using weibo (chinese twitter) for chinese classes

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Yinghua Cai MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2013 Monterey Institute of International Studies USING WEIBO FOR CHINESE CLASSES: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PEDAGOGICAL SCAFFOLDING

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Page 1: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

Yinghua Cai

MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2013

Monterey Institute of International Studies

USING WEIBO FOR CHINESE CLASSES: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE

OF PEDAGOGICAL SCAFFOLDING

Page 2: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

BACKGROUND

• Since July 2012, I have experimented with the idea of using Weibo, a

Chinese social networking tool, to teach college-level Chinese classes. I

taught three content-based classes related to Weibo to adult students in the

2012 Summer Intensive Language Program (SILP) at the Monterey Institute

of International Studies (MIIS). In Fall 2012, through a student-run

language club, Beyond Yourself in Language Development (B.U.I.L.D.) at

MIIS, I taught an advanced-level interest course named Chinese Social

Media, which incorporated a Weibo group as the main channel for class

participant communication. In retrospect, I found my own teaching

experience with Weibo not only worthy of documentation but also worthy of

further analysis, which may shed light on teaching with social networking

sites (SNSs) as well as pedagogical scaffolding in general.

Page 3: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

WEIBO (微博)

Page 4: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

DEFINITION OF WEIBO

• Kai-Fu Lee, Founder of the Chinese venture capital Innovation Works, explains what Weibo is and why it is important on LinkedIn. He says,

• “Weibo literally means ‘micro-blog’, and some have called Weibo ‘the Chinese Twitter’. But more accurately, Weibo is a 500-character Twitter with Facebook look-and-feel, in a country with very few high-quality traditional media. Weibo is offered by several companies, with Sina having a leadership position.”

Page 5: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SOCIAL NETWORKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

• McBridge (2009)

• Antenos-Conforti (2009)

• Baran (2010)

• Friday (2010)

• Johnson (2011)

• Kabilan, Ahmad & Abidin (2010)

• Mills & Chandra (2011)

• Raguseo (2010)

• Harrison & Thomas (2009)

Page 6: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SCAFFOLDING

• The game consists of an initial contact, the establishment of joint attention,

disappearance, reappearance, and acknowledgement of renewed contact. These

obligatory features or the “syntax” of the game occur together with optional

features, such as vocalizations to sustain the infant’s interest, responses to the

infant’s attempts to uncover the mother’s face, etc. These “non-rule bound” parts

of the game are an instance of the mother providing a “scaffold” for the child

(Bruner & Sherwood, 1975, p. 280). 

Page 7: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SCAFFOLDING

• In parallel with Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of an expert assisting a novice, Wood et al.  (1976) described scaffolding as the support given to a younger learner by an older, more experienced adult and identified certain processes that aid effective scaffolding:

• Gaining and maintaining the learner’s interest in the task.

• Making the task simple.

• Emphasizing certain aspects that will help with the solution.

• Control  the child’s level of frustration.

• Demonstrate the task.

Page 8: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

PEDAGOGICAL SCAFFOLDING

Van Lier (2007)

Page 9: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

CASE STUDY

• Van Lier (2005) suggested that case studies are very useful for graduate

students in SLA; not only should they study classic case studies in the field

but they should also conduct their own small case study to bring to life the

theoretical knowledge introduced in the textbooks and research articles.

• As for the potential topics for case study, van Lier (2005) proposes that the

role of technology in SLA is in need of case study research.

• Furthermore, Duff (2008) concludes that online language development and

use is one emerging field for case study research given the increasing use of

computers and the Internet in language education.

Page 10: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND PEDAGOGICAL SCAFFOLDING

• Although language teachers shared  their teaching experience in using SNSs

such as Facebook and Ning (Damron & Forlano, 2009), in-depth analyses of

their own teaching practice in terms of pedagogical scaffolding are still

lacking (van Lier, 2007). Huang (2012) discusses scaffolding with backward

design when dealing with 4 Weibo Genres and suggests potential class

activities to be included in Chinese classes ; however, more work still needs

to be done with regard to pedagogical scaffolding (van Lier, 2007).

Page 11: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

RESEARCH QUESTION

How can pedagogical scaffolding be achieved for Chinese classes using Weibo?

Page 12: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING 

Page 13: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

MATERIALS

• lesson plans

• handouts

• tutorials

• reflection notes

• Weibo posts

• observer feedback

• teaching videos

Page 14: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

RESEARCH QUESTION

How can pedagogical scaffolding be achieved for Chinese classes using Weibo?

Page 15: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

PROCEDURES AND ANALYSIS

• For the three SILP classes, I watched the three teaching videos multiple

times and transcribed part of the class interaction. Based on the videos, I

matched students’ behaviors (verbal and/or non-verbal) with the expected

learning outcomes (course and/or lesson objectives). Once expected learning

outcomes were observed, I identified relevant course materials and teacher

behaviors, which contributed to such “achievement”. My teaching

reflections, including what worked well and what did not, were used as a

reference to back up my interpretation of the “achievement”.

• For my Chinese Social Media class, I collected all the posts in the Weibo

group, and matched them with course and/or lesson objectives. If students’

posts showed desirable learning outcomes, I identifed relevant course

materials and teacher behaviors, which contributed to such “achievement”.

The observer’s feedback, in this case, will be used as a reference.

Page 16: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

PROCEDURES AND ANALYSIS

• If students have met certain course objectives and completed designated tasks in a lesson, then my pedagogical scaffolding can be viewed as “achieved”. After that, by closely looking at the lesson plans and course materials, my observer’s feedback, as well as the teaching videos and posts in the Weibo group, I will identify and explain van Lier’s (2007) salient design features of pedagogical scaffolding, which involves continuity, contextual support, intersubjectivity, contingency, handover/takeover, and flow on both the course level and activity level, where “achievement” has been observed.

Page 17: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

• CAN-DO STATEMENT

Page 18: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SILP INTERMEDIATE: STUDENTS CAN SIGN UP FOR A WEIBO ACCOUNT.

• Continuity: Task connections (Vocab-Tutorial-Worksheet-Registration)

• Contextual support: Vocabulary list, tutorials, tutorial worksheet

• Intersubjectivity: Peer scaffolding (unintentional)

• Contingency: Individual consultation during account registration

• Handover: Handouts (people worth following)

• Flow: Four skills involved, first-time using the tool, excitement

Page 19: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SILP ELEMENTARY: STUDENTS CAN SIGN UP FOR A WEIBO ACCOUNT.

• Continuity: Task connections (Vocab-Tutorial-Worksheet-Registration)

• Contextual support: Vocabulary list, tutorials, tutorial worksheet

• Intersubjectivity: Peer scaffolding (unintentional)

• Contingency: Individual consultation during account registration

• Handover: Handouts (people worth following)

• Flow: Four skills involved, first-time using the tool, excitement

Page 20: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

SILP ADVANCED: STUDENTS CAN SIGN UP FOR A WEIBO ACCOUNT.

• Continuity: Task connections (Vocab-Tutorial-Registration)

• Contextual support: vocabulary list, tutorials

• Intersubjectivity: NA

• Contingency: Individual consultation with the instructor

• Handover: Handouts (people worth following), presentation prep

• Flow: NA

Page 21: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

CHINESE SOCIAL MEDIA CLASS: STUDENTS CAN ENGAGE IN WEIBO GROUP CONVERSATIONS.

Page 22: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

STUDENT GOAL SETTING (EXAMPLES)

Page 23: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

LIMITATIONS

• Researcher bias

• Limited in terms of the instructional time, number of students, nature of the program and/or class

Page 24: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

VALUE

• Learner training (e.g., Dickinson, 1996; Jiménez Raya, 1998; Wenden, 1991; White, 2008)

• Promoting learner autonomy

• In-service and/or pre-service teacher training

Page 25: Using Weibo (Chinese Twitter) for Chinese Classes

Questions?

Suggestions?

Anything you want to share?

Contact: [email protected]