Epistemological beliefs and conceptions about language teaching and learning: a study of secondary school non-native learners and teachers of Mandarin Chinese in Zambia

Abstract

In recent years, the demand for the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese language is in full swing globally based on the recognition of the economic and social importance of China. As a proactive response, the Ministry of General Education in Zambia included Mandarin Chinese as a second additional language in the secondary school Curriculum. However, there is a lack of exploring the epistemological beliefs and conceptions about Mandarin Chinese language teaching and learning in Zambia. A mixed research design is employed to study the epistemological beliefs and conceptions about Mandarin Chinese language teaching and learning in Zambia. A belief questionnaire was administered to 100 secondary school students learning Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL). Semi-structured interviews were adopted to seek deep insights from 10 secondary school teachers on their epistemological beliefs and conceptions about Chinese language teaching and learning. The result shows that the students’ epistemological beliefs about the introduction of Mandarin Chinese language learning in secondary schools is key to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the People’s Republic of China and Zambia. Also, the study results indicate that most of the students perceive learning Mandarin Chinese language as a window of opportunity for a good job and learning a new language. Nevertheless, the study results show that some teachers perceived the introduction of Mandarin Chinese language as a new form of Neo-colonization. This paper concludes that it’s fundamental for teachers in secondary schools in Zambia to review their epistemological beliefs and conceptions about Mandarin Chinese language teaching and learning and try to incorporate a SAL orientation using both literacy artifacts and cultural artifacts in teaching Mandarin Chinese language in secondary schools.