published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The thesis explores Chinese teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning Chinese at Chinese complementary schools in Scotland. The teachers taught either Cantonese or Mandarin, the two main Chinese languages spoken by Scotland’s Chinese communities; teaching took place on a voluntary basis at weekends; the teachers were drawn from a variety of occupations; most of the pupils were of Chinese ethnicity, with in addition some non-Chinese children. The research mainly draws on phenomenography, a research approach that investigates variation in conceptions of different phenomena as these appear to particular groups of people – in this case, teachers of Chinese in Scottish complementary schools. The variation refers to the different conceptions of teaching and learning that were identified in the group of teachers as a whole. Semi-structured interviews with each individual teacher were devised, conducted and analysed according to phenomenographic procedures. From the group as a whole six key conceptions of teaching were identified, and likewise six key conceptions of learning. In addition, the research focused on a smaller number of teachers in order to identify individual profiles in greater depth. The teacher interviews also elicited the metaphors that the teachers considered represented good teaching and learning. The interviews also served to identify the factors that the teachers considered had most influenced their conceptions, and they were complemented by qualitative classroom observations designed to identify factors that would allow the researcher to better understand the context in which the teachers had formed their conceptions. The findings showed that Mandarin and Cantonese teachers had much in common, but that also there were clear differences in particular areas that seemed to be explained both by differences in culture between Mandarin-speaking Mainland China and Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong, and also by emerging differences in power and status, with Mandarin assuming a dominant role and Cantonese showing some decline in numbers and in optimism, with some parents switching their children over from Cantonese to Mandarin. More generally, the findings suggested that the teachers were dedicated, adaptable, and different from the stereotypical perception of Chinese teachers of the sort that emphasises examinations, rote-learning and authoritarian teaching style. The teachers in the present study generally understood their pupils had multiple identities and they sought to teach in a child-centred way, and to help their pupils preserve moral values and a Chinese component of their identity through learning Chinese language and experiencing Chinese culture.

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In response to the parental and societal demands, more schools have implemented "Using Putonghua to teach Chinese" (UPe) school-based curriculum. As schools have different contextual factors, ensuring the quality of the curriculum becomes a major concern. This study aims to explore the essential elements of an effective UPC school-based curriculum, improve its quality, identify and share the successful experiences and difficulties teachers encountered in the implementation process. Action research and evaluations done collaboratively with teachers were conducted to address the four research questions: (1) What are the crucial elements of an effective UPC school-based curriculum? (2) How well is the existing curriculum? (3) How can teachers use the evaluation data to improve quality of the curriculum? (4) What are the key success factors and problems teachers encountered? / The evidence collected showed that the degree of teachers' involvement in evaluating the UPC school-based curriculum has an impact on enhancing the quality of the curriculum. Teachers' involvement could take the form of: (1) observation to increase the awareness and sensitivity of using Putonghua to teach Chinese; (2) reflection to enhance the understanding of using Putonghua to teach Chinese and to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning; (3) discussion to reach consensus of the missions and objectives set; (4) evaluation to develop teachers' ability in making professional judgments; (5) utilization of the evaluation data to provide feedback to the curriculum. Moreover, the study showed that a systematic framework helps in making reflection and evaluation, effective team work fosters doing of the evaluation that enhances teachers' professional development and optimizes curriculum development. It also helps the school to explore the good school-based curriculum practices. As for the difficulties, teachers found it hard to solve all the teaching and learning problems at once. The lack of relevant knowledge, the extra workload and long working hours add up to put stress on them. / The research findings are constructive to the development of UPC school-based curriculum evaluation criteria. They facilitated regular reviews on the quality assurance, enhanced the overall development, contributed knowledge to the construction of the UPC school-based curriculum and the assessment theory. In practice, the successful experiences of the target teachers served as good reference for other schools. / The study targeted at 7 Chinese language teachers from 2 secondary schools. An evaluation framework was first developed, then used to assess the two existing UPC school-based curricula. The researcher also observed and interview the target teachers to understand their views and feelings. Through comparing and contrasting the two school cases, the researcher explored how the degree of teachers' involvement in evaluating the curriculum affected the effectiveness of the outcomes. / With adoption of 15 assessment dimensions and 82 evaluation criteria, the study shows an effective UPC school-based curriculum should measure the intended, the implemented and the learned curriculum. The intended curriculum was found to be the best, followed by the implemented curriculum and the learned curriculum being the worst. The result implied that the objectives of the UPC school-based curriculum were clearly defined but the effectiveness of the learning outcomes fell short of the expectaion. A major problem of the intended curriculum was the lack of resources, thus making the infusion of Putonghua element into the Chinese language lessons and the integration of the two subjects difficult. Different school characteristics were found in the implemented curriculum. The roles of the two media of instruction were clear. However, teachers could not adjust their teaching methodologies and this also complicated the problem of learner diversity. The learning outcomes of the students also differ when the UPC school-based curriculum objectives were set differently in the two schools. / 蔡若蓮. / Thesis submitted: 2010年12月. / Thesis submitted: 2010 nian 12 yue. / Adviser: Sin Pui Derek Cheung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-04, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 430-451). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Cai Ruolian.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

by Yam Pui Suen, Josephine. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-102). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Abstract --- p.iv / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Second language phonological acquisition --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- The application of Optimality Theory --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Objectives --- p.5 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research issues --- p.7 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Second Language Acquisition --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1 --- Interlanguage --- p.9 / Chapter 2.2 --- Studies in second language acquisition: language transfer and developmental factors --- p.10 / Chapter 2.3 --- Studies on the effects of language transfer on second language phonology --- p.12 / Chapter 2.4 --- Studies on the effects of developmental factors on second language phonology --- p.14 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Markedness Differential Hypothesis --- p.15 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Marked Cluster Constraints --- p.15 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Interlanguage Structure Conformity Hypothesis --- p.17 / Chapter 2.5 --- The Critical Period Hypothesis --- p.19 / Chapter 2.6 --- The age factor in first language acquisition --- p.21 / Chapter 2.7 --- The age factor in second language acquisition --- p.22 / Chapter 2.7.1 --- Supporting evidence in phonological research --- p.23 / Chapter 2.7.2 --- Counter evidence in phonological research --- p.24 / Chapter 2.7.3 --- Summary --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- The Theoretical Framework of Optimality Theory --- p.28 / Chapter 3.1 --- Transformational Grammar and Optimality Theory --- p.28 / Chapter 3.2 --- Optimality Theory --- p.30 / Chapter 3.3 --- Constraints under Optimality Theory --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4 --- Optimality Theory and second language acquisition studies --- p.36 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- "The syllable structure of English, Mandarin and Cantonese" --- p.41 / Chapter 4.1 --- The syllable structure of English --- p.42 / Chapter 4.2 --- The syllable structure of Mandarin --- p.44 / Chapter 4.3 --- The syllable structure of Cantonese --- p.45 / Chapter 4.4 --- "Constraints in coda position of English, Mandarin and Cantonese" --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Methodology and Findings --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1 --- Methodology --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- The subjects --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Material for data collection --- p.54 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Procedures --- p.56 / Chapter 5.2 --- Findings --- p.57 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Young Mandarin and Cantonese learners --- p.58 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Adult Mandarin and Cantonese learners --- p.66 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Summary of the Mandarin and Cantonese learners' production --- p.72 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Discussion and Conclusion --- p.75 / Chapter 6.1 --- Constraint ranking --- p.76 / Chapter 6.2 --- Epenthesis and unreleased plosive: words with singleton coda --- p.79 / Chapter 6.3 --- Epenthesis and unreleased plosive: words with biliteral coda --- p.81 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- Nasal-Plosive' coda --- p.81 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- Plosive-plosive' coda --- p.83 / Chapter 6.4 --- Standard pronunciation --- p.89 / Chapter 6.5 --- The age factor --- p.91 / Chapter 6.6 --- Conclusion --- p.93 / Chapter 6.7 --- Future research --- p.95 / References --- p.96 / Appendix

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