PPLI Annual Report (2019) - Flipbook - Page 37
Summary of Findings
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Students demonstrated high language learning motivation towards Chinese, correlated with their interest
in learning other languages.
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Students tended to favour the cultural aspects of their lessons over language learning content.
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Spoken and written production of Chinese was identified as an aspect in need of further development
with less than half of the students reporting that they could write some basic Chinese characters.
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Teachers reported difficulties experienced by students in producing or identifying Chinese characters.
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Teachers interviewed identified a lack of Chinese language input modelled by the teacher as well as the
need for more tasks which foster student production and opportunities for student-to-student
interaction.
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Instruction through the medium of English occurred in almost all classrooms with only one lesson
delivered bilingually in English and Mandarin.
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A range of age-appropriate activities and materials was used, appropriate for students’ proficiency levels
in Chinese, although a lack of visible Chinese language resources was noted in the classrooms observed.
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Teachers deployed a range of digital tools in their lessons.
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Learning outcomes tended to be grouped within Strand 1 (Myself, my family and friends) of the course’s
four strands, focussing on, e.g. basic greetings, introductions and numbers.
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Most teachers reported lack of prior formal training and experience of teaching Chinese as a Foreign
Language in advance of teaching the short course.
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Teacher engagement with the short course specification and strands was varied.
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Several good practices in assessment were observed.
Next Steps
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PPLI will employ qualified teachers and introduce a formal programme of CPD for qualified teachers of
Chinese in 2020 to accompany the implementation of the new specification in Leaving Certificate
Mandarin Chinese.
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CPD will address increasing the opportunities for sustained and engaged linguistic production and
practice in the classroom, supporting teachers with modelling and fostering engagement with the
language beyond drills, and with introducing a range of varied teaching strategies and approaches as well
as how to increase use of the target language.
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Teachers will benefit from training in the incorporation of key skills, learning outcomes, assessment and
reporting.
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Samples of materials and class work will enable teachers to have a clear understanding of the standard
and nature of the level indicators at Level 3 of the National Framework of Qualifications and of The
Framework for Junior Cycle.
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Opportunities will also be created for teachers to share and pass on resources, as well as to collaborate
and share their practice.
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