Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

1. Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Presented by: Karen He, Jenny Lin, Hanru Li & Songtao Shu

2. Section 1Teaching Chinese in Context • The Importance of Standards • Bringing Culture into the Chinese Language Classroom through Contextualized Performance • Focusing on the Learner in the Chinese language Classroom • Technology in Chinese Language Teaching and Learning

3. The importance of StandardsContent Standard (ACFFL 1999) • Communication Include interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational dimensions • Culture The relationships among the practice, the products and perspectives • Connections Information and viewpoints only available through usage of Chinese • Comparisons Understand the differences between Chinese Cul/Lan and others • Communities Use Chinese within and beyond school setting; continue to learn

4. Bringing Culture into the Chinese Language Classroom Through Contextualized Performance • Defining Culture: achievement/informational/behavioral culture • Culture and Performance • Provide Opportunities for Students to Perform • Provide a Variety of Cultural Contexts • Apply to reading and writing exercises (pre-reading, reading and post-reading)

5. Focusing on the LEARNER in the Chinese Language Classroom: • Attention to students Leaning styles, i and i+1.The highest level of energy, the peak of the “action” not from the teacher, but from students • Learner-directed materials/activities Road signs, written announcements, subtitles on movies, product labels, etc. Text-messaging Chinese Friend, telephone rally, etc. • Multiple directions of communication Facilitating meaningful interaction. • Guide on the side Limit teacher’s role to arranging the best condition for learning, assessing and feedback

6. Technology in Chinese Language Teaching and Learning • CALL: Computer-aided language learning, teaching in Chinese, web resources, technology Effective or not? Between simplified and traditional characters / Tone marks / Internet resources Before/During/After reading Online materials: Listening / Speaking / Reading / Writing Computerized Tests

7. Section 2Teacher Knowledge and Pedagogical Decisions • Literacy Development in Chinese as a Foreign Language • Teaching Chinese Orthography and Discourse: Knowledge and Pedagogy • Teaching Listening and Speaking: An Interactive Approach

8. Literacy Development in Chinese as a Foreign Language • “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” Reading is a skill that must be learned through instruction (p.98). • Components in L2 reading process (Bernhardt Model 1991, 2000): => Text-based vs. extratext based components 1) word recognition; 2) phonemic/graphemic decoding; 3) syntactic feature recognition vs. 1) intratextual perception; 2) metacognition; 3) prior knowledge => First language reading ability: a significant contributor to L2 reading comprehension.

9. Literacy Development in Chinese as a Foreign Language • Six issues: #1: Students Coming from an Alphabetic Reading Background Reading with “grapheme-phoneme conversation rules (gpc-rules)” vs. reading the logographic characters #2: Becoming “Aware” of Chinese Orthography The strategy of visualizing graphic structures of characters, connecting with previously learned characters and using semantic and phonetic radicals #3: Reading is a Language Activity - Reading is a language activity that is heavily dependent upon a learner’s experience with the language (p. 103). - Keep skills in balance to motivate CFL learners

10. Literacy Development in Chinese as a Foreign Language #4: The Role of Practice and Experience - Reading must be practiced (p. 105). - “Extensive reading (Day & Bamford 1998)”, proper materials, independent reading in classroom #5: The Role of Background Knowledge - Schema theory (Anderson & Pearson 1984) & Top-down - Brainstorming sessions & invoke the schema - Reading materials in cultural and historical context #6: The Use of Authentic Materials - Level – appropriate materials - “Graded readers” within reading competence - Review vocabulary in receptive and productive contexts

11. Teaching Listening and Speaking: An Interactive Approach • Three modes of communication ( Standards in ACTFL): interpersonal, interpretive and presentational. • Interpersonal activities: dialogues, interviews, discussions, role plays, and debates. • Three processing theories: the model of working memory, schema theory and input-output model of SLA • Task-based instruction: Five rules: build up the path; establish a clear purpose; state specific requirements for the output; specify a time frame; end with learner output.

12. Section 3 Challenges and Strategies for the American Classroom • Teaching Chinese as a Heritage Language: Key to Success • Linking Curriculum, Assessment, and Professional Development • Understanding the Culture of American Schools, and Managing the successful Chinese Language Classroom

13. Teaching Chinese as a Heritage Language: Key to Success • Definition of HL • key to success 1: Understanding factor associated with CHL leaning and literacy development 2: Understanding and valuing: CHL learners are typically marked with varied ethnic identities 3: Individual’s ethnic identity goes hand in hand with his/her motivation : positive attitude & negative attitude 4: CHL learners have skewed linguistic abilities 5: how to reach it? Pre-Program Survey+ Placement Test Appropriate Placement + CHL Program alongside A CFL program SUCCESS

14. Teaching Chinese as a Heritage Language: Key to Success Speakers of English L2: L2A English L2 Development : English-only mainstreaming The CHL Learner: Early exposure to non-dominant home language Re-learn CL as a foreign language: HLA HL development: Insufficient input, low social status, Home literacy environment— Incessant attrition or decline— Incomplete linguistic system L1: non- Dominant HL • CHL Development Path

15. Understanding the Culture of American Schools, and Managing the successful Chinese Language Classroom • Goals and perspectives in American Schools 1: all schools are different 2: Open access 3: the ideal of universal literacy 4: Local control 5: Parental Involvement 6: productive vs. Receptive learning 7: Well-Rounded People • Strategies of managing successful Chinese classrooms 1: establish classroom rules : general students expectations, develop your list with guidelines 2: be friendly but firm 3:learn to control the classroom 4: how to confront misbehavior 5: working with parents

16. Summary • Designed for teachers of Chinese at all levels. • Focuses on “Big Issues”, pedagogical principles, as well as the practical strategies. • Provides ample class-tested experience and teaching samples. • Guides Chinese language teachers to make appropriate decisions and to be successful in an American classroom. • Serves as a resource guide for “teachers-in-development.”

17. Reflection Pro: • Communicative, student-centered and interactive Chinese language instruction • Teaching reading/language with cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives • Keep reading, listening, speaking and writing in balance to develop strong literacy skills in Chinese Con: • Lack of differentiated teaching strategies for a multiple- skills and multi-levels Chinese class • Lack of connections between foreign language acquisition and content area learning • Lack of accommodation and modification for planning and teaching students with special needs