The effectiveness of using Chinese poetry to teach Chinese to non-background speakers : an action research study in an Australian high school

Abstract

The issue that this thesis addresses is how to integrate Chinese poetry in the teaching of Mandarin in Australian schools. To address this problem, the purpose of this study is to explore which aspects of speaking and writing can be effectively taught with which poetry features to a class of Year 8 non-background beginning L2 learners in an Australian school. To gather data, three cycles of action research were conducted with three features of poetry respectively-repetition, rhyme and rhythm, and grammar, and each cycle lasted for three to nine lessons. The evidences were collected from the researcher's reflection journals and observation of students, the students' work samples, test results and focus group interviews, and a mentor teacher's evaluations and an interview. The data lead to the results that Chinese poetry has efficacy in enhancing L2 learners' language awareness, reinforcing their memorisation of language content and stimulating their engagement in class activity. Aspects of speaking and writing are identified with the support of poetry, for example, rhyme and rhythm is useful to improve learners' acquisition of pinyin and phonological awareness. The study may contribute to a new understanding on how to use poetry in L2 classroom in general, and how to use Chinese poetry to effectively teach Mandarin in particular. Also, the identified facilitating and constraining factors in the application of Chinese poetry in Mandarin teaching provide a diversity of teaching strategies.

Date of Award	2018
Original language	English