AT&T Fellows Final Report: Jennifer Liu

AT&T Fellows Final Reports

April 2003

Name	Jennifer Liu
Title	Associate Professor
Department	East Asian Languages and Cultures
Campus	IUB
Project Title	Distributed Chinese Language Learning: A Model for Foreign Language Education
Project Goal	To develop a Web site with exercises for students of Chinese with various needs
Type of Technology Used in the Project	Multimedia and networking technology

Executive Summary of Results

To address the longstanding issue of having mixed groups of students with varying language proficiency in Chinese classrooms, I have made use of the multimedia and networking capabilities of Internet technology to build a complete Web site (http://www.indiana.edu/ ~c201/demo) of over 1,200 exercises for intermediate learners of Chinese. The exercises are clearly categorized into text, song, vocabulary, grammar patterns, listening, and reading comprehension. This allows for individualized, need-based selection and use by our second-year Chinese students (C201 and C202). The site has been fully integrated into our curriculum, and as of now almost all of the second-year homework is done on a bi-weekly basis online (except for short essays).

Need for the Project

Briefly explain why you believed there was a need for your project and what teaching approach was used to address this need.

The need for a project that will generate a variety of online exercises for learners of Chinese is long overdue. Given the fact that China is playing an ever-increasing role in the world economy, the training of Chinese language skills is growing more and more important. Yet, Chinese is notoriously difficult for American learners, who are unaccustomed to dealing with a non-alphabetic orthographic system. On top of this, classroom limitations make the learning of Chinese even more challenging: Students typically find themselves placed in a mixed group of learners, with skills ranging from native-like to rudimentary. Thus, it is imperative that we develop exercises of various kinds, from which students can choose to address their unique learning needs. This teaching approach can be termed integrative (in terms of the four language skills) but individualized (in terms of learning needs).

Use of Technology

Briefly explain how your project used instructional technology in a new or different way.

Although the multimedia and networking capability of Internet technology is nothing new, my project makes the most of its use to generate interactive practice in the areas of text, vocabulary, grammar, listening comprehension and reading. For example, flash movies were built to synchronize the text and audio input. The multimedia capability of the Web is used to stimulate interest and provide contextualization for a better understanding of the use of the target language (e.g., songs that recycle key words and structures were implemented). Simple script was written to track the performance of students and provide data for instructors’ analysis and remedial lessons.

Instructional Design Plan

Describe how the use of technology used supported your teaching approach:

What student learning outcomes were expected?
How did your teaching plan encourage active learning, provide feedback, address respective learning styles, and build collaboration?
What resources were used? (campus technology support services, etc.)
Would your project be easily understood and executed by other faculty?

Students of second-year Chinese are expected to be active and independent learners. The teaching plan fully integrates the Web site developed and has students take full advantage of the various features provided. Students need to first identify their own areas of weakness and then choose corresponding exercises to strengthen their skills. Since the online exercises provide instant feedback, students are encouraged to start practicing right after each session in class, rather than wait until the end of the week to crank out assignments. The scoring system also encourages risk-taking and hypothesis-making because students are not penalized if they make a mistake. As long as they make an effort to work on at least ten sections they are rewarded with 10 points, the weight assigned for homework exercises. As for the benefit of this project for other faculty, the project can be easily understood and executed by those seeking similar designs and templates. Finally, it needs mentioning that the TLTC staff has been invaluable to the development of this project.

Potential to Impact Student Learning

Clearly define how your project improved student learning - include specific examples of how your project:

Fostered depth of learning
Supported efforts to improve retention
Fostered the learning of large numbers of students
Has broader applications that will affect learning K-12 or community environments?

My project enhances student learning potential by providing multi-sensory input and authentic context for the target information. It does so by encouraging students to go beyond the classroom setting to practice their language skills, and by supplying them with various learning aids to enhance their understanding. All of these, I believe, contribute to their depth of learning. During the midterm and final analysis of teaching, many second-year students acknowledged the usefulness of the Web site. Some of our third-year students also pleaded to have a similar site built for them. The retention rate of our second-year students from the first semester to second semester is an evidence of their successful learning. At this point, this project fosters the learning of about 140 students at IU. If it is made available to students at other institutions, the scope of its impact will be greatly enhanced. The impact will be even greater if its design is implemented in the teaching and learning of other foreign languages.

Assessment Plan

Briefly explain the effectiveness of your assessment plan:

What measure of assessment was used?
How did your approach obtain measures of performance?
Did you feel your measurement was accurate and effective?

During the stage of designing the prototype lesson, students were invited to test the Web site individually and provide feedback, which led to a change of the interface design and color scheme. During the implementation stage, mid-term and final evaluation of teaching was conducted to assess students’ general reaction to the instructional approach of the second-year Chinese class. Another survey using features in Oncourse was generated to elicit students’ comments on the specific features of the Web site. These responses indicate that the Web site has made an impact on students’ learning. I feel my assessment of the performance of the technology’s effectiveness is accurate since it’s confirmed by students’ responses and their actual gain in performance. The observations of other teachers in our program corroborate these findings as well.

Plan for Colleague Development

Describe your role and activities as a mentor:

What mentoring activities were implemented to assist colleagues?
How did you help to develop colleague's instructional technology skills?
How do you think your contributions to the Knowledge Base will help colleagues planning similar projects?
Is your project approach potentially applicable to other contexts or disciplines?
What tips would you offer?

Mentoring activities implemented so far include (1) sharing my proposals, design ideas, and templates with other interested colleagues through an online demo or demo CDs; (2) participating actively at the TLTC Summer Technology Fair for faculty on campus; (3) presenting this project at national conferences such as the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in 2002. Eventually I think the experiences acquired through this project, after contributed to the Knowledge Base, will definitely help other colleagues plan similar projects. In fact, after my presentation at the TLTC Summer Fair, people approached me an4 May, 2007their own Web sites to promote language learning. Thus, I believe that my project approach is potentially applicable to other contexts or disciplines. The tips I would offer are: (1) don’t be frustrated by the limitations of the classroom, (2) technologies can be well-designed to address many instructional challenges and learning needs that won’t be possible with traditional tools, (3) you don’t have to be technologically savvy to design a good Web site, as long as you have a sound pedagogical approach, a detailed execution plan, and a capable and skilled instructional team, (4) be sure to integrate the technology into the curriculum for maximum effect, (5) don’t forsake the use of traditional printed media (paper and pencil) but mix a variety of tools to achieve the best results.

Final Comments on Project Results

Do you think you met the goals of your project?
What, if anything,would you do differently?
Did you have any unexpected outcomes? (positive or negative)
Would you recommend this teaching approach to colleagues?
What other comments or suggestions would you offer to complete this report?

I think the goals of my project have been met in that I have developed and implemented a complete set of exercises for the first and second semester of second-year Chinese students. If I had a chance to do this again, I’ll be explicit with all of my expectations and requirements for participating members and to ensure that they deliver their work on time. Also, I’d be more careful in working with others, whose stake in the project, together with their enthusiasm and efforts tend to vary. Overall the outcome of this project has been positive. Yet, students have indicated that they need both online and paper-based exercises (workbooks), so that they have a chance to practice their writing skills and answer open-ended questions. I would recommend other colleagues try this integrated yet individualized approach to accommodate different learning needs and styles.

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