Teaching Intermediate Spoken Chinese Online

Though hampered by COVID-19,the TCSOL class has revived due to the introduction of online teaching platforms.The soaring Internet Technology has provided learners with 24/7 location-free access to all the materials and resources needed,resulting in higher student stickiness.For adult international students,especially those who work in China,driven by the urgent need to communicate with colleagues and friends,speaking proficiency will be their top priority.Such being the case,how best to organize efficient spoken lessons becomes a valuable research question.This thesis is a case study on applying online teaching methods as a way to teach intermediate Spoken Chinese to Korean employees from SK Hynix Semiconductor.The researcher reviewed previous studies on “teaching intermediate spoken Chinese” and“online teaching of spoken Chinese”.Four teaching principles can be drawn,i.e.,“pay simultaneous attention to both input and output”,“be communication-oriented”,“be accurate and appropriate”,and “attend to students’ emotional needs”.The researcher also analyzed the three methods for teaching intermediate spoken Chinese.Meanwhile,by utilizing a questionnaire survey on the Current Use of Online Platforms for Spoken Chinese Classes,the advantages and downsides of online teaching practices have been demonstrated.To understand the influence of using online platforms on teaching intermediate spoken Chinese,the researcher conducted a real teaching practice.The lesson design was based on a text entitled When shall we go to the cinema? from the series textbook Our Chinese Classroom(Book 2 Lesson 3),and it is in line with the teaching principles mentioned above.The subjects are Korean employees from SK Hynix Semiconductor(Chongqing).This practice systematically presented how an intermediate spoken Chinese class can be organized through the online platform.The researcher also administered a post-class questionnaire to collect students’ reactions to the class.After careful reflection on this class,the researcher proposed the following suggestions:As for teachers,they should(1)choose a favorable online platform and learn to use it wisely(2)integrate multiple teaching methods to foster a speaking-oriented environment;(3)guide students to transfer knowledge into practice;(4)set up classroom disciplines and encourage students to regulate each other;As for students,they should(1)improve their self-learning awareness and be more involved in classroom activities;(2)get to know more about Chinese culture,immerse themselves in the surroundings and take the initiative to speak Chinese;Last but not the least,the classroom should be(1)well-equipped;(2)and confined to a proper size.