Chinese native-speaker volunteers contributions to the teaching
and learning of Chinese language and culture in Western Sydney
schools
Chinese native-speaker volunteers contributions to the teaching
and learning of Chinese language and culture in Western Sydney
schools
AFMLTA National Conference 2011
Cheryl BallantyneSchool Development OfficerNSW Department of
Education and CommunitiesWestern Sydney RegionFocus questionWhat
can a Chinese native-speaker volunteer program contribute to the
teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture in
schools?
Structure of presentationFour-dimensional analytical framework
(Singh, 1989):
Describe the programSituate it within policy and theoryConfront
the challengesReconstruct (future directions)
Western Sydney-Ningbo Chinese Volunteer Teacher-researcher
ProgramAims to promote the teaching and learning of Chinese
language and culture in WSR schools by generating interest in
school communities and embedding that interest through a sustained
program of support
Ningbo Municipal Education BureauUniversity of Western Sydney
Centre for Educational ResearchNSW Dept. of Education and
Communities Western Sydney RegionProgram features2008-2012Up to 10
graduates from Ningbo, China arrive at the end of June each
yearUndertake M.Ed.(Hons)Volunteer in schools two days per
weekReturn to China in December the next year
Program featuresSchool experience informs and is informed by
M.Ed.(Hons) research
Reflection and classroom investigation built into the
Program.Program participants - PSPSChinese teacher on staff%
Chinese b/ground students in school% of sch pop in Chinese
Program1Yes b/ground speaker1%73%2No0%60%3Yes non b/ground
speaker5%100%4Yes b/ground speaker1%15%5No1%27%6Yes bilingual
program1%97%7No1%92%8No1%69%9No1%28%10No0%100%Program participants
- HSHSChinese teacher on staff% Chinese b/ground students
Participation in Program1Yes b/ground speaker13%Year 7 2Yes
b/ground speaker12%Year 7 & 103Yes non b/ground speaker3%Year
84No0%Year 7 & 85Yes b/ground speaker1%Year 7 & 86Yes
b/ground speaker1%Year 77Yes non b/ground speaker3%Stage 68Yes non
b/ground speaker1%Year 7, 8, 9, 10 & Stage 6Program
outcomesIncreased numbers of students learning Chinese
School community interest in Chinese
School leaders planning for Chinese
Volunteers realising their development of intercultural
understanding - a foundation for teachingIncrease in number of
students learning Chinese - primary schools20103,989 primary
students learning Chinese
1,397 (35%) taught by Ningbo Volunteers working in classrooms
with non Chinese-speaking teachers
Chinese language and culture programs in primary schools
Primary school students learning Chinese
Increase in number of students learning Chinese high
schools2010931 secondary students learning Chinese
44 (0.05%) taught by Ningbo Volunteers working in classrooms
with non Chinese-speaking teachers2009876 secondary students
learning Chinese
110 (12.5%) taught by Ningbo Volunteers supporting non
Chinese-speaking teachers
School community interest in Chinese primary student surveys
Term 3 2010702 student responses from eight schools
67% - learning Chinese language important 80% - learning Chinese
language interesting63% - learning about China important 78% -
learning about China interesting 65% would like to continue
learning Chinese in 2011
School community interest in Chinese parent surveys - primary
schools Term 3 2010117 parent responses from seven schools
More than 80% - learning Chinese language and culture important
and valuable for students
School community interest in Chinese secondary student and
parent surveys Term 3 2010245 student responses from five
schools
178 student responses from one school only
10 parent responses all from one school.
School community interest in Chinese staff survey Term 3 201050
staff responses representing 12 schools38 from 6 primary schools12
from 6 high schools
95% - learning Chinese language important
100% - learning Chinese culture important
93% - Chinese Program has a positive influence on schools
Staff represented
School leaders planning for Chinese - Principal focus group Term
1 2010
Volunteers rapport with students has stimulated interest in
Chinese language
Chinese language is accepted as part of the curriculum (no
longer exotic High School Principal)
Planning for Chinese language and culture programs occurring in
primary schools and high schools
School leaders planning for Chinese- Principal focus group Term
1 2010Chinese language has replaced other LOTE programs - two high
schools
Links between Chinese language and culture and other KLAs -
three high schools
Chinese classroom allocated - one high school
School leaders planning for Chinese- Principal focus group Term
1 2010
Collaboration across learning communities to support transition
Year 6 to 7.
System support important to the long term effectiveness of the
Program
Volunteers realising their development of intercultural
understanding - a foundation for teachingFebruary 2009:When
students said dao clearly and correctly, I appreciated their first
good try and wanted to encourage them. However I found that I could
only say good and great. I found that I could not give students
immediate and suitable (English and Aussie like) comments, such as
fantastic, brilliant, fabulous when they did what I told them,
because it was hard for me to express these words that were too
emotional for me I felt strange and uncomfortable when I spoke like
this although I knew it was a normal expression for English
speakers (Li, 2010, p. 200).
Volunteers realising their development of intercultural
understanding - a foundation for teachingSeptember 2009:My
presentation was in Chinese. Since university I have not given a
presentation in Chinese. I was used to doing English presentations
and using English expression in the presentation. But this time, in
order to show our respects, we decided to give a Chinese
presentation.Then I found a strange thing. I had grown used to
using some emotional word in English, such as appreciate, amazing,
fantastic, dear, sincere, and so forth. I was used to expressing my
thoughts. However, when I had to say similar things in Chinese, I
felt really strange and awkward. Why did I feel this way? Then I
realized, in Chinese culture, people are not used to expressing
feelings like this. We feel uncomfortable saying I love you, I miss
you, or offering praise publicly. Some words that are common in
English made me feel weird in Chinese.
Volunteers realising their development of intercultural
understanding - a foundation for teachingAs I understand, when
people are learning a foreign language, it is inevitable for them
to learn about and adapt to the related culture. I have learned
English for a long time. But before I went to Australia to teach I
did not feel this because I did not actually use this language when
I was in China, even though I studied at an English-speaking
university. However, when I started teach here, I had to use
English and learn how to speak or use it in an English way. I
gradually got used to these expressions and thought it was common
to hear emotional words as I mentioned before.When I was saying
those words and expressing in an English way, I did not treat
myself as the same person who speaks Mandarin. As I was talking in
English, I set up a different scene for myself, so that I could
behave or even think in a more English way. So I could express this
in English but I felt strange expressing it in Mandarin (Li, 2010,
p.203-204).
The words of a Volunteer Teacher-researcherA teacher stops at a
self-reflection journal, but a researcher will do something with
that journal. Reflection should be disciplined by research;
otherwise, reflections are reflections, and may not be
systematised, analysed and given value (Zhang, 2010, p. 185).
Contexts of the ProgramNALSSP target 2020 (Department of
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2009)
Draft shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages (ACARA,
2011)
Intercultural language teaching and learning (Lo Bianco,
Liddicoat, & Crozet, 1999; Liddicoat, Papademetre, Scarino
& Kohler, 2003, Liddicoat, 2005; Kohler, 2010)Challenges &
future directions1: Retention
Challenges & future directions1: RetentionExpand Volunteer
Program beyond current 18 schoolsEstablish Confucius Centre:Year
6-7 transition in Chinese middle years outreach programsconnected
classroom delivery of Chinese
Challenges & future directions2: Teacher supplyStrategies
being considered by WS Region and UWS:Volunteers supporting Chinese
in schools during PhD research
extending Program into second 5-year period 2012-2016 focus on
schools without Chinese teachers
Challenges & future directions2: Teacher supplyStrategies
being considered by WS Region and UWS:Volunteer Program with a
second Chinese Education Bureau
UWS exploring combined MEd (Hons)/Master of Teaching for
Volunteers
UWS exploring possibility of graduates of proposed
MEd(Hons)/Master of Teaching being offered employment as Chinese
teachers in NSW
Challenges & future directions3: Time spent on learning
Chinese; goals and pedagogy of school programs
Challenges & future directions3: Time spent on learning
Chinese, goals and pedagogy of school programs
School self-evaluation process with reference to:Program
standards in Professional standards for accomplished teaching of
languages (AFMLTA, 2005)Dimensions of instructional leadership
(Robinson, 2007)
Program sharing across schools (Moodle)Challenges & future
directions4: Volunteers further development of an intercultural
orientation to teaching and learning Chinese language and
culture
and impacts on students development of intercultural
competence
Proposed and future PhD research
Questions?