GETTING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT’S BUY-IN: Target Language Only Mandarin Chinese Classes

CAPSTONE PROJECT OVERVIEW  This action research project explores what motivates high school students to buy into a Chinese language only classroom  55 high school Chinese level 1 students participated and the classes were 90 minutes in length  This project used a pre and post-survey and a pre and post-test as the data collection tools  I was looking for an overall increase in student buy in, motivation and consequently achievement over the course of the instructional intervention period  Of special interest were which strategies students considered to be the most motivating and engaging

PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE PROJECT Why was this project chosen?  The project was chosen primarily because I believe it is impossible for Chinese teachers to successfully conduct class in the target language for a full school year without student engagement and motivation  This is the largest challenge language teachers face as more and more school districts require an immersion setting.  This year was the largest problem with absenteeism I have seen since I started teaching seven years ago and I feel the root cause of this is a failure to motivate and engage students using only the Chinese language

PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE PROJECT Why was this project chosen?  Chinese level one students were selected because it is at this level that getting students motivated and buying into the target language only environment is most urgent  Action research was selected as the design model because it is the best fit for the problems I was addressing as I was also the teacher of the Chinese level 1 courses  There is also a large push for student-centered classes across the nation and I wondered if this would be the best way to get students to buy into a Chinese language only class

PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE PROJECT How does the project fit in the existing body of knowledge for grades 7-12 Chinese language instruction?  What is not known from the existing body of knowledge is how students themselves feel they are best motivate in the classroom. Educators are focused on successful classroom strategies, but how can that success be measured? Assessments generally focus on what a student remembers and has learned in the classroom, but it is difficult to assess from them a student’s drive to succeed in the class. Students will vote with their feet.  Students’ motivation is arguably the most important factor in maintaining a target language only environment for the entire school year. If teachers were given a sense of what makes a student buy into a target language only class, they would be much better equipped to develop classroom strategies aimed and increasing and preserving this motivation.  Student-centered learning seems to be the way target language only classes can be fruitful. But what is not addressed in the literature is do student- centered activities actually increase buy-in into a target language only class?

METHODS AND OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT Outline of strategies or methodologies used  90% of the class conducted in Mandarin Chinese  Language partners  Learning contracts  Daily timed conversations  Language ladders  Increased visuals

METHODS AND OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT  Slight change was seen in the classroom environment as more Chinese was being used by both the teacher and students  Change confirmed by data  Survey showed students moved from saying they learn a language for communication to learning something for fun  Survey also showed an increase in students saying they felt confident learning Chinese  Test scores were slightly higher Summary of results and conclusions

CHALLENGES FACED WHEN COMPLETING THIS PROJECT Discussion:

OUTLINE OF THE ISSUES ENCOUNTERED  Absenteeism and attrition  Unmotivated students giving useless responses to survey questions  Students were aware the research would not negatively impact their grade in the course, so for some students motivated by grades, they did not feel the need to give full answers to the survey and test questions

STRATEGIES USED TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES STRATEGIES Evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategies in completing the project  Referred students who were absent to administration  Circulated the classroom to try to encourage students to give full responses  None, because this particular strategy came out as a result of the data collected  I did not see any increase in students coming to class, in some cases students were even suspended  In some cases this helped, but some students remained disengaged

STRATEGIES USED TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES Prediction of how these strategies could be applied to other projects I develop  I think before I would refer a student to an administrator, I might try talking to a teacher the student goes to regularly to see how I might get them to return to my class  I do not think I would let the students know the impact on their grades before the survey or test  If I were to redo this project, I would not have said anything about whether or not the survey and test would affect student grades

WEAKNESSES OF THEPROJECT How were these weaknesses identified?  The weaknesses were identified because my intent was to modify the interventions as the instructional period progressed. However because of my numerous other duties could not do so to the extent that I wanted. Additional time would ultimately have given occasion to enhance the activities further or select better suited activities, thereby increasing student motivation.

WEAKNESSES OF THEPROJECT What revisions could be made to the project to address these weakness?  I could have been more discerning when selecting a time frame to conduct the instructional intervention with the classes, selecting a time when there were no other significant work related responsibilities.  If no such period of time could be found, I could have recorded the bulk of the lessons for later review

STRENGTHS OF THE PROJECT How were these strengths identified?  Open-ended questions on the survey  Number of students used in the research  Conducting the research in the middle of the year  The data gathered supported my predictions about the problem statement

STRENGTHS OF THE PROJECT How could these strengths be applied to other projects I develop?  Fewer open-ended questions because while it was beneficial for this project, I think I would avoid this type of question as it is quite difficult to collect  In the future, I would still try to have a high number of participants to add validity to my results  For future projects, I think it would be interesting to conduct the research in the beginning, middle and end of the year to see whether the time of year effects student buy-in  Were I to do more action research, I would ensure I ask only one or two questions so it would be just as easy to draw implications

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY Mandarin Chinese language in high school  Conduct the research across different levels of Chinese language only classes to track motivational changes  Conduct the research across elementary and middle schools to see if age effects student motivation in a Chinese language only class  Apply the study to other languages perceived to be easier for English speakers to learn and compare it to Chinese

DISCUSSION How can I apply what I learned from my capstone project be to my professional work environment?  The experience and skills gained over the course of this research project will help me be a more reflective teacher.  I have gained confidence to maintain a 90% Chinese language classroom environment for future school years.  The project has forced me consider how teachers truly affect student motivation through the design of the lesson, even with regards to the frequency and manner with which they assess students.