CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2017 Culture Teaching and Learning in an Advanced Placement Chinese Course Yu-Han Lin University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Education Commons, and the Reading and Language Commons Recommended Citation Lin, Yu-Han, "Culture Teaching and Learning in an Advanced Placement Chinese Course" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 336. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/336 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco CULTURE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN AN ADVANCED PLACEMENT CHINESE COURSE A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education International and Multicultural Education Department In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Yu-han Lin San Francisco May, 2017 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract The significance of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom has been widely acknowledged. However, it remains a challenge for language teachers to properly incorporate culture teaching into language teaching. Chinese language teachers in the United States also encounter the challenge of teaching culture to the increased number of Chinese language learners. In particular, scant attention has been paid to how Chinese language learners approach cultural issues and develop cultural awareness in the language teaching context of American secondary education. In order to address the research gap, the present study aims to explore how the teaching and learning of culture develop in an Advanced Placement Chinese course in an American high school based in the state of California. This qualitative case study looks into concepts of culture perceived by the Chinese language instructor and the students. The teacher’s general approach to the teaching of culture is also investigated through classroom observations. The researcher then examines the observed teaching approaches and analyzes how the pedagogical practices help students’ development of diverse cultural perspectives. As the ultimate goal of culture learning is successful intercultural communication, this research study also focuses on exploring students’ development of cultural awareness through the process of Chinese language learning. Research findings show that the teacher and the students have a similar notion regarding what constitutes culture. Despite their clear definitions about culture, the teacher feels it challenging to update her students with contemporary Chinese culture and ii some of the non-heritage students feel it hard to identify with any ethnic cultures. In terms of teaching approaches, the teacher makes good use of cultural values, cultural comparisons, and cultural change to connect the teaching of cultural products or practices with their corresponding cultural perspectives. Nevertheless, other teaching approaches might lead to cultural stereotypes or hinder formation of diverse cultural perspectives. Furthermore, heritage and non-heritage students are found to benefit from different ways to develop cultural awareness. The research findings are expected to inspire the educational community how to better serve language learners in regard to culture learning. Future research topics may include how cultural identities affect language learning. iii This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate’s dissertation committee and approved by the members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Yu-han Lin 05/01/2017 Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Dr. Brad Washington 05/04/2017 Chairperson Dr. Sedique Popal 05/04/2017 Dr. Stephen John Roddy 05/04/2017 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Looking back at the past five years of my doctoral study, I realized it was truly a journey of blessings. Thank you Lord for bringing me from Taiwan to the United States to experience all kinds of challenges in life so I was able to see how much love and care you showered for me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow with so many outstanding scholars in the International and Multicultural Education Program. When I felt crushed by burdens of life, I knew that I could always turn to this loving community of encouragement and support that gave me strength to focus on the pure joy of academic development. I would like to express my special thanks to my dissertation committee members: Dr. Brad Washington, Dr. Sedique Popal, and Dr. Stephen Roddy. Dr. Washington has been a wonderful advisor whose intelligent thoughts and supportive guidance helped me stand firm when pursing my research area of interest. Dr. Popal has been generous in sharing all types of teaching and learning resources that benefitted me from the earlier stages to the completion of my dissertation. Also, Dr. Stephen Roddy’s insightful perspectives brought me to a higher level of thinking that helped to shape my vision of the research study. Moreover, I would like to thank Dr. Susan Katz for the solid training of proposal development and her helpful feedback. Most of all, I would like to give many thanks to my beloved family. I thank my parents and my husband for their continuous love for supporting me to complete my doctoral study. I thank them for sharing family responsibilities and offering financial support. I thank my daughter who chose to be born halfway of my dissertation journey and grow with me and my dissertation. All in all, I appreciate everyone’s presence in my v final school years that brought me the transformative power to make the impossible possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DISSERTATION ABSTRACT ...................................................................................... II SIGNATURE PAGE ....................................................................................................... IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ V CHAPTER I ...................................................................................................................... 1 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ........................................................................................ 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ......................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND AND NEED ................................................................................................ 4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................... 5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................... 6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................. 6 LIMITATIONS/DELIMITATIONS ......................................................................................... 9 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................... 9 DEFINITION OF TERMS ................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER II ................................................................................................................... 14 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .............................................................................. 14 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 14 DEFINING CULTURE FOR LANGUAGE EDUCATION ......................................................... 15 Definitions ................................................................................................................. 15 The Big C Culture and the Small C Culture ............................................................. 16 The Iceberg Concept of Culture ................................................................................ 16 Hofstede’s Cultural Difference Model ...................................................................... 18 ACTFL’S STANDARDS AND AP CHINESE ...................................................................... 20 ACTFL’s Standards .................................................................................................. 20 AP Chinese................................................................................................................ 23 CULTURE TEACHING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM .................................... 24 What Are the Current Challenges? ........................................................................... 25 What Are the Suggested Pedagogies? ......................................................................