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Coding and Comparing Pedagogic Features of Teaching Practices: What Happens in Chinese Language Classes in Singapore’s Primary Schools?

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Quadrilingual Education in Singapore

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Abstract

This chapter explores the nature of Chinese language (CL) instruction in terms of the pedagogical innovations in Singapore’s primary schools. Through analyzing the empirical data collected in a curriculum-evaluation project funded by Singapore’s Ministry of Education (MOE), we aim to investigate to what extent new approaches have been adopted by teachers in lower grade CL classrooms. Data analysis established that the tailored teaching approaches advocated by the MOE were practiced by the CL teachers for the most part, including student-centeredness and communicative teaching through the use of interactive strategies. However, the learning outcomes featured in different modules were somewhat out of alignment with the expectations of the curriculum developers. This paper argues that these discrepancies should be examined critically, taking into consideration the social and personal realities in classrooms. The findings can further understanding of the complexities of implementing educational reform programs in multilingual classrooms in Singapore, where ethnic mother tongues are taught as second languages.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Also referred to as IRE (Initiation-Response-Evaluation).

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Acknowledgment

This chapter refers to data from the research project “Effectiveness of the Chinese Modular Curriculum in Singapore Primary Schools: An Evaluation Study” (OER 52/08 ZSH), funded by the Education Research Funding Programme, National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The views expressed in this paper are the authors’ and do not necessarily represent the views of NIE. We thank the teachers and students in the participating schools for their generous support and the many full-time and part-time research assistants for their hard work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Shouhui Zhao

  2. Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China

    Shouhui Zhao

  3. School of International Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Guowen Shang

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  1. Shouhui Zhao
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  2. Guowen Shang
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Correspondence to Shouhui Zhao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, Singapore

    Rita Elaine Silver

  2. Crandall University, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

    Wendy D. Bokhorst-Heng

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Zhao, S., Shang, G. (2016). Coding and Comparing Pedagogic Features of Teaching Practices: What Happens in Chinese Language Classes in Singapore’s Primary Schools?. In: Elaine Silver, R., Bokhorst-Heng, W. (eds) Quadrilingual Education in Singapore. Education Innovation Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-967-7_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-967-7_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-287-965-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-967-7

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