiral, seeking improvement in quality teaching. As a beginning Volunteer Teacher-Researcher (VTR), I was concerned to document and analyse my experiences through action research in order to enhance my students' interest in learning Mandarin, to facilitate their learning of the language and to extend and deepen my own professional learning. By critically reflecting on my teaching and students' learning, I was able to progress my professional learning and enhance students' interest in learning Mandarin. The data were collected from mixed sources in order to enhance the credibility and validity of this study. The data set included pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, interviews with classroom teachers, feedback from students and classroom teachers, and my fieldwork journal. From this research project, the interest of participating Australian students in the study of Mandarin was slightly improved. Accordingly, this thesis argues that for beginning VTRs from China to stimulate Australian students' learning of Mandarin, ongoing professional learning is required, to design ever more effective lessons, including consideration of students' learning experiences and reflections upon their teaching.

Date of Award	2011
Original language	English