An Action Research on Authentic Material in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

• Main Authors: Wan-Jun Liao, 廖婉君
• Other Authors: Ju-yu Sung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/19903008282089135437

碩士 === 中原大學 === 應用華語文研究所 === 100 === “Authentic material” can be either verbal or written forms. There are abundant written contents which are commonly seen learning materials our living environment, such as ad signs, menus, traffic signs, train tickets, movie tickets, etc. When learning Chinese as a second language in Taiwan, learners often encounter living problems that need to be solved by reading written words. However, authentic verbal content is less provided in existing Chinese teaching materials as the materials mostly focus on dialogues and short essays. Thus, many learners have doubts about traditional teaching materials and hope to learn more on written contents provided by the real society. Based on the above, this study attempts to use authentic material as teaching content for reading. By the action research method and with an intermediate primers class for teaching Chinese as a second language as the research field, the researchers adopted four teaching actions, i.e. planning, acting, observing and reflecting, in design of suitable supplementary teaching material and practiced the material in class. In addition to modifying action strategies according to problems found during each teaching, conclusions and analyses were conducted by writing teaching action records, collecting test answering conditions of learning, discourse analysis, literature works by students, teaching materials and questionnaires to understand the practical outcome of applying authentic material in teaching Chinese as a second language (TCSL). The study results indicate application of authentic material in TCSL can indeed guide learners to recognize the meaning and function of authentic language in social environment and assist students enhance their ability to use Chinese writings. The collocated teaching material design not only helps learners learn the language knowledge of authentic material, but also helps them combine old living experience with new knowledge and further develop higher abilities in language thinking and application. However, although authentic material is useful in teaching, there are insufficiencies. Therefore, the study proposes relevant teaching suggestions based on the results and findings of the above said research to provide teachers with basis for using authentic material in teaching and as reference for related course designs in the future.