Chinese oral incubator using Hybrid knowledge management theories

Abstract

International students speak Chinese unnaturally. The reason to this is that the existing Chinese Language training course focuses on grammar-based and content- based, not application oral Chinese language in real situations. To identify the critical problem, the College of Chinese & ASEAN Arts (CCAA), Chengdu University is selected as the case study. Purposive sampling method is used for sample selection which are students from Thailand, Laos, and South Korea. In order to promote CCAA Asian students' oral proficiency, research objectives are i) to identify critical issues of Asian students' oral proficiency problems, and ii) to evaluate the effectiveness of solution model. This research integrates theories and methods namely Learning in Action (LIA), Communities of Practice (CoPs), and After Action Review (AAR) to create the solution model named "Chinese Oral incubator". LIA is used for design intelligent activities while Cops creates active learning environment for promoting confidence during the oral performance. In this environment, international students can practice each domain knowledge among the friends without shy. Besides, AAR is used for reflection learning during and after learning process. Research methodology is classified into two section including problem identification and solution. In problem identification, 10 CCAA Asian students were selected as samples to find out the root cause of unnatural Chinese oral proficiency. Then, solution section adjusts learning environment from grammar-based and content- based teaching to be "Chinese Oral Incubator" including online-class, and situated learning. This incubator, covers five stages which are i) capture knowledge, ii) refine knowledge, iii) practice and produce knowledge, iv) apply knowledge, and v) leverage knowledge. First, "Capture knowledge" is for capture domain knowledge and professional language teaching skill from expert in order to arrange activities in this research. Then, "Refine knowledge" aims to recall relevant knowledge and build up language level on basis of knowledge stock. Next, "Practice and Produce knowledge" are designing oral practice activities to simulate real application, and to motivate both oral Chinese interaction and sentences production. After that, "'Apply knowledge" emphasizes situated learning in a real situation. Students practiced and talked with native Chinese speakers to handle various real situations by using productive domain knowledge from online class. Finally, "Leverage Knowledge" ends with oral evaluation, and reflections on both students' oral performance and implementation work. This reflections' result will contribute to the final modification of solution model. This implementation is last for two weeks. This research confirms that Chinese oral incubator can strengthen international students' oral ability. In this research "B1" is a certified level that students can speak Chinese naturally. Findings are namely: ㆍ In domain 1, six samples' oral abilities including speech, conversation, sentence reached level B1 and above. For content, three of them achieved B1, and another three got A2. ㆍFor domain 2, five samples reached level B2 in speech, conversation, sentence, and content. Implementation results prove the effectiveness of this proposed incubator. Productive knowledge makes CCAA Asian students absorb quicker. Practice activities benefit students on domain knowledge digestion, and get better understanding. Consequently, all CCAA Asian samples make progress on Chinese oral ability (based on criteria of speech, conversations, sentences and contents).