How does a beginning Chinese foreign language teacher improve teaching Chinese through a communicative approach via reflection? An action research project CHEN Zhu A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2013 University of Western Sydney Declaration I declare that except where due acknowledgement has been made, this research is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree at any university or other institute of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. ……………….. CHEN Zhu March 2013 2 Acknowledgements I would like to show my respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, of elders past and present, on which this research takes place. This thesis owes much to the support of the principal, teachers and students of the local school, as well as the three parties (Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau in China, New South Wales Department of Education and Communities and the University of Western Sydney) who established this Research-Oriented School- Engaged Teacher Education (ROSETE) program. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to them here for providing opportunities for me to experience Australian school life and to develop myself as a teacher-researcher. I truly appreciated the efforts of all the people involved in this program. My special thanks go to my principal supervisor Professor Wayne Sawyer who always provided valuable suggestions to keep the study on track and pushed me to explore the potential of myself as a better researcher. Without his guidance and encouragement, I would not have this study in its present form. I am also particularly indebted to my associate supervisor Dr. Dacheng Zhao for his commitment of time and energy to all the teacher-researchers in the ROSETE program. It was his generous assistance and encouragement that make it possible for me to concentrate on my study and complete this thesis. 3 Most importantly, I would like to express my special thanks to my parents who have always loved and cared for me emotionally and financially. I am thankful to them for always trying their best to provide me with the best education opportunities. My thanks also go to my husband who supported me in every aspect of my life. It was his unselfish love and care that carried me through difficult times during the course of writing my thesis. 4 Contents Declaration ………………………………………………………………………...2 Acknowledgements………………………………………………….………………3 List of Figures…………………………………………………………………….8 List of Tables…………………………………………………………………...…10 List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………..…11 Abstract…………………………………………………………………..…………12 Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 13 1.1 Background ................................................................................................. 13 1.2 Research question ........................................................................................ 16 1.3 Significance of the study ............................................................................. 17 1.4 Outline of the thesis ..................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2 Literature review ................................................................................ 22 2.1 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) ................................................ 22 2.1.1 What is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)? ......................... 22 2.1.2 CLT for teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages ................... 41 2.2 Teacher reflection ........................................................................................ 47 2.2.1 What is teacher reflection? ................................................................... 47 2.2.2 Teacher reflection for teachers’ professional development ................. 61 Chapter 3 Overview of methodology .................................................................. 69 3.1 What is action research? .............................................................................. 69 3.2 Action research as the methodology ........................................................... 80 3.3 Theoretical foundation of the methodology ................................................ 85 3.4 Research methods ........................................................................................ 90 3.4.1 Data sources ......................................................................................... 90 3.4.2 Issues of validity, reliability and generalisability ................................ 94 3.4.3 Ethics .................................................................................................... 99 3.4.4 Thematic analysis ............................................................................... 100 Chapter 4 Action Research Cycle One ............................................................. 103 4.1 Planning stage ............................................................................................ 104 4.1.1 Focus of Cycle One ............................................................................ 104 4.1.2 Literature relevant to the focus .......................................................... 105 5 4.1.3 Design of Cycle One .......................................................................... 122 4.2 Acting stage ............................................................................................... 133 4.3 Observing stage ......................................................................................... 141 4.3.1 ‘Versus coding’ in the reflective journal ............................................ 141 4.3.2 Discussion of major tensions ............................................................. 159 4.4 Reflecting stage ......................................................................................... 204 4.4.1 Findings of Cycle One ....................................................................... 205 4.4.2 Implications for next cycle ................................................................. 230 Chapter 5 Action Research Cycle Two............................................................. 233 5.1 Planning stage ............................................................................................ 233 5.1.1 Focus of Cycle Two ........................................................................... 233 5.1.2 Literature relevant to the focus .......................................................... 235 5.1.3 Design of Cycle Two ......................................................................... 252 5.2 Acting stage ............................................................................................... 261 5.3 Observing stage ......................................................................................... 269 5.3.1 Elaborative coding of reflective journals ........................................... 269 5.3.2 Discussion of the major tensions........................................................ 284 5.4 Reflecting stage ......................................................................................... 337 5.4.1 Findings of Cycle Two ....................................................................... 338 5.4.2 ILT—画龙点睛 （adding eyes to a painted dragon） ...................... 362 Chapter 6 Conclusion ......................................................................................... 364 6.1 Answer to the main research question ....................................................... 364 6.2 Implications of this study .......................................................................... 392 6.2.1 Implications for practitioners ............................................................. 392 6.2.2 Implications for researchers ............................................................... 393 6.2.3 Implications for the national curriculum in Australia ........................ 394 6.3 Limitations of this study ............................................................................ 398 References……………………….…………………………………………..…….400 Appendix 1 Approval letter from the UWS Human Research Ethics Committee…………………………………………………………………………421 Appendix 2 SERAP approval letter from the NSW DEC………….…………..422 Appendix 3 Participant information sheet for teachers………………..………424 Appendix 4 Participant information sheet for parents……………………..….425 6 Appendix 5 Consent form for teachers………………………………………….426 Appendix 6 Consent form for parents…………………………………………..427 Appendix 7 Letter to principal…………………………………………………428 Appendix 8 Quality Teaching coding scale overview………………………..…429 7 List of Figures Figure 2.1 Chronological evolution of communicative competence ......................... 23 Figure 2.2 A schematic presentation about the substantive theory (Liao, 2011, p. 163) .................................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 2.3 Onion Model (Korthagen & Vasalos, 2005, p. 54)................................... 51 Figure 2.4 Phase model of core reflection (Korthagen & Vasalos, 2005, p. 54) ...... 59 Figure 2.5 Reflective model of professional development (Wallace, 1991, p. 15).... 65 Figure 3.1 Action research sequence (Stringer, 2008, p. 6) ....................................... 72 Figure 3.2 Cyclical AR model (Burns, 2010, p. 9) ...................................................