Can a student-centred approach be used to motivation students to learn

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN AN INTERCULTURAL (OR

DANISH) CONTEXT?

As discussed in Chapter 3, two student-centred methods (i.e., TBTL and one PBL-inspired) have been selected and focused on in the process of exploring alternative methods in this study based on both the literature and the context. Two classroom research sessions (see Paper 1 and 2) were conducted to investigate the implementation of the selected methods and to relate them to the research question.

Positive results have been found from both the teacher’s and the students’

perspectives. Four points in the following can illustrate the main findings of the two research sessions: 1) the students’ perceptions on different teaching approaches; 2) enhanced learner motivation in the student-centred learning environment; 3) meaningful culture learning as another motivating factor; and 4) reflections on the explorative teaching practice.

1) The students’ perceptions of different teaching approaches

Two approaches were tried in the beginning stages of our teaching Chinese language and culture in Northern Denmark. One was a teacher-centred approach (i.e., lecture-based method), and the other was a student-centred approach (i.e., TBTL or a PBL-inspired method). The lecture-based method was proved

ineffective and demotivating at both school and university levels, while the TBTL or a PBL-inspired method was endorsed by both the teachers and the students.

It was noticed that not only did the students have different perceptions of the two approaches, but also that the teaching methods influenced the students’

participation and motivation to a great extent. In the case presented in Paper 1, students reported a teaching unit (using a lecture-based method) introducing Chinese history to be boring, and I initially thought the factor causing the negative impression was the uninteresting content. After implementing more tasks in the same course, I observed that students’ engagement and motivation increased no matter what content was introduced (Chinese language, education system, geography, etc.). Reflecting on the teaching, I finally realised that the lecture-based method was the main reason for the students’ lack of motivation in the Chinese history lesson. The teaching method had played an essential role in the teaching and learning, and a student-centred method (i.e., TBTL) could be more motivating than a teacher-centred method (i.e., a lecture-based method). This was continually confirmed by the study presented in Paper 2, which illustrates a course reform from using a lecture-based method to using a PBL-inspired method. In this case, the students appreciated the teaching methodology change in the course, and found the new method “interesting”, “practical” and “diverse”. The teaching staff (both my colleagues and I) also found a positive change in the degree of learner engagement and motivation in the learning process. The students’ perceptions provided evidence for the assumption that a student-centred approach can be used to motivate students to learn Chinese language and culture. More evidence can be found in the enhanced learner motivation in the student-centred learning environment, which was concluded from the findings of the two research sessions.

2) Enhanced learner motivation in the student-centred learning environment

Though there was not a measurement or direct evidence showing how the level of learner motivation changed and how the students were motivated in the courses (see Research Question 2), the teachers observed the increased learner engagement and enhanced learner motivation after using more tasks and implementing a PBL-inspired method (instead of a lecture-based method) in the two courses presented in Papers 1 and 2. TBTL and a PBL-inspired method both emphasise student-centeredness, students’ active participation, real-life connection and collaborative learning, etc., all of which have been closely related to students’ enhanced motivation. In the process of completing tasks/projects, the students needed to work in groups and take responsibility for their own learning. They acquired knowledge through completing the tasks/projects instead of passively receiving it from the teacher, which offered them an opportunity to deal with the learning problems on their own. For example, inferencing tasks were frequently used in the course presented in Paper 1. These tasks prompted the students to infer, negotiate and

evaluate the language on their own, thus increasing their engagement and interest in learning the Chinese language and culture. In the course presented in Paper 2, students were often required to analyse problems from a real-life setting and then find solutions, which also provided motivation and engagement. The students were satisfied with their learning outcomes – not only knowledge, but also learning skills (see Paper 2). Furthermore, most of the students from both cases developed continuing motivation for learning/using Chinese language and culture in the future.

3) Meaningful culture learning as another motivating factor

Meaningful culture learning was another motivating factor for the students’ Chinese learning in this study. In the two courses, culture learning was combined with language learning (see Paper 1), or integrated with language courses within Chinese Area Studies (see Paper 2). The methods for facilitating culture learning were explored along with language teaching and learning, and the result was that, the more culture the students learned, the more they were interested in learning the language, and the more language they learned, the better they understood the culture (see Paper 1 in particular). In the case presented in Paper 2, the students indicated that they had gained confidence in communicating with people from different cultures (e.g., Chinese culture) through learning about the culture via a PBL-inspired method, which also benefited their language learning. The dynamic aspect of culture is highlighted in Paper 2, which also provides learner motivation through relating theories to the real-life setting.

4) Reflections on the explorative teaching practice

The teaching practice is also explorative. Reflections were developed to yield benefit for future practice and research. Two main reflections will be discussed below.

First, concerning the expectations and learning goals, it is important for the teachers to communicate not only with their institutions, but also with their students. This issue was not regarded as an important factor in the courses. Consequently the students’ expectations were not well met due to the mismatching of the students’

desires and the assumptions of the school (see Paper 1). In the other case (see Paper 2), the students had different understanding of the teaching method and learning goals than the teaching team did, which caused misunderstandings and confusion in the teaching and learning process. For example, since the students did not necessarily plan to work as school teachers in the future, some of them pointed out that they could not see a need for the teaching of Chinese culture at local schools (in one of the team-based activities). However, they finally realised the benefits of this activity in the interviews. This indicates that the students may have participated in the activities in a more active and self-directed manner if there had been better

communication between the teachers and the students. This reflection contributed to later course design and research.

Second, a student-centred method, such as TBTL or PBL, can be employed as a motivating methodology to provide a supportive environment for language and culture learning (i.e., Chinese language and culture learning), particularly in a Danish context. Based on this reflection and assumption, the studies related to Research Question 2 focused on one of the explored student-centred methods (i.e.

TBTL).

5.2. TO WHAT DEGREE CAN TASKS MAKE STUDENTS FEEL