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The Impact of Character Analysis and Reading Aloud on the Chinese Proficiency at Second
Grade in a Language Immersion School
Haibin Li
Chapter 1: Introduction
• Overview• Problem Statement• Purpose• Research Questions• Community• Work Setting• Writer’s Role• Definition of Terms• Summary
Chapter 1: Overview
• School: CMS Language Magnate School• Program: Chinese Immersion• Students: Second Graders• Problem: Some students are not at grade level• Goal: Design strategies to improve Chinese
proficiency
Chapter 1: Problem Statement
Some of the students of a Chinese Immersion program in second grade are not demonstrating proficiency in character recognition, reading fluency, and oral communication in Chinese. Their Chinese performances are not at grade level.
Chapter 1: Purpose
• Identify the causes of low proficiency in Chinese
• Design and implement effective teaching strategies
• Help students improve Chinese proficiency with guided practices
Chapter 1: Research Questions
• Can character structure analysis help students improve proficiency in Chinese?
• Can additional reading aloud practice help students improve proficiency in Chinese?
Chapter 1: Community
• School Location: Urban area in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Total Population: 19,388• Median Age: 30.5• Average House Value: $83,600• Average Household Income: $50,484• Public Schools: 1 regular home-based
school, and 1 language magnet school
Chapter 1: Work Setting
• 98 certified administrative staff• 40 target language teachers• 71% teachers have a Bachelor’s degree, 29%
Master’s degree• 30% professional staff is not U.S. citizens• Languages include German, French, Japanese,
Chinese, and Spanish• In year 2011grade 4 test 80% students at or
above basic reading level, and 95% math
Chapter 1: Writer’s Role
• B.A. degree in English Teaching, former English teacher in China
• Native Chinese speaker• Joined CMS in 2008 as a teaching
assistant• Second grade Chinese Immersion
Teacher since year 2010
Chapter 1: Definition of Terms
• PBIS: Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports
• PEP: Personal Education Plan• RTI: Response to Intervention
Chapter 1: Summary
The research will investigate the impact of character structure analysis and extra reading-aloud practice on the Chinese proficiency at second grade. The ultimate goal is to help two of the twenty-two students in the class who have low Chinese proficiency to move up to grade level, and to establish repeatable teaching practices that can be utilized to assist low performing students in the future.
Chapter 2: Study of the Problem / Literature Review
• Overview• Problem Documentation• Literature Review• Causative Analysis• Summary
Chapter 2: Overview
• Some of the students of a Chinese Immersion program are not demonstrating proficiency.
• There are various causes to the problem: limited opportunity to practice, different culture, different character and language structure, etc.
• This chapter will study the problem further by first review the literatures in the area of Chinese proficiency, and then provide a causative analysis of the problem.
Chapter 2: Problem Documentation
Regarding Chinese proficiency, among 22 second graders, 5 of them are under grade level • Weekly writing: – Student 1 can barely write any sentence correctly. – Student 2 can write some sentences with
grammar errors. – Student 3, 4, and 5 can write very simple
sentences but not enough to express ideas clearly in Chinese writing.
Chapter 2: Problem Documentation (Continued)
• Speaking– Student 1 can say some Chinese characters but can
barely communicate in Chinese with whole sentences. – Student 2 can sometimes speak with whole sentences
but still has difficulties in expressing ideas fluently. – Student 3 seldom spoke in Chinese but sometimes can
answer question in Chinese although it took long time to compose sentences.
– Student 4 can speak Chinese with mixed English words. – Student 5 can say some sentences with grammar errors.
Chapter 2: Problem Documentation (Continued)
• Listening– Student 1 and 2 can understand common daily
phrases related to generic greetings and everyday classroom activities, but lack of ability of comprehension when it comes to listening practices and tests.
– Student 3, 4, and 5 can understand basic daily Chinese communication and classroom instructions, but have difficulties in listening comprehension practices.
Chapter 2: Problem Documentation (Continued)
• Test Scores (Phrase Making)
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Class Average
Week 1 3/15 6/1510/15 10/15 10/15
11/15
Week 2 3/15 5/159/15 8/15 10/15
11/15
Week 3 4/15 6/1510/15 9/15 9/15
12/15
Week 4 5/15 5/158/15 9/15 11/15
11/15
Week 5 4/15 6/159/15 10/15 10/15
12/15
Chapter 2: Problem Documentation (Continued)
• Comprehensive Test Scores
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4 Student 5 Class Average
Preliminary Test 50 57 56 56 58 70
Dictation 1 45 45 63 63 72 81
Dictation 2 58 58 83 75 75 85
Dictation 3 66 58 84 75 76 85
Unit Test 1 68 53 83 82 87 87
Unit Test 2 31 60 87 77 80 87
Reading Test 1 52 42 54 56 58 63
Chapter 2: Literature Review
• Chinese as Second Language Programs–Chinese as Second Language (CSL)–Chinese Immersion (CI)–Heritage Language (HL) Learning–Dual-language Immersion (DLI)
Chapter 2: Literature Review (Continued)
• Difficulties in Chinese Learning–Complicated characters and compound
word– Four-tone pronunciation of characters–History and enriched cultural contents
embedded in language
Chapter 2: Literature Review (Continued)
• Chinese Teaching Philosophies and Strategies– Transmission model: Teacher provides instruction
while learners play a passive role. Emphasize on learning of discrete skills and sub-skills.
– Constructivist model: Learners are active participants and teachers facilitate the learning. Emphasize on acquire knowledge through being immersed in social environments.
– History and cultural contents in teaching and learning– Language elements and syntax structure
Chapter 2: Causative Analysis
• Complicated Character Structure• Lack of Practice Opportunity• Lack of Motivation
Chapter 2: Summary
This chapter investigated in more details the problem of low proficiency in Chinese as second language programs. Even in a Chinese Immersion school where students have more opportunities to practice Chinese in classroom activities and interpersonal communications, the students’ Chinese proficiency is not completely at satisfactory level. Literature review showed that there are various causes to the problem. Complex character structures and limited practicing opportunities are the two main obstacles in the students’ path to Chinese proficiency.
Chapter 3: Expected Outcomes and Procedures for Data Analysis
• Overview• Design of Study• Research Questions• Methodology• Summary
Chapter 3: Overview
• The causes of the low Chinese proficiency are mainly in two folds: complex character structures, and limited practicing opportunities.
• Character structure analysis could be helpful for students to get familiar with the structures and build up vocabulary.
• Repeated reading-aloud of texts could remedy the limitation on practicing opportunities.
Chapter 3: Design of Study
• Character Analysis– Pictograms: to use the character structure to
emulate the shape of objects, for example, 人 (person), 木 (wood).
– Indicators: to use the character structure as abstract indicators for actions or object status. For example, 上 (above): use two lines above a horizontal line to indicate above; 看 (look): use a hand ( 手 ) above eyes ( 目 ) to indicate looking.
Chapter 3: Design of Study (Continued)
• Character Analysis– Ideograms: to use two or more standalone characters to form a
new character that carries unified meaning of the standalone characters. For example, 森 (forest): three wood ( 木 ) characters to convey the idea of a lot of wood in a forest, 尘 (dust): the top part means small ( 小 ) and the bottom means dirt ( 土 ).
– Phonograms are mostly based on two standalone characters, one indicating the shape of the object and another indicating the sound of the characters. For example, 湖 (lake): the three dots on the left side indicates water and the right side ( 胡 ) the same pronunciation as 湖 , 骑 (horseback riding): the left side is horse ( 马 ) and the right ( 奇 ) has the same pronunciation as 骑 .
Chapter 3: Design of Study (Continued)
• Extensive Reading-aloud Practice– In class and at home practices– Texts from textbook and additional Chinese
reading materials– Extra four-tone pronunciation practices
Chapter 3: Research Questions
• Can character structure analysis help students improve proficiency in Chinese?
• Can additional reading aloud practice help students improve proficiency in Chinese?
Chapter 3: Methodology
• Participants: five low performing students from second grade Chinese Immersion class
• Instruments: The scores from four tests, YCT (Youth Chinese Test), Chinese Preliminary Test, Class Weekly Dictation, and Chinese Unit Test
Chapter 3: Methodology (Continued)
• Procedures– Obtain consent form from parents– Collect baseline test scores– Apply the teaching strategies in classroom teaching
for six weeks– Collect test scores along with the teaching/learning
process– Analyze test scores to determine effectiveness of the
teaching strategies– Student survey on the research process
Chapter 3: Summary
This chapter described the design of the study and its methodology. There are two main focuses in the study: use character structure analysis to reinforce students’ ability in character recognition, and use repeated reading-aloud practice to compensate the lack of practice outside of classroom. Corresponding strategies are incorporated in classroom teaching and participants’ performances are tracked. The collected data will be analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the strategies in next chapter.
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
• Overview• Report of Results• Summary
Chapter 4: Overview
The chapter presents test scores to show the differences between before and after applying the above teaching techniques. Data from four assessment areas are gathered: character dictation, phrase dictation, sentence making, and reading comprehension.
Chapter 4: Report of Results
Character Dictation Before After
Student 1 2/11
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Chapter 4: Report of Results (Continued)
Phrase Dictation Before After
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Chapter 4: Report of Results (Continued)
Phrase Making Before After
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Chapter 4: Report of Results (Continued)
Reading Comprehension Before After
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Chapter 4: Summary
This chapter presented the test results on the effects of character structure analysis and reading aloud practice on Chinese teaching and learning. Four areas of baseline test scores, character dictation, phrase dictation, sentence making, and reading comprehension, were gathered before applying the techniques, as a comparison to those collected after.
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