Multimedia Courseware for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

Abstract

This paper introduces an interactive multimedia (IMM) courseware prototype entitled “Learn Chinese with Ease” (LCE), a specialised instructional tool developed for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) at tertiary level. It is restricted to non-Chinese heritage students and students with non-Chinese speaking backgrounds. This research aimed to evaluate the students’ perceived level of usability of the LCE courseware prototype for TCSL using a usability questionnaire. In order to obtain the students’ feedbacks pertaining to their experience in interacting with the LEC courseware prototype, a usability evaluation study was conducted. The research participants completed a courseware usability questionnaire (CUQ) that was designed to measure the usability of the courseware prototype focused on two quality attributes: (1) Interface Quality with two research constructs (Section A: User interface design, and Section B: Navigation and interactivity), and (2) Information Quality (Section C: Instructional Content). It also investigated the user preference through the final section in the questionnaire. The CUQ was constructed as five-point Likert scales, labelling with 1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-Neutral, 4-Agree and 5-Strongly Agree, which was adapted from the questionnaires by Aris et al. (2006) and Bahrudin et al. (2011). Reliability testing on CUQ using Cronbach’s alpha showed that the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of all the four sections in CUQ were above 0.8, indicating the questionnaire was well-constructed and reliable. Research participants were asked to rate their agreement with the statements in the four sections, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Results for the students’ assessment of the usability of the LCE courseware prototype show that the students had positive perceptions toward the information quality and interface quality of the LEC courseware for educational contexts to support the pedagogy of TCSL. The research findings also indicate that many students prefer using the IMM courseware in Chinese learning compared to traditional instruction methods reliant on paper textbook.