Suitability of Year 1 National School Chinese Language (BCSK) course for non-native speakers

Abstract

The suitability of a language course includes learners' acquisition of language and cultural knowledge and communication skills, the usability of teaching materials that fit target learners' current state of cognitive and affective development, the effectiveness of pedagogy, the conduciveness of the classroom and school environment for language teaching and learning, as well as meeting parental expectation and government educational policy. This paper presents the findings for the following research questions: a) Do the objectives stated in the syllabus of BCSK meet the parents' needs and expectations? b) Does the content of BCSK Year 1 textbook meet the objectives of the course syllabus? c) Is the content of BCSK Year 1 textbook suitable for non-native speakers? Four methods were used in this study: questionnaire, classroom observation, textbook examination and interview. Five national schools participated in the study. One lesson from each school was observed and video-taped. Five BCSK teachers were interviewed after the classroom observation. 78 parents of Year 1 non-native speaker students from the participating schools answered the questionnaire. The research data revealed that the language course of Year 1 BCSK in national schools is suitable for non-native speakers.