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Research in Teaching and Learning Chinese

Code: 43974 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
4316481 Teaching Chinese to Spanish Speakers OB 0

Contact

Name:
Mireia Vargas Urpi
Email:
mireia.vargas@uab.cat

Teachers

Sara Rovira Esteva
Julia Llompart Esbert

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

None.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The main objectives of this module are for students to learn the fundamentals of research in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) , and to familiarize themselves with basic formal aspects to develop an academic work in the field of language teaching and learning, and Chinese linguistics in a context of multicultural teaching.

On successfully completing this subject, students will be able to:

  • design a research project for an MA thesis in the field of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language following the standards of academic work;
  • develop a research project about general aspects or case studies that may be applicable to their teaching practice (action-research) in the field of TCFL using the methodological tools provided in this course;
  • evaluate the quality and adequacy of reference works;
  • select the most suitable methodological approach for their research project and justify this selection;
  • recognise the various parts that make up an academic work (abstract, keywords, literature review, etc.) and apply them to their own project design;
  • apply basic formal aspects of academic work in class assignments;
  • present their research orally following academic standards.

Competences

  • Apply methodology for research, specific techniques and resources for researching and producing innovative results in a certain area of specialisation.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Generate and manage innovative proposals and projects in professional activity and in research.
  • Relate research in language teaching and learning with teaching practice or learning processes observed in the classroom to make suggestions for improvements from both a theoretical and practical point of view.
  • Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply methodology for research, specific techniques and resources for researching and producing innovative results in a certain area of specialisation.
  2. Compare various research methodologies applicable to Chinese teaching.
  3. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  4. Critically analyse case studies related to Chinese teaching.
  5. Design and plan case studies related to Chinese teaching.
  6. Generate and manage innovative proposals and projects in professional activity and in research.
  7. Identify resources and tools to respond to research questions related to Chinese teaching.
  8. Present case studies related to Chinese teaching orally and in writing.
  9. Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.

Content

  1. Stages of the research project
    1. Selection of the object of study
    2. Research approach
    3. Objectives and research questions or hypotheses
    4. Design of the structure
    5. Abstract (200-300 words)
    6. Literature review and justification
    7. Academic writing and formal aspects
  2. Documentation (searching for information sources and evaluating their quality)
    1. Databases and repositories (TDX, TESEO, Open Access Theses and Dissertations, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI – 中国知网 Zhongguo Zhi Wang)
      National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan (NDLTD),
      China Academic Journals full-text database, Directory of Open Access Repositories, Wanfang China Online Journals, Google Scholar, etc.)
    2. Journals and major conferences in this field
  3. Research approaches and data collection instruments
    1. Observation
    2. Ethnography
    3. Questionnaire/survey
    4. Interview
    5. Focus group
    6. Action-Research
    7. Research ethics
  4. Data analysis:
    1. Quantitative analysis
    2. Qualitative analysis
    3. Analysis of interaction
  5. Writing
    1. Linguistic aspects in academic writing
    2. Formal aspects of academic papers
  6. Oral presentation
  7. Students’ oral presentation of their project

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Discussion 6 0.24 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
Lectures 18 0.72 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
Type: Supervised      
Oral presentation 8 0.32 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9
Project design 12 0.48 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9
Type: Autonomous      
Preparation for the oral presentation 19 0.76 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Project writing 25 1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9
Readings 45 1.8 2, 3, 4, 7, 9

Classes will be taught in Spanish. Training activities are divided into directed, supervised and autonomous activities.

Directed activities:

-          Lectures by the teachers of the module, where they will present the main contents of the module;

-          Discussion and other activities where students will be able to share a critical point of view based on the contents acquired during the course.

Supervised activities:

-          Project design: students will complete various exercises which will provide them with tools to design the research project for their MA thesis;

-          Oral presentation: students will have to present their MA thesis and answer the questions posed by the teacher and their peers.

Autonomous activities:

-          Readings: students are expected to read at least 4 references from the list of recommended bibliography;

-          Project writing, including the structure, abstract, objectives, methodology and basic bibliography;

-          Preparation for the oral presentation, including the preparation of visual aid (e.g. ppt or other) and the rehearsal of the presentation.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Attendance and participation in class 20% 6 0.24 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9
Oral presentation 40% 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Portfolio 40% 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9

To pass this course, attendance at 80% of classes is compulsory. Attendance and participation, as well as completion of a compulsory course on Zotero provided at the beginning of the module, will account for 20% of the final grade. This item will consist not only of attending class, but will also consider students’ level of attention, the quality and interest of students’ interventions, as well as their participation in the activities proposed (e.g. by asking questions to their peers in the oral presentations). These items will be included in a rubric.

Students’ portfolio, which will account for 40% of the final grade, will include:

  • the abstract for their MA thesis in Spanish, keywords in three languages (Spanish, English and Chinese) and basic list of references (20%)
  • online tests about basic contents of the subject (20%)

The oral presentation will account for 40% of the final grade. It will be evaluated according to a rubric that will consider the presentation (content and form), as well as the answers to the questions posed by the teacher or peers. This rubric will be shared in advance.

 

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5.

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for. In case of retaking, maximum grade will be 5 (Pass).

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.

Single assessment

This module may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB.

Students must make an online request within the period established by the FUAB as explained here:

https://www.uab.cat/web/escola-fuab-formacio/masters-oficials/normativa-i-tramits-administratius/avaluacio/avaluacio-unica/normativa-i-preguntes-frequents-1345885286771.html    

Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The teacher responsible for this module will announce the date for the single assessment at the beginning of the module. 

On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).

Single assessment activities

The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:

  • 30% the abstract for their MA thesis in Spanish, keywords in three languages (Spanish, English and Chinese) and basic list of references
  • 30% exam about basic contents of the module
  • 40% oral presentation of the MA thesis project

Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.


Bibliography

  • Brown, James Dean. 1988. Understanding Research in Second Language Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Statistics and Research Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Casas-Tost, Helena and Sara, Rovira-Esteva (eds.). 2015. Guía de estilo para el uso de palabras de origen chino. Madrid: Adeli. URL: https://ddd.uab.cat/record/180644
  • Dillman, Don A. 2000. Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. New York: John Wiley.
  • Duff, Patricia A. 2010. “Research Approaches in Applied Linguistics.” In Handbook of Applied Linguistics, edited by R. Kaplan, 45–59. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Duff, Patricia. 2008. Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Ellis, Rod. 1997. SLA Research and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA.
  • Giannossa, Leonardo. 2016. “Corpus-Based Studies.” In Researching Translation and Interpreting, edited by Angelelli, Claudia V.; Baer, Brian James; 195–202. New York; Oxon: Routledge.
  • Hartley, James. 2008. Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook. London: Routledge.
  • Hou, Yueyang (侯月阳). 2007. “Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue Xueke Xingzhi ji Dingwei Xin Tan” (对外汉语教学学科性质及定位新探) [El nuevo estudio del chino como lengua extranjera como disciplina y su posición]. Yunnan Shifan Daxue Xuebao (云南师范大学学报), 5(4): 8-14.
  • Koval, Martín; Koval, S. 2015. ¿Cómo se hace un trabajo académico? Material de apoyo del Taller de metodología y redacción académica. Ediciones Inccertidumbre.
  • Litosseliti, Lia. 2010. Research Methods in Linguistics. London: Continuum.
  • Mackey, Alison; Gass, Susan M. 2005. Second Language Research. Methodology and Design. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Meyer, Bernd. 2016. “Case Studies.” In Researching Translation and Interpreting, edited by Angelelli, Claudia V.; Baer, Brian James, 177–84. New York; Oxon: Routledge.
  • Moore, Emilee, and Melinda Dooly (eds.). 2017. Enfoques cualitativos para la investigación en educación plurilingüe. Research-publishing.net. URL: https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2017.emmd2016.9781908416476 (W espcially recommend reading the chapter: “Investigar con docentes”, by Luci Nussbaum).  
  • Murray, Rowena, and Sarah Moore. 2006. The Handbook of Academic Writing. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.
  • Nicodemus, Brenda; Swabey, Laurie. 2016. “Action Research.” In Researching Translation and Interpreting, edited by Angelelli, Claudia V.; Baer, Brian James, 157–67. New York; Oxon: Routledge.
  • Nunan, David. 1992. Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Patton, Michael Quinn, and Michael Quinn. Patton. 2002. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
  • Perry, Fred L. 2005. Research in Applied Linguistics: Becoming a Discerning Consumer. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Ridley, Diana. 2008. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC: SAGE Publications Ltd.
  • Rigo, Antònia; Genescà, Gabriel. 2002. Cómo Presentar una Tesis y Trabajos de Investigación. Vic; Barcelona: Eumo, Octaedro.
  • Slafer, G A. 2009. “¿Cómo Escribir un Artículo Científico?” Revista de investigación en educación 6 (0): 124–32
  • Sun, Sanjun. 2016. “Survey-Based Studies.” In Researching Translation and Interpreting, editedby Angelelli, Claudia V.; Baer, Brian James,269–79. New York; Oxon: Routledge.
  • Sunderland, Jane. 2010. “Research Questions in Linguistics.” In Research Methods in Linguistics, edited by Lia Litosseliti, 9–28. London: Continuum.
  • Van Peer, Will, Jèmeljan Hakemulder, and Sonia Zyngier. 2012. Scientific Methods for the Humanities. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
  • Yin, Binyong, and Mary Felley. 1990. Hanyu Pinyin he Zheng Cifa Binyong Yin, Mary Felley = Chinese Romanization Pronunciation & Orthography. Beijing: Huayu jiaoxue chubanshe.
  • Yin, Robert K. 2009. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 4th ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
  • Zhou, Xiaobing (周小兵). 2017. “Hanyu Guoji Jiaoxue Zhuanye Shuoshi Biye Lunwen de Yanjiu Shejji yu Siezuo - Shang” (汉语国际教育专业硕士毕业论文的研究设计与写作[上]) [Diseño y elaboración del trabajo de final de màster de la especialidad de la enseñanza del chino como llengua extranjera (I)]. Xueke Jianshe Yanjiu (学科建设研究), 2(1): 25-32.
  • Zhou, Xiaobing (周小兵). 2017. “Hanyu Guoji Jiaoxue Zhuanye Shuoshi Biye Lunwen de Yanjiu Shejji yu Siezuo - Xia” (汉语国际教育专业硕士毕业论文的研究设计与写作[下]) [Diseño y elaboración del trabajo de final de màster de la especialidad de la enseñanza del chino como llengua extranjera (II]]. Xueke Jianshe Yanjiu (学科建设研究), 2(2): 31-40.

Software

- Reference manager: Zotero. https://www.zotero.org/


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish second semester afternoon