The Usage of Chinese Songs and Recording Software in Mandarin Curriculum Design

• Main Authors: Adam Daniel Gault, 張瑞祥
• Other Authors: Shih-Chang Hsin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/97171071498864720966

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 華語文教學系 === 103 === Regarding foreign language study, in 2014 Mandarin Chinese is hot and only growing hotter. Britain’s Telegraph Newspaper ranks Mandarin as the top Asian language for graduate jobs, and fourth in world languages overall. With the world’s largest population of native speakers, qualified Chinese teachers and classroom seats are in great demand. This is a trend that has only been growing in recent years, as China increasingly commands a more powerful and influential military, diplomatic, and economic international presence. However, as Chinese language students progress into upper semesters, their overall numbers drop precipitously. On the one hand then, Chinese holds tremendous appeal for beginning students, while on the other hand it remains for non-native speakers, arguably one of the world’s hardest languages to learn. Still, with this being the case, it only makes it more imperative that Chinese language educators and university programs find ways in which to retain students’ initial enthusiasm, and stem the flow of upper semester student attrition. In this paper, I discuss some of the reasons behind this attrition, how the introduction of music, specifically Chinese songs, can alleviate the drop in student numbers, which songs are suitable as classroom material, and what is to be expected from their proper implementation. It is the author’s assertion that through the use of songs as a curriculum backbone, a new avenue opens for students. Chinese songs allow students to explore and immerse themselves, in a dynamic and expressive new form of their language study. Motivation is piqued and the excitement of new language learning rekindled. I also discuss motivation as it manifests intrinsically, or extrinsically. Further the research provides support for the position that our motivations are born of our sense of self, as evidenced in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943). Chinese in its immensity has a propensity to overwhelm students. It is to the benefit of the entire endeavor, Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, that dynamic learning programs are infused into pedagogical settings. This paper introduces focused teaching goals, stressing realistic student expectations, and measured outcomes. It is hoped that as students familiarize themselves with the hooks of Chinese folk, pop, or classic era music, that they will become further hooked by the fascinating study that is Mandarin Chinese. On the one hand then, Chinese holds tremendous appeal for beginning students, while on the other hand it remains for non-native speakers, arguably one of the world’s hardest languages to learn. Still, with this being the case, it only makes it more imperative that Chinese language educators and university programs find ways in which to retain students’ initial enthusiasm, and stem the flow of upper semester student attrition. In this paper, I discuss some of the reasons behind this attrition, how the introduction of music, specifically Chinese songs, can alleviate the drop in student numbers, which songs are suitable as classroom material, and what is to be expected from their proper implementation. It is the author’s assertion that through the use of songs as a curriculum backbone, a new avenue opens for students. Chinese songs allow students to explore and immerse themselves, in a dynamic and expressive new form of their language study. Motivation is piqued and the excitement of new language learning rekindled. I also discuss motivation as it manifests intrinsically, or extrinsically. Further the research provides support for the position that our motivations are born of our sense of self, as evidenced in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943). Chinese in its immensity, has a propensity to overwhelm students. It is to the benefit of the entire endeavor, Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, that dynamic learning programs are infused into pedagogical settings. This paper introduces a program of 12 songs, followed by focused teaching goals, stressing realistic student expectations, and measured outcomes. It is hoped that as students familiarize themselves with the hooks of Chinese folk, pop, or classic era music, that they will become further hooked by the fascinating study that is Mandarin Chinese.