1 a Blended Learning Design for Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Second Language Pang Seet Wei

8/3/2019 1 a Blended Learning Design for Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Second Language Pang Seet Wei

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A B L E N D E D L E A R N I N G D E S I G N F O R

T E A C H I N G A N D L E A R N I N G C H I N E S E A S A

S E C O N D L A N G U A G E

Pang Set Weei1and Siew Pei Hwa2Department of Internet Engineering and Computer Science1

and Department of Multimedia Design & Animation2

Faculty of Engineering and Science1 and Faculty of Creative Industries2

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

Malaysia

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Due to the unique characteristics of Chinese language,

learning Chinese as a new or second language can be

difficult to master. Many instructors realise that the

traditional teaching method of chalk and talk in the

teaching Chinese as second language classroom is no

longer effective to boost learners attainment. Some

instructors note that it is not easy to teach Chinese,

especially the pronunciation and writing system. Thus, for

effective learning to take place, an instructor should useeffective teaching methods, and create an environment

conducive to learning. As learning any foreign languages

as a second language is a complex brain activity that

involves listening, speaking, reading and writing, therefore

the development of innovative teaching tools is much

needed to help the learners understand and speak a second

language effortlessly and effectively. This paper attempts

to highlight the creation of an instructional design (ID)

model for teaching Chinese as second language in a

blended learning environment. The ID model for the

blended language learning environment is designed based

on the ADDIE ID model, which consists of five phases:

Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and

Evaluation. The proposed ID model provides a step-by-

step process that helps to design and create a blended

learning environment for effective Chinese learning

through the use of an interactive multimedia electronic

book.

Keywords: blended learning, instructional design model,

ADDIE model, second language, Chinese language

INTRODUCTION

In the age of globalisation, learning foreign languages can

help broaden peoples horizons; it also helps to understand

different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Chinese is

generally considered to be one of the foreign languages in

the world that is difficult to learn. Some instructors assert

that teaching Chinese as a second language (TCSL) in the

traditional classroom via the chalk-and-talk method and

printed textbook is insufficient to meet the needs of the

learners, especially in the acquisition of Chinese writing,

pronunciation, reading, listening, and conversation skills.

Unlike the European languages that are written in

alphabets, Chinese writing system is completely differentfrom such languages. There is no simple alphabet to form

Chinese words, which causes the vast number of Chinese

characters, making it one of the hardest languages to learn.

All Chinese characters are composed of strokes. Following

proper stroke orders is a very important step in mastering

Chinese writing. Thereby, the learners, especially those

from the alphabetical languages background may have

difficulty in learning the complicated writing system that

contains a large number of Chinese characters.

Furthermore, learners also need to learn the Chinese

grammar and sentence structure in order to construct

Chinese sentences in an appropriate form.

Besides Chinese writing, learning Chinese pronunciation is

also a serious challenge for non-Chinese native speakers.

What makes the Chinese pronunciation difficult for non-

native speakers to learn is that it is a tonal language.

Modern Chinese operates with four different tone pitches

represented by a tone mark (, , , and ) plac ing on top of

the syllable. The same syllable with different tones form

different words and have different meanings; a change in

pitch while saying a word could change the meaning of the

word completely. This means that the way a speaker says a

word can give it four different meanings! As the

pronunciation is based on the tonality, the fact that when anon-native speaker attempts to tackle a language so


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different from English or any western tongue, it causes

most trouble for nearly all new speakers and makes

Chinese a difficult language to master. They are likely to

severely mispronounce some words if they attempt to

pronounce a word according to their own language

spellings. It is absolutely crucial to learn the correct

pronunciation since it can help in mastering the reading,listening, and conversation skills.

This paper arose from an ongoing research project

examining the instructional design for blended learning

environment in the second language instruction at tertiary

level. Due to its complex nature in the writing and unique

pronunciation systems, TCSL is often thought to be a very

challenging and laborious task. There is, therefore, a need

for creating an effective Chinese teaching method which

may enrich the learning environment.

SECOND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION INTHE BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

THROUGH THE USE OF MULTIMEDIA

Second language refers to the acquisition of a language

other than the native language (Garca Mayo & Garca

Lecumberri, 2003). Generally, the learner begins to learn a

second language from scratch. Beardsmore (1982, as cited

in Bhela, 1999) claimed that many of the difficulties a

second language learner has with the phonology,

vocabulary and grammar of second language are due to the

habits interference from first language. The formal

elements of first language are used within the context of

second language, resulting in errors in second language, asthe structures of the first language and second language are

different.

Generally, the face-to-face traditional learning approach

has been used as the main way of transmitting the content

of instruction in the language classrooms. Students are

taught to learn the pronunciation, writing, reading,

grammar, vocabulary, and conversation of the target

language through the chalk-and-talk method and printed

textbook. Besides, instructor also needs to keep repeating

what the learners cannot understand before they could

master the language, which is a rather tired task for theinstructor.

According to Li (2007) and Ng (2008), it is an impossible

mission for Chinese instruction with restricted traditional

teaching methods. Without a doubt, the advent and

widespread use of computer technologies such as the

Internet and multimedia computing provides convenience

for language learning and expand possibilities for using

them to support language instruction. Research has shown

that Internet and multimedia technologies have played an

important role in the second language instruction (Yang,

2010). Language instruction can be enhanced in the

computer-mediated environment with the advent of e-

learning. Typically, e-learning provide interactive and

flexible learning environment which allow students to learn

through interactive e-contents with flexible learning time

and places. With e-learning, students are able to learn the

target language especially pronunciation and writing more

efficiently and effectively without having the instructor to

repeat a lesson CONTINUOUSLY. Students can even

learn on their own pace after class as e-learning encourageself-paced learning. However, language is used in daily

communication; self-pace e-learning is not an effective

way to develop communication skills. Learners need real-

life situations to learn and practice communication skills in

target language. Communicative language learning

requires a learner to speak with and listen to other learners.

Through cooperative learning and peer-teaching situations

in classroom settings, learners can talk together freely as

well as question and argue with each other about ideas. The

instructor acts as a facilitator in this process to guide the

learners in communicative language learning activities.

Realising that there are advantages and disadvantages tothe traditional face-t-face learning and e-learning methods,

the limitations of the both can be overcome through a

blended learning approach. Blended learning is the

combination of traditional classroom and e-learning

approach, or can be referred as the combination of various

different approaches (Amarin, 2007). Anuwar Ali (2004)

defined the term blended learning as an approach used to

describe the creation of a learning environment that

combines several different delivery methods such as face-

to-face interactions, self-paced and individualised learning

and online interactions. The term blended learning has

arisen as many people found that fully online instruction isnot completely effective and the solution of blended

learning is able to provide more satisfactory results

(Macdonald, 2008). With the mix of the advantages for

both traditional and e-learning methods, it is believed that

the blended learning approach has potential to benefit the

language learners. Blended learning provides the most

efficient and effective instruction experience by combining

a variety of delivery modalities.

In Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), the

Department of Language and Linguistics offers an elective

subject called Introduction to Chinese Language I. The

elective subject teaches the basis of Chinese pronunciation,

writing, reading, listening and conversation to non-Chinese

educated background students. Currently, the Chinese

language instruction adopts the traditional classroom

approach which uses a printed textbook called Learn

Chinese with Ease as the main teaching tool. In addition

to the traditional classroom activities, printed textbook,

printed resources, and paper-based assessment, the

instruction of the Introduction to Chinese Language I is

also supplemented with a resource website called WBLE

(Web-Based Learning Environment). WBLE is a learning

management system to facilitate teaching-learning process

at UTAR. It serves as a platform for students to obtainadditional materials uploaded by lecturers. Besides, WBLE

also acts as a communication tool for off-campus


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Analysis

Design Development

Implementation

Evaluation

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discussion. Students can discuss Chinese language related

topics with the instructor through the Forum function

embedded in the WBLE.

Recognising the limitations of traditional instruction and e-

learning approaches, many instructors opt for a blended

approach: a traditional classroom with face-to-faceinteraction supplemented by online resources, to optimise

the second language learning experience. In this research,

in addition to the printed textbook, WBLE, printed

resources, and paper-based assessments as stated above, an

interactive multimedia electronic book called ECLearn (E-

Book for Chinese Learning) will be developed as an

additional teaching aid tool in the blended learning

environment for TCSL. De La Cruz Villegas and Izquierdo

Sandoval (2008) postulated that multimedia technology is

potential in enhancing the second language instruction by

integrating interactive multimedia elements into second

language learning activities to promote active learning.

ECLearn is the transformation of the existing printedtextbook into an interactive multimedia electronic book

which containing a variety of educational activities, and

multimedia learning objects. ECLearn provides innovative

solutions multimedia assisted Chinese instruction to extend

students learning beyond what traditional classroom offers

for improvement of their abilities. Through ECLearn, it is

believed that it can create a rich and active learning

environment for the learners to learn Chinese as a second

language more effectively.

A German philosopher, Alexander von Humboldt (as citedin Dovedan, Seljan & Vukovi, 2002) claimed that A

language cannot be taught. One can only create conditions

for learning to take place. Dovedan, Seljan & Vukovi

asserts that by using multimedia, one certainly creates such

conditions. To create a blended learning environment for

TCSL in the most efficient manner possible, there is a need

to careful design an instructional design model deemed

suitable for the blended language learning environment.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODEL

Instructional design (ID) is a systematic approach to

analysing the instructional goals and for designing learning

activities to ensure a successful learning encounter (Frisby

& Day, 2010). Chen (2008) defined ID models as the

visualised representations of an instructional design

process, showing the main elements or phases of the

process and their relationships. Although there are many

different kinds of ID models, this paper focuses on the

review of literature on ADDIE ID model.

ADDIE ID model as shown in Figure 1 is a generic model

which provides a framework for instructional designers to

make their instructional design process as efficient aspossible to produce effective instructional products

(Zimnas, Kleftouris & Valkanos, 2009).

Figure 1: ADDIE ID model

Source: Modified from Koohang, A., & Harman, K.

(2007). Learning objects and instructional design. Santa

Rosa, CA: Informing Science Press, p. 361.

ADDIE ID model is particularly well suited to the

development of instructional systems within the context of

formal research-and-development programmes (Ellington

& Aris, 2000). In addition, it can lead to better results for

learners by applying an orderly process to creating

instruction based on specific, measurable goals and

objectives. The ADDIE ID model comprises of five phases

as follows (Parekh, 2006):

Analysis phase: During this phase, requirementanalysis will be performed, the projects objectives

and goals will be identified, and the target users willbe specified.

Design phase: In this phase, the story, the script andthe storyboard will be prepared. The collection of

source material has finished up to an appreciable

level.

Development phase: During this phase, the projectwill be divided into parts and a development team will

be assigned for each part. A group leader will be

assigned to manage each team. Each team may consist

of content writers, programmers, visual designers and

so on.

Implementation phase: In this phase, the modulesdeveloped by each development team will beintegrated into a single production. If there is any

integration problems occur, the problems will be

resolved.

Evaluation phase: During this phase, the target userswill evaluate the material and provides feedbacks to

the developers. The developers further improve the

material based on the feedbacks and take the

improved material back to the target user for

evaluation again.


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PROPOSED INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

MODEL FOR BLENDED LANGUAGE

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

The proposed instructional design model for blended

language learning environment in this study is created

based on the ADDIE ID model. The model provides a step-by-step process for instructional designer to design and

create an effective blended learning environment for

TCSL. The blended language learning environment

(BLLE) instructional design model as shown in Figure 2

consists of five phases as described in the subsequent

sections.

ANALYSIS PHASE

During the analysis phase, it is the process to define what

is going to be learned by the learners. Before the

commencement of the research, preliminary investigationis needed to identify the target users and gather user

requirements from them. This is refers to requirement

analysis which is a structured, or organized, methodology

for identifying an appropriate set of resources to satisfy a

system need (Grady, 2006). The data collection methods

used for collecting the data in the research is interview and

questionnaire. Data collected through survey using

questionnaire and interview will be analysed to find out the

characteristics of learners, the problems faced during the

teaching-learning process of Chinese language in the

existing traditional classroom instruction, and the

requirements for the development of multimedia electronic

book.

Then, literature review and planning on how to create a

suitable and effective blended language learning

environment for Chinese learning will be performed to

solve the problems faced by instructors and learners. The

analyst uses documentation review in gathering

information for blended language learning, multimedia

electronic book development and so forth. A lot of

documents which are related to the research are being

review in order to have a better understanding in the

research. In addition to documentation review, Internet

search is also important for searching conference or journalpapers published by other researchers which are related to

the research. Related research on blended language

learning and existing Chinese learning related applications

are able to provide information and idea on how to create

an effective blended language learning environment for

Chinese learning and the multimedia electronic book

development.

The teaching contents for the elective subject Introduction

to Chinese Language I are then to be determined which is

based on the existing printed textbook called Learn

Chinese with Ease. The existing printed textbook will be

transformed into an interactive multimedia electronic book;

students will learn Chinese language in a blended language

learning environment through the multimedia electronic

book. So, suitable and useful features to be embedded in

the electronic book will be analysed too. This is to make

sure the interactive multimedia electronic book developed

is able to complement the teaching-learning of Chinese

language in the traditional classroom instruction for

effective Chinese learning.

To further determine the effectiveness of the teaching

contents, the expected outcomes of learning the elective

subject will be analysed. In the context of the research,

students must be able to learn how to pronounce and write

Chinese characters correctly, make use of correct grammar

and vocabulary of Chinese language, and communicate

with people in real life using simple Chinese language after

taking the subject. The expected outcomes analysed are

able to help the analyst to further determine the

instructional approach, instructional tools, and teaching

contents based on the learner characteristics to be adopted

for effective Chinese learning. Once the user requirementshave been collected and analysed, the instructional

designer will begin to design a solution to the problems

identified.

DESIGN PHASE

In the design phase, it is to specify how Chinese language

learning will occur in a blended language learning

environment. The instructional designer is first to identify

the teaching and learning objectives before designing the

instruction. The teaching and learning objectives are

associated with cognitive, psychomotor, and affectivedomains. Objectives in cognitive domain are concerns

about learning skills related to the mental processes,

objectives in psychomotor domain are concerns about

learning skills related to physical actions, and objectives in

affective domain are concerned about learning skills

related to the emotional processes (Moore, 2005). By

considering the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective

domains to form the objectives for instructional design, it

helps to create an effective instruction for Chinese

language learning. It is then followed by an evaluation

through experimental design research in order to find out if

the objectives are met at the end of the research.

Once the objectives have been identified, suitable

instructional strategy and delivery system will be selected

in order to achieve the objectives. Blended learning

approach through an interactive multimedia electronic

book which provides participatory learning, self-paced

learning, and cooperative learning is chosen as the

instructional strategy to be adopted in blended language

learning environment to achieve the objectives.

Participatory learning allows learners to actively

participate in class for learning such as discussion, provide

feedbacks, questioning and answering. Interactive

multimedia electronic book encourage self-paced learning

which allows learners to learn Chinese language at their


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own pace, and cooperative learning allows learners to

develop their social communication skills and enhance

their learning experience among their peers.

The next step will be the selection of delivery system for

the instruction. Suitable teaching methods and media that

can provide students in learning Chinese languageefficiently will be selected based on the user requirements.

In the research, teaching will be conducted through the

blend of traditional classroom instruction and computer

mediated instruction. Therefore, print technology and

computer-based technology will be selected to deliver the

instruction. In addition to the existing instructional tools

such as printed textbook, print resources, resource website

(WBLE), and email, an interactive multimedia electronic

book called ECLearn will be developed to complement the

existing traditional classroom instruction of the subject.

Before the development of ECLearn prototype, a

conceptual model and learning modules design model of

ECLearn development will be designed and created.According to Gruber (as cited in Li & Gu, 2009), aconceptual model is an explicit specification of a

conceptualization which defines the terminology of a

domain in terms of the concepts that constitute the domain

and the relationships between them.

DEVELOPMENT PHASE

During this phase, it is the process to author and produce

the materials needed for the TCSL at tertiary level. The

focus of the development phase in the research is todevelop ECLearn as an additional instructional tool in the

blended language learning environment. A storyboard will

be created for the development of ECLearn. Kearns (2010)

defined a storyboard as a visual plan for an e-learning

programme, which clearly lays out the instructional,

design, and interactive elements screen-by-screen. With

reference to the design specification obtained from design

phase and the storyboards created, the software developer

begins to develop ECLearn. The main authoring tool used

to develop ECLearn is Adobe Flash. Chinese text,

colourful graphics and images, sound, animation, and

video are being integrated into ECLearn to develop the 15

lessons, poems, and assessment activities. Adobe

Photoshop is used to edit graphics and images, then import

into Adobe Flash. The text-to-speech software NextSpeakMandarin TTS will be used to convert the Chinese texts

into speeches. The Chinese speeches are then to be edited

using a sound diting software, GoldWave before

integrating into ECLearn to provide the Chinese

pronunciations for students.

During the development, formative evaluation is conducted

to ensure that ECLearn is developed based on users

requirements and is free from bugs and errors. Unit testing

on ECLearn will be performed to test the navigational

buttons and icon individually. If errors being detected, the

navigational button or icon will be revised and improved.

Once unit testing completed, integration testing will beperformed by combining and testing all the testable parts in

ECLearn as groups in multiple ways. This is to make sure

the ECLearn developed is able to function properly for

efficient Chinese learning.

IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

In the implementation phase, it is the process of installing

the instruction in the real world. Blended language learning

environment which consists of instructional tools such as

printed textbook, print resources, ECLearn, resource

website (WBLE), and so forth will be implemented forChinese learning in the Introduction to Chinese language

I classroom. Resources preparation is needed for the

implementation of the blended learning environment for

Chinese learning. Meantime, training on the use of

ECLearn will be conducted among target users from the

experimental group. The target users in the experimental

group are students who have taken Introduction to

Analysi

Design

DevelopmentImplementation

Evaluation

1. Needs analysis Teaching and learning problems in

traditional classroom approach

Learner characteristics Requirements for multimedia

electronic textbook development

2. Task analysis Chinese learning contents

based on existing printed

1. Objectives andassessments

Cognitive Psychom

otor1. Draft materials of

ECLearndevelopment

2. Mediaproduction

1. Training Target students

User manual of

2. Resourcespreparation Computer

laboratory ECLearn User manual of

1. Evaluation of theefficacy of Chinese

learning in BLLE

Blended learning

2. Evaluation ofECLearn

Usability testing

3. Instructional analysis Pronunciation of Chinese

characters Composition of Chinese

characters Grammar and vocabulary

2. Instructionalstrategy

Blended learningapproach through

3. Delivery systemselection

Print technology3. Formativeevaluation of

ECLearn Unit testing

4. Design specificationof ECLearn

Conceptual model Learning modules design

ECLearn: InteractiveMultimedia E-Book


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Chinese Language I. In addition to laboratory-based

training, user manual of ECLearn will be prepared for

target users to assist them in learning ECLearn effortlessly.

EVALUATION PHASE

During the evaluation phase, it is the process to determinethe impact of the instruction for Chinese language learning.

At this stage, summative evaluation will be performed to

evaluate the efficacy of the blended language learning

environment through multimedia electronic textbook in

Chinese learning compared to the existing traditional

classroom instruction. The evaluation is performed using a

pre-test- post-test control group design to measure thestudents achievement in the acquisition of Chinese

knowledge between the blended learning instruction and

traditional classroom instruction. Besides, it is also

involved a usability testing among the intervention group

of students to evaluate the ease-of-use of the functionalitiesprovided in ECLearn for Chinese learning. Refinement of

ECLearn based on users feedback will be performed to

increase the usefulness of ECLearn in the blended

language learning environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, a suitable instructional design model is believed to

be able to guide an instructional designer in creating an

effective second language instruction in a blended learning

environment. The blended language learning environment

created will be evaluated at the end of the research toensure that it can benefit second language learners in

Chinese learning compared to the existing traditional

classroom instruction.

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Documents

1 a Blended Learning Design for Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Second Language Pang Seet Wei