Designing between pedagogies and cultures: Audio-visual Chinese language resources for Australian schools

Yifeng Yuan,Huizhong Shen,Shuyan Wang

doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1256140

Yifeng Yuan, Huizhong Shen + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2016.1256140

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Abstract

AbstractThis design-based study examines the creation and development of audio-visual Chinese language teaching and learning materials for Australian schools by incorporating users’ feedback and content writers’ input that emerged in the designing process. Data were collected from workshop feedback of two groups of Chinese-language teachers from primary and secondary schools in Australia and content writers’ reflections of their understanding and transformation of their understanding of Chinese teaching and learning materials for Australian schools. It is found that a reciprocal process between the users and content writers can effectively facilitate the creation and development of user-oriented teaching and learning materials which are sensitive to the local curriculum needs. Based on teachers’ comments and content writers’ ideas, appropriate audio-visual Chinese language teaching and learning materials need to be tailor-made with a range of topics focusing on current China. A strong pedagogical scaffold...

Highlights

Australia and China have setup a close working and trade partner relationship when China was experiencing its burgeoning global growth in economy, culture and politics in the past decade
In Australia, sets of national and state education-based programmes/projects focusing on teaching and learning Asian languages in schools have been initiated in recent decades, such as the National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools (NALSAS) (1995–2002) and National Asian Languages and Studies in School Program (NALSSP) (2008–2012)
Results showed a general consensus that the proposed topics of audio-visual Chinese teaching and learning materials were in alignment with the broad themes set out in The Australian Curriculum: Languages – Chinese (2014)

Summary

Introduction

Australia and China have setup a close working and trade partner relationship when China was experiencing its burgeoning global growth in economy, culture and politics in the past decade. The Australia in the Asian Century White Paper (2012), commissioned by the former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard, indicates that all Australians should develop broad Asia-relevant capabilities, which will drive the economic growth in Australia in the coming years. The capacity in a second- or foreign-language can increase people’s understanding of the target culture, history and society, facilitating deeper and broader engagement between different cultures (Kramsch, 2011). The increase of teaching Asian languages has become a global tendency in Europe and North America, for example, Sweden has announced that by 2020, Chinese (Mandarin) will have been taught in all schools across the country (Asia Education Foundation, 2012). The White Paper (2012) proposes that other than English, Chinese (Mandarin) should be one of the priority Asian languages to be learned by Australian students in their years of schooling

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