Short description:

The culmination of more than a decade of research, this compelling volume offers a fresh approach for applying functional linguistics to assess student performance, to inform the teaching and learning of Chinese and to design curriculum and teaching materials.

Long description:

The culmination of more than a decade of research, this compelling volume offers a fresh approach for applying functional linguistics to assess student performance, to inform the teaching and learning of Chinese and to design curriculum and teaching materials. Documenting authentic systemic functional linguistics (SFL) studies in researching and teaching Chinese as a first or second language, this research is set in the multilingual settings of Hong Kong and Australia. The experiences of SFL and genre teaching in English have been well demonstrated as valid, viable and practical in different contexts; however this volume covers the relatively new domain of research into the applications of SFL to the teaching of Chinese. Using SFL as the research framework, the authors cover three major areas in Chinese language education: effective pedagogies, curriculum and material design, and text analysis. Covering major local curriculum reforms and the rapid growth of International Baccalaureate programmes worldwide, this book will be of interest to linguists, language teachers and teacher educators and those involved in the teaching and learning of Chinese around the world.

Table of Contents:

List of contributors

1. Chapter 1: Introduction (Mark Shiu-kee SHUM and Peter MICKAN)

Part I: Research on Pedagogy

2. Chapter 2: Using Functional Grammar to Evaluate Students' Written Performance and its Implications for Teaching (Mark Shiu-kee SHUM)

3. Chapter 3: A Social Semiotic Perspective on Language Teaching: Why Context Matters (Peter MICKAN)

4. Chapter 4: Understanding Teachers? Languaging Dynamics for the Effectiveness of Chinese Language Teaching to Non-Chinese Speaking Students in Hong Kong (Dan SHI and Mark Shiu-kee SHUM)

5. Chapter 5: The Effectiveness of Reading to Learn Methodology to Improve Chinese Descriptive Writing Skills of Non-Chinese Speaking Secondary School Students in Hong Kong (JoJo Wan-shan YUNG)

6. Chapter 6: Effectiveness of Reading to Learn Pedagogy in Improving Chinese Second Language Learners? Reading and Writing Performance of Proposal (Cha-kie HIEW)

Part II: Research on Teaching Materials

7. Chapter 7: Bridging the Gap between the Classroom and the Real World: Using Authentic Texts in the Languages Classroom (Wei QU and Kathy PURVIS)

8. Chapter 8: A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Letters in Chinese Textbooks of Junior Secondary Schools in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (Yan-hua ZHANG)

9. Chapter 9: Learner as Participatory Agent of Material Adaptation: Strategy for Enacting International Mindedness in Mandarin B (Tung-fei LAM)

10. Chapter 10: Text Based Language Teaching Methodology in an IB Diploma Chinese Class (Maggie GU)

Part III: Research on Text Analysis

11. Chapter 11: An Appraisal Analysis of International Mindedness in Chinese Student Written Texts in the IB Diploma Programme (Kwok-ling LAU)

12. Chapter 12: Performance of Students of Diverse Abilities on the Chinese Integrated Language Skills: From Six Students? Written Performance on Chinese Integrated Language Skills in Hong Kong Public Examination (Judy Yuen-mai LAM)

13. Chapter 13: Development of Chinese Narrative Writing Skills in Primary 3 and 6 Students in Hong Kong (Paisley Tsz-mei CHEUNG)

14. Chapter 14: Using Appraisal Theory to Evaluate Primary School Students? Chinese Explanation Writing (Mark Shiu-kee SHUM and Guan-ying LI)

15. Chapter 15: A Systemic Functional Analysis of Second Language Explanatory Writing: A Possible Stance for Writing Assessment (Elizabeth Ka-yee LOH)

Index