Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004.

This phenomenological study explores how certain “innovative” pedagogies were experienced by a group of Chinese students studying Business Management at a mid-ranking UK university. Analysis of the transcripts of interviews (some in Chinese) with 24 students using NVivo shows that whilst most students felt that Active Learning pedagogies effectively supported their learning, for some students the “zone of indeterminacy” in which group projects and simulations were carried out was an uncomfortable space. Salient aspects of these students’ experiences were language, relationships and metacognitive skills, and the discussion explores the way in which these three experiential themes can be conceptualised as interrelated elements of the action (Biesta, 2006) which takes place in Active Learning classrooms. The following recommendations are made: HEIs should attempt to provide students with the advanced skills of negotiation which they will need to use in the flexible, ill-structured environments associated with Active Learning pedagogies; tutors should develop consistent approaches to collaborative assignments focussing on group work processes as well as task completion; the development of metacognitive skills through Active Learning pedagogies should be promoted through the use of explicit reflective elements embedded within the teaching, learning and assessment activities. The concluding discussion proposes that the successful use of Active Learning pedagogies requires a reconceptualisation of the purpose of education and that these pedagogies provide a potential readjustment of the balance between the functions of qualification, socialisation and subjectification (Biesta, 2010).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 203-212).

In recent years there has been growing enthusiasm among researchers for the promotion of online learning communities designed to support professional learning in preservice teacher education. The primary purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the role of such an online community in supporting student teacher learning during the school placement in a Chinese Normal University, and hence to enrich the understanding of student teachers’ learning experiences in an online ecology. The study’s subjects included a cohort of 42 student teachers enrolled on a four-year preservice teacher education programme, along with two university supervisors at one of China’s teacher-training universities. Primary data were collected from six weeks of online threaded discussions and from semi-structured group interviews. Supplementary data were taken from an end-of-school-placement evaluation and web-tracking logs. Data analysis has been informed and illuminated by the theoretical proposition of communities of practice. The findings of the study indicate that the online learning community is a valuable resource for supporting student teachers both personally and professionally. Findings suggest that online communication not only helps student teachers tackle immediate teaching concerns and technical problems, but, more importantly, provides them with opportunities to reflect collectively, to co-construct new teaching ideas, and to gain professional discourse competence through articulating and negotiating their evolving thoughts on teaching as a profession. In this regard, student teachers are found to be more comfortable with online self-disclosure of their personal and professional encounters and critiquing each other than they are with face-to-face communication. The research also shows that university supervisors experience mixed feelings about the fact that student teachers are more able to take ownership of their learning and therefore become less dependent on supervisor guidance as time wears on. Furthermore, these findings provide evidence suggestive of a possibly reciprocal relationship between Chinese view of learning and the building of online learning communities. Based on the results of the study, I provide recommendations as to how the significance of the school placement can be reinforced in fostering distributed student teachers’ professional growth. The results also contribute to a better understanding of the key factors in the design and implementation of effective online learning communities within preservice teacher education in China. Finally, the analytical approach used in this study provides fresh methodological insight into an alternative means of analysing online postings. It thus contributes both to the theorisation of learning communities in the context of computer-mediated communication, and to the further development of concepts drawn from the communities of practice literature.

L'objet de cette recherche porte sur l'apprentissage du chinois et l'adaptation interculturelle d'un groupe d'étudiants irlandais du supérieur en Chine.Elle s'inspire du corpus de recherches sur l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants étrangers du supérieur et vient s'y ajouter. Parmi ces recherches, celles de John W.Berry sur l'acculturation,de Geert Hofstede sur les dimensions de la culture, la théorie de Young Y. Kim sur l'adaptation interculturelle, et la théorie de Kalervo Oberg sur le choc culturel ont été privilégiées. L’objectif principal de cette recherche étant d’arriver à une meilleure compréhension de l'adaptation interculturelle d'étudiants irlandais qui étudient le mandarin en Chine, nous avons retenu les quatre questions de recherche suivantes:Nous recourons à une méthodologie de recherche qualitative pour analyser vingt-quatre entretiens approfondis et six journaux écrits en Chine par les étudiants, afin de décrire l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants irlandais en Chine.Les principales conclusions de notre recherche sont les suivants:1. Choc culturel. Les données montrent que même si ces étudiants s'étaient bien adaptés au pays d'accueil, ils avaient en majorité connu un certain choc culturel. Ils ont signalé divers niveaux de frustration et d'incompréhension découlant du fossé entre leur culture d'origine et celle du pays d’accueil. Ils ont également signalé des difficultés d'adaptation liées au mal du pays, à la solitude,, aux problèmes de pollution, d'hygiène alimentaire et à des difficultés de niveau linguistique.Cependant, ils ont eu recours à leurs stratégies d'adaptation pour minimiser les effets du choc culturel. dentité et compétence interculturelle adoptées par les étudiants.Les donnés révèlent le degré de réussite de l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants irlandais qui étudient en Chine ainsi que les implications de ce phénomène sur la perception de leur identité culturelle.Les étudiants ont procédé à des ajustements et sont devenus plus tolérants, plus larges d’esprit du point de vue interculturel. 3 – Acquisition de la langue. Les données suggèrent que ces étudiants irlandais ont amélioré leurs compétences linguistiques (écoute, parole, lecture et écriture) et communicationnelles (grammaticales, stratégiques et sociolinguistiques) grâce à leur immersion dans la langue et la culture cibles. Les étudiants profitent considérablement de l'apprentissage de la langue en milieu immersif particulièrement en ce qui concerne l'acquisition des compétences verbales et de vocabulaire et la conscience sociolinguistique.4 – Facteurs qui facilitent ou entravent l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants irlandais. Une recherche thématique des données a identifié six facteurs qui ont facilité l’adaptation interculturelle des étudiants: motivation, expériences interculturelles antérieures, soutien perçu, attitude intégrative et caractéristiques de la personnalité interculturelle. Les facteurs qui entravent leur apprentissage de la langue et leur adaptation interculturelle sont : l’écart culturel, la bureaucratie et une perception de discrimination. Cette recherche suggère également que la compétence linguistique et l'utilisation de technologies modernes peuvent être à la fois des facteurs facilitant ou entravant l'acquisition de la langue et l'adaptation interculturelle.Cette recherche, la première de ce genre en Irlande, permet une compréhension approfondie de l'adaptation interculturelle d'étudiants irlandais en Chine et constitue un complément utile à la recherche sur les programmes d'études à l'étranger en particulier dans le domaine de l'adaptation interculturelle. / This research presents an original qualitative study on Chinese language acquisition and the cross-cultural adaptation process of Irish university students studying Mandarin in China. It draws upon, and adds to, an existing body of research exploring intercultural adjustment of international students in higher education. Frameworks that inform this study include John W. Berry’s theory of acculturation, Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, Young Y. Kim’s theory of cross-cultural adaptation, and Kalervo Oberg’s culture shock theory. The overall aim of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of intercultural adjustment of Irish students studying Mandarin in China. In order to fulfil this aim, the following four research questions were developed:1. What culture shock has Irish university students experienced in China? What difficulties did these students encounter? What strategies did they employ to overcome these difficulties?2. What kind of culture identity have the Irish students developed after their study-abroad in China?3. What are their Chinese language learning experiences in China?4. What are the facilitators of and hindrances to their intercultural adjustment process. Using a thematic analysis approach, twenty-four in-depth interviews and six journals were analysed to produce findings grounded in Irish students’ cross-cultural adaptation experiences. This project’s four primary research findings are as follows: Research finding 1 - Cultural shock experienced by Irish studentsData demonstrates that although these Irish students adapted successfully in the host country, the majority of the students experienced a certain degree of culture shock. Students reported various levels of frustration and misunderstanding arising from the mismatch of their own culture and that of the host culture. These students also encountered adjustment difficulties including: homesickness; loneliness; pollution and food hygiene problems; and difficulties with language. However, students utilized their coping strategies to minimize the effects of culture shock.Research finding 2 - Intercultural identity and intercultural competence developed by Irish studentsData reveals the successful cultural adaptation of the Irish students studying abroad in China, with ensuing implications for the perception of their cultural identity. There was a positive adjustment by the Irish students who became more tolerant and open-minded, intercultural individuals. Research finding 3 – Irish students’ language acquisition in ChinaData suggests that Irish students increased their language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and communicative competence (grammatical, strategic, and sociolinguistic) as the result of immersion in the target language and culture. Students benefit considerably in the learning of the Chinese language in the immersive environment, particularly regarding oral skills, vocabulary, and sociolinguistic awareness. Research finding 4 – Facilitators and hindrances to Irish students’ cross-cultural adjustmentSix facilitators were identified through a thematic analysis of the data: motivation; prior cross-cultural experiences; preparation; perceived support; integrative attitude; and intercultural personality characteristics. Three hindrances were identified: cultural distance, bureaucracy and perceived discrimination. This study also suggests that Chinese language proficiency and the use of modern technology can operate as both facilitators of and hindrances to language acquisition and cross-cultural adaptation. Overall, this study brings a unique insight into the intercultural adjustment of Irish students studying in China and contributes to existing knowledge in the field of intercultural studies, targeting the specific area of cross-cultural adaptation. / 论文中文提要本研究是有关在中国留学的爱尔兰大学生的中文语言习得和跨文化适应的独创研究。本研究借鉴并补充了现有的在高等教育范畴内有关国际学生跨文化适应的研究。本研究所借鉴的跨文化研究领域一些著名学者的框架理论包括约翰.贝瑞 (John W. Berry) 的文化适应策略理论，格尔特.霍夫斯泰德 (Geert Hofstede) 的文化维度理论，金 (Young Y. Kim) 的跨文化适应交际理论和卡莱沃.奥伯格 (Kalervo Oberg) 的文化冲击理论。 本研究的总体目标是加深对在中国学习中文的爱尔兰学生跨文化适应进程的理解。 为了实现这个目标，制定了以下四个研究问题：1.爱尔兰大学生在中国经历了何种文化冲击？ 这些学生遇到了什么困难？ 他们采用什么策略来克服这些困难？2.爱尔兰学生在中国留学后有什么样的文化归属？3.他们在中国的汉语学习经历是什么？4.爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应调整过程的促进因素和障碍因素是什么？研究者本人作为一名来自中国的国际学生在爱尔兰学习和生活拥有跨文化适应的经验有助于理解爱尔兰学生在中国经历跨文化适应的进程。定性研究方法被用来分析和解答本研究提出的问题。研究数据的收集包括与二十四位爱尔兰大学生进行的深入的访谈和6篇爱尔兰学生在中国留学时写的日记。 通过主题分析过程对数据进行分析，该研究项目的四项主要研究成果如下：研究发现之一 - 爱尔兰学生在中国留学期间经历的文化冲击数据表明，虽然这些爱尔兰学生在东道国跨文化适应比较成功，但大多数学生都受到一定程度的文化冲击。 学生们报告说，他们自己的本土文化和东道国文化之间的文化差距导致了各种的挫折和误解。 学术环境中的文化冲击对爱尔兰学生构成了最大的压力，因为它对学业成绩和心理健康可能产生负面影响。 爱尔兰学生还遇到跨文化适应调整的困难，包括：思乡情绪; 孤独; 环境污染和食品卫生问题; 语言障碍; 出租车司机危险驾驶和滥收费用等。 然而，这些学生采取了不同的应对策略来减少文化冲击的影响。研究发现之二 - 爱尔兰学生发展的跨文化归属和跨文化能力数据显示，爱尔兰留学生在中国的文化适应成功，对他们的文化归属产生了影响。 爱尔兰学生发展了跨文化归属，变得更加宽容和思想开放，培养了跨文化人格特征。研究发现之三 - 爱尔兰学生在中国的语言习得数据显示，爱尔兰学生在目标语言和目标环境沉浸环境中学习汉语将获得了相当大的收益，提高了汉语语言水平（听，说，读，写）和交际能力（语法，交际策略和社会语言学），特别是在口语技巧，词汇和社会语言意识方面。研究发现之四 - 爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应的促进因素和阻碍因素通过对数据进行主题分析确定了六个促进跨文化适应的因素：学习动机; 以前的跨文化体验; 出国留学前的充分准备; 得到的帮助和支持; 融合的态度; 以及跨文化人格特征。 通过探索爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应所经受的困难和压力，本研究确定了三个障碍因素：文化距离，官僚主义和受到的歧视。 本研究还表明，汉语语言能力和使用现代技术交流既可以成为跨文化适应的促进因素也可能成为障碍因素。本研究的研究结果突出了国际学生跨文化适应的高度复杂性和挑战性。本研究通过分析归纳影响在中国留学学习汉语的爱尔兰学生跨文化适应的各种因素，希望能帮助和促进国际学生的跨文化适应的进程。研究结果还表明，跨文化适应的过程是一个不确定的和艰难的过程，要求有决心和适应力。爱尔兰学生面对中国这个全新的生活和学习环境，经历了不同程度的文化冲击。然而，本研究中的所有学生都对他们在中国留学的经历感到乐观。他们相信留学经历不仅帮助他们开阔了视野，而且让他们变得更加独立和成熟。研究显示，留学不仅为爱尔兰学生提供了在沉浸式环境下学习目标语言的绝好机会，还为爱尔兰学生提供了真正的个人成长的空间和发展个人潜力的机会。总之，本研究填补了有关国际留学生在华学习汉语的经验的研究方面的空白。本研究针对爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应体验有独到的见解，对于跨文化交际研究领域中特别是有关国际学生跨文化适应方面的研究有所贡献。

本研究旨在探索瑞典華語學習者漢字學習歷程、漢字學習困難、產生困難的因素及其之間的關係、以及因應困難的策略，屬質性個案研究。對象為瑞典林奈大學選讀初級華語課程的四位華語學習者，以深度訪談、學習週記、課室觀察作為資料收集方法。 研究發現學習者的漢字學習困難，除了過去研究提出的漢字書寫、辨識、記憶困難以外，還有漢字讀音困難與線上資源應用困難。而他們面對漢字學習困難的因應策略可以分為三種，分別是積極的尋求老師協助、積極的尋求網路資源協助、消極的逃避。影響漢字學習的「內在因素」有「語言學習態度與方式」、「華語學習動機」、「對漢字的看法」；「外在因素」有「環境因素」、「教學因素」、「簡繁體班因素」。影響漢字學習的內外在因素之間的互動關係，除了「外在因素」的「教學因素」是單方面影響「內在因素」，其它的內在因素與外在因素都是相互影響。 建議華語教學者除了加強學習者的漢字書寫、辨識、與記憶能力，還有漢字讀音的演練與線上資源應用的學習。而影響學習者漢字學習的因素有很多，因素之間也會相互影響，因此教學者可以通過了解影響學習者漢字學習的內外在因素，而給予學習者適切的協助。 / This qualitative study aims to explore Swedish learners’ Chinese-characters learning process, with a focus on discovering their difficulties and coping strategies and identifying the factors that influence the learning of Chinese characters and their relationship. The research participants were four Swedish learners who took the class “Chinese for Beginners” in Linnaeus University in Sweden. Multiple sources of data were collected, including in-depth individual interviews, learning journals, and class-room observations. The results showed that the four participants had difficulties in learning Chinese characters, including reading, writing, recognizing, and memorizing Chinese characters as well as the application of online resources. Despite learning difficulties, these Swedish learners were actively asking for the teacher’s help, using the online re-sources, and passively avoiding facing leanring difficulties. The internal factors that influence learning Chinese characters were “language learing attitudes and methods,” “the motivation of leanring Chinese,” “the feeling toward Chinese characters.” The external factors included “environmental factors,” “teaching factors,” and “tradition-al/simplified Chinese charactes class factors.” The relationship between internal factors and external factors were bi-directional, except that the ways the instructor teach Chinese characters may influence students’ attitudes, motivation or feelings unilater-ally. This study suggested that Chinese teachers should enhance students’ Chinese-characters writing, recognizing, memorizing ability and provide oppotunieis for be-ginners to practice reading Chinese characters and using online resources. It is also important for Chinese teachers to know the complexity and interaction of the factors that may influence students’ learning of Chinese characters. In so doing, Chinese teachers are able to offer beginners appropriate assistance in learning Chinese charac-ters.

China’s growing economic power has led to over one hundred million people speaking Chinese world-wide (Chai & Wang, 2017). Although the Chinese language may not replace English as the most popular language worldwide, it is acknowledged that the Chinese language is an indispensable part of the future world (Zhao & Huang, 2010). However, there appears to be a paucity of research into the role self-efficacy and establishing good habits as a language learner play in non-native speaking students experiencing success while learning Chinese. A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate college students who were early Chinese learners in a beginning level preparatory course of a non-academic long-term Chinese language program, their experiences of learning Chinese, and the association, if any, between students’ self-efficacy as learners of Chinese and their demonstration of characteristics of Good Language Learners (GLLs). Data were collected from a survey, questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews. Six research findings were generated from research data and based on early Chinese learners, referred to students in the findings. Research findings from this study are listed as followed. Research Finding 1: Students’ perceptions of their strengths in learning Chinese are the strengths related to language aspects and personality traits. Research Finding 2: Students’ perceptions of their challenges in learning Chinese are language-related challenges, challenges from the teachers, challenges from the curriculum setting, and challenges from the class members. Research Finding 3: Students have at least five characteristics of GLLs (Edge & Garton, 2009) which are Characteristics 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7 and partial of Characteristics 8 and 10. More specifically, early Chinese learners have a positive attitude toward Chinese and Chinese speakers (Characteristic 1). They have strong motivations to learn Chinese (Characteristic 2). They are confident in becoming successful learners (Characteristic 3). They actively organize Chinese practices (Characteristic 6). They have ways to express themselves correctly (Characteristic 7). They are willing to engage in Chinese-speaking situations (partial of Characteristic 8). They use strategies to learn Chinese (partial of Characteristic 10). Research Finding 4: Students tend to have Characteristics 4 and 5 and partial of Characteristic 10. To be more specific, early Chinese learners tend to have their minds prepared for making mistakes when using Chinese and to learn from the mistakes (Characteristics 4). They tend to like learning Chinese (Characteristics 5). And they tend to try out new strategies while learning Chinese (partial of Characteristic 10). Research Finding 5: Students lack Characteristic 9 and partial of Characteristic 8. To be more specific, early Chinese learners are not used to working directly in Chinese (Characteristic 9). They are neither ready to use Chinese as frequently as their native languages (partial of Characteristic 8). Research Finding 6: There is no obvious association between students’ efficacy and their demonstration of characteristics of GLLs (Edge & Garton, 2009) while learning Chinese. This study investigated college students who were early Chinese learners in a beginning level preparatory course of a non-academic long-term Chinese language program, their experiences of learning Chinese, and the association, if any, between students’ self-efficacy as learners of Chinese and their demonstration of characteristics of Good Language Learners (GLLs). This study offered recommendations for teachers, administrators, and policy makers, in non-academic long-term Chinese language programs and in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Last but not least, recommendations for further research were provided for researchers in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

Chinese as a heritage language is one of the fastest lost languages in the world. In fact, in most Chinese families that have left China, the heritage language is lost by the second generation. When people move from their homeland to a place where the primary language is different from their home language, one issue becomes whether their heritage language can be retained. The situation in Sweden is quite different from that in English-speaking countries when it comes to maintaining Chinese as a heritage language. Most Chinese moving to Sweden have no prior exposure to the Swedish language. The purpose of this study is to find out which strategies Chinese parents use to help their children learn and maintain proficiency in the Chinese language. It also investigates the progress made using these strategies. A qualitative research approach was taken and semi-structured interviews of the children’s mothers were performed. Some of the children in the study were born in China and some were born in Sweden. During these interviews, a number of strategies were identified that parents use to help their children learn and maintain the heritage language. These included, for instance, mother tongue education, watching Chinese TV and films, parents giving their children encouraging comments, and associating with other Chinese families. Some families recommended strategies that they felt would be beneficial for others, like delaying the start of daycare. According to this study, the effects from, for example, mother tongue education and encouraging comments, should have implications on how educators shape their programs, and the way they engage the parents in their children’s language training. When analyzing the various strategies and their effects on the children in the study, it became apparent that the younger sibling always shows a lower level of Chinese proficiency compared to the older sibling. This phenomenon is herein called the younger sibling syndrome. / 汉语作为承袭语言是世界上消失速度最快的语言之一。事实上，在大多数离开中国的华人家庭中，承袭语言基本上到第二代就已被遗失。当人们从他们的祖国迁移到一个主要语言与他们的母语不同的地方时，就要面对如何保留自己母语的问题。在瑞典，汉语作为承袭语言在被传承方面的情况与英语国家截然不同。大多数移居瑞典的中国人早期很少接触过瑞典语。本论文的目的是找出生活在瑞典的中国父母使用哪些策略来帮助他们的孩子学习和维持他们的中文以及使用这些策略所取得的效果。本论文采取了质量研究方法，对孩子的母亲进行了半结构化访谈。研究中的一些孩子出生在中国，一些孩子出生在瑞典。在这些访谈中，笔者归纳出了一些父母用来帮助孩子学习和保持传统语言的策略。它们包括：母语教育、观看中文电视和电影、父母给孩子鼓励性的评价，以及与其他中国家庭的交往等等。一些家庭推荐了他们认为对其他人有益的策略，比如推迟开始幼儿园的时间。根据这项研究，例如母语教育和鼓励性评价的影响，会对教育者如何制定他们的教育计划，以及他们让父母参与孩子的语言培训的方式产生影响。在分析各种策略及其对研究中儿童的影响时，很明显，与哥哥姐姐相比，弟弟妹妹的中文水平总是较低。这种现象在本文中被称为幼弟妹综合症。