Designing Pk-4 Chinese Language Curriculum Based on Observations of Children Interacting with Their Families
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DESIGNING PK-4 CHINESE LANGUAGE CURRICULUM BASED ON OBSERVATIONS OF CHILDREN INTERACTING WITH THEIR FAMILIES A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Nan Meng, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2007 Master's Examination Committee: Approved by Dr. Galal Walker, Adviser Dr. Mari Noda Graduate Pro am in East Asian Languages and Literatures ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to propose a model curriculum for the PK-4 Chinese program based on the pedagogy of performed culture with the goals that learners are able to communicate and participate successfully in the Chinese culture. This qualitative study is designed to examine how native Chinese speakers at this age communicate in certain social and cultural environments. Three types of interactions are examined through interviewing the mothers of three to eight year old children: parent-to-child, child-to-child and child-to-other adult. In order to provide authentic scripts for curriculum design, the interactions between parents and children are recorded, and the scripts derived from interactions of 3-8 year old Chinese speakers in specific social and cultural environments are presented, organized, and analyzed in terms of cases, sagas, and themes. The commonly used linguistic forms for certain functions arc analyzed within the context. The results indicate that children do many routine activities everyday, and the three types of interactions within family environment include many cases that happen frequently in children’s lives, and many of these cases present crucial themes such as being competitive and making an effort, which are important for L2 learners of the same age. In order to establish and maintain good relationships in Chinese culture, young L2 learners need to pay attention to cases such as inviting, making suggestions, making comparisons, and expressing intentions, using appropriate terms of address. The study will contribute to our understanding of children’s language usage, and thus lead to a model of Chinese language curriculum for PK-4 grades that follows the performed culture approach. As the number of students learning Chinese at a young age dramatically increases, more and more Chinese language instructional materials targeting learners belonging to this age group have appeared on the market. Several popular Chinese textbooks will be evaluated, and suggestions for adapting these materials to performance-based instruction will be provided. As part of the PK-4 curriculum design, the content of instruction is proposed by defining the first three phases of a curriculum; and the implementation of instruction will be elaborated by addressing various issues in creating a PK-4 foreign language instructional environment. Dedicated to my Mom and Dad IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my adviser, Dr. Galal Walker, for his research insights, guidance, and support throughout the process of this research. I want to thank him for giving me opportunities to work with him for the K-4 curriculum design project, and for Chinese, Communicating in the Culture. I am also greatly grateful to Dr. Mari Noda, for her perceptive suggestions and comments regarding this project as well as the invaluable experience I gained from 2006 and 2007 SPEAC (Summer Programs East Asian Concentration), and the Alternative Licensure Program. I wish to thank Mr. Steve Knicely, Dr. Eric Shepherd and Yongfang Zhang, who were Chinese teacher trainers in SPEAC, for their advice and assistance in my teaching practice, which helped me to understand how the performed culture approach is implemented. I also wish to thank Debbie Knicely, who helped me through the process of graduation. My gratitude also extends to my colleagues in K-12 Chinese Flagship Program for their great help and encouragement with the PK-4 curriculum design project. Special thanks must be given to my friends in The Ohio State University for their encouragement, and professional editorial skills and constant assistance with the English language. Finally, I would also like to thank my parents for their unending support, sacrifice and love. v VITA July 22, 1980 ....................... Born - Laiwu, Shandong Province, P .R.China June 2002 .......................... B.A. English Language and Literature, Shandong University, P.R.China May 2004 .......................... M.A. Teaching English as a Second Language, Bowling Green State University, U.S.A. 2005 .............................. Program Specialist, Foreign Language Center, The Ohio State University. 2005 - present ...................... Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures Chinese Language Pedagogy Vl TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract. ............................................................... ii Dedication ............................................................. iv Acknowledgments ........................................................v Vita................................................................... vi List of Tables .......................................................... ix List of Figures .......................................................... x Introduction. ..................................................... l Chapters 1. Language Acquisition and Language Pedagogy............................. 8 l .1 First Language Acquisition and the Implications for Young Language Learners ...................................................8 1.1.1 Nativist Perspective ....................................8 1.1.2 Cognitive Developmental Perspective ..................... 9 1.1.3 Behaviorist Perspective ................................. 10 1.1.4 Interactionist Approach ................................. 10 1.1.5 Content-based Instruction .............................. 14 1.2 The Performance-based Pedagogy. ................. 15 1.2.1 Behavioral Culture .................................... 17 1.2.2 Performance ......................................... 22 1.2.3 Play Games in C2 .....................................26 l .2.4 Compile C2 Memories .................................28 1.3 Teaching Children ...........................................34 vu 1.4 Summery ..................................................37 2. A Qualitative study of interactions by Chinese children within family environments .. 39 2.1 Introduction. .. .. .39 2.1.1 Literature Review ..... , ................................. 39 2.2.2 Proposal of the current study ............................. .44 2.2 Research Method ........................................... .45 2.2.1 Participants ........................................... .45 2.2.2 Procedure ............................................. .47 2.3 Results ....................................................49 2.3.l Interviews ............................................. 49 2.3.2 Themes and Cases ..................................... : 58 2.4 Pedagogical Implications and Limitations ........................68 3. Pedagogical Materials: Review, Evaluation and Adaptation ...................71 3.1 Structure-based vs. Performance-based Approach ................. 72 3.2 Overview of the Materials .....................................74 3.3 Review and Evaluation. .... 78 3.4 Adaptation to the Performance-based Instructions ...................84 3.5 Summery.................................................. 87 4. A Performance-based Curricular Guide for PK-4 Chinese Teaching ............ 89 4.1 Program Goal .............................................. 90 4.2 Defining Phases ............................................. 91 4.2. l Goals ................................................. 92 4.2.2 Cases and Sagas. ........ 93 4.3 Implementation. ........ 98 4.3.1 Pedagogical Cycle ....................................... 98 4.3.2 Instructional Language .................................. 103 4.3.3 FACT vs. ACT. ...................................... 104 4.3.4 Item- vs. Strategy-based Instruction ....................... 105 4.3.5 Using Romanization ................................... 107 4.3.6 Leaming Environment... ........ 108 4.3.7 Project-based and Content-based Instruction... 109 List of References ...................................................... 111 Appendix A Cases in the Recordings ....................................... 116 viii LIST OF TABLES 1 Comparison between ACTFL and ILR scales ...........................3 2 Comparison between structurally based approach and performance-based approach .. 73 3 Overview of cases and topics in three sets of materials ......................... 77 4 Cases of phase one, two and three. 94 IX LIST OF FIGURES 1 Walker and Noda's Cycle of compilation .................................32 2 Gender of the children participants ..................................... .46 3 Age range of the children ............................................. 46 4 Sagas of the first three phases . 96 5 Examples of how to locate stories using cases and sagas ........................ 97 6 Pedagogical cycle. .. ......99 7 Walker's item- and strategy-based instruction ............................ 106 x INTRODUCTION CHINESE INSTRUCTION IN THE UNITED STA TES With the increase in cross-cultural exchanges between North America and East Asia spurred by the globalization of economy and the integration of trade and production in the past two to three decades, there is an urgent need to train individuals with the ability to communicate