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Difficulties and Expectations of First Level Chinese Second Language Learners

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Book cover Explorations into Chinese as a Second Language

Part of the book series: Educational Linguistics ((EDUL,volume 31))

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight the difficulties and expectations of first-level Mandarin Chinese (Throughout the paper, the term Chinese will be used to specifically refer to Mandarin Chinese) as a second language (CSL) learners, as well as to investigate the connections that exist between these factors and the learning process. The respondents who participated in the study include 85 CSL first-level learners, studying at one Italian university and three Italian secondary schools. Data was collected through a survey encompassing the following six areas: aural reception, aural production, reading, writing, grammar and spoken interaction. The influence of beliefs, concerning perceived difficulty on students’ performance, was evaluated using a proficiency test created to adhere to the six areas investigated by the survey. The results revealed that the majority of respondents seemed to be aware that learning Chinese is a long and complex process, while at the same time, students enrolled in long-term language courses declared high achievement expectations. Within the framework of this study, perception of difficulty is especially focused on aural reception, writing and reading ability. The study offers a preliminary investigation on the connections between performance, expectations and perceptions of difficulty in the first-level Chinese language learning process.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR.AOODGPER.REGISTROUFFICIALE(U).0003560.11-04-2014), www.istruzione.it.

  2. 2.

    According to the Italian Ministry of Education Decree N. 249, September 10th, 2010, any secondary school teacher that desires to be employed on a long term contract is required to possess this type of training certificate.

  3. 3.

    See:http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/notizie/2013-02-08/istituto-confucio-pisa-corsi-cinese142302.shtml?uuid=AbIxwVSH, accessed on February 8th, 2013.

  4. 4.

    See Appendix A.

  5. 5.

    Yang and Medwell’s paper is contained within this same volume, Chap. 6.

  6. 6.

    All of the students were recorded. These recording were listened to and analyzed by the same person, a mother tongue CSL teacher.

  7. 7.

    For a definition of enjoyability and motivation see Freddi (1990), Balboni (2002), Caon (2004).

  8. 8.

    All the students who took part in the research were taught using a method that prefers the communicative based task approach, rather than grammar based task approach.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies, Cultures, Languages, Literatures, Arts, Media (DISCUI), University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Piazza Rinascimento, 7-61029, Urbino, PU, Italy

    Gloria Gabbianelli

  2. Department of Foreign Languages Teachers, IIS Savoia Benincasa, Via Marini 33, 60100, Ancona, AN, Italy

    Agnese Formica

Authors
  1. Gloria Gabbianelli
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  2. Agnese Formica
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Correspondence to Gloria Gabbianelli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, ED 114, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA

    Istvan Kecskes

Appendices

Appendices

1.1 Appendix A

figure a
figure b
figure c

1.2 Appendix B

figure d
figure e

1.3 Appendix C

1.3.1 Description of Respondents

Institution

Number of students

Age

Type of course

Mother- tongue Lecturer

Course hours

Course Length

1. University Of Urbino

13

20–27

University course Chinese as major

yes

280/year

3 years

250/mother tongue lecturer + 30/grammar

2. Liceo Linguistico Benincasa Secondary school

49

15

Compulsory curricular third language

yes

90/year

5 years

Two classes

2 grammar classes + 1 mother tongue class/week

3. Liceo Scientifico Marconi Secondary school

11

15–17

Elective curricular course

no

50/year

1 year

Mixed class 2nd–4th school year

4. Mattei Technical secondary school

14

16–17

Elective non- curricular course credited

no

18/year

1 year

3rd–4th school year

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Gabbianelli, G., Formica, A. (2017). Difficulties and Expectations of First Level Chinese Second Language Learners. In: Kecskes, I. (eds) Explorations into Chinese as a Second Language. Educational Linguistics, vol 31. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54027-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54027-6_8

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-54027-6

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