Planning for teaching/learning Mandarin Chinese : improvement through self-reflection and student feedback

  • Hangyan Shen

Western Sydney University thesis: Master's thesis

Abstract

This thesis has demonstrated an important capability required of teacher 'xingzhi' researchers, namely developing the potential required of researchers to identify, specifying and solve innumerable problems that arise during the research process. From the standpoint of being a teacher 'xingzhi' researcher, the purpose of this research has been to study the development of teaching and learning units of work and lesson plans that have attempted to make Mandarin Chinese learnable for young students who are beginning learners in Australia. The research data came from the teacher-researcher's self-reflective journals, units of work and lesson plans and feedback from the students via the student Self-Assessment Sheets. The thesis has provided a detailed analysis of primary data and developed reasoned interpretations of the data accompanied by evidentiary excerpts along with tables and charts. The findings have been discussed in terms of the research question and the three contributory questions and propose a series of ideas and suggestions to improve a beginning teacher-researcher's: use of time in planning and teaching; use of students' feedback to inform future lesson planning, and use of students' feedback to identify barriers and obstacles to making Mandarin Chinese learnable for beginning learners. These have been summarised and presented in dot point format throughout the evidentiary chapters and in the final chapter. This research has provided the evidence from one case and purports to make a contribution to the knowledge of Mandarin Chinese teaching in the Australian context.
Date of Award2016
Original languageEnglish

Keywords

  • Chinese language
  • Mandarin dialects
  • study and teaching
  • Australia

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