An exploration of intended, enacted, and experienced TCSL e-learning curriculum in a Taiwan Master’s program
Creators: name: Chang, Wen-Hui
Publisher: name: RMIT University
Year: 2024

description: This dissertation presents a case study focusing on the role of e-learning in a Master’s degree program for teaching Chinese as a second language (TCSL) in an institute in a university in Taiwan.<br><br>This study aimed to explore in depth the relationship between e-learning education and TCSL curricula in Taiwan. An understanding of this relationship was first sought by exploring the existing literature and clarifying the meanings of e-learning more generally, investigating conceptual frameworks of curriculum, and then researching the developing role of e-learning firstly in CALL (computer-assisted language learning), and secondly in TCSL teacher preparation programs. This led to the conclusion that a systematic review of the situation in TCSL training in Taiwan was called for.<br><br>This research then sought to address the issue by conducting an in depth inquiry into the major stakeholders’ perceptions of the role of e-learning in TCSL in terms of their intended, enacted and experienced curricula within a TCSL Master’s program in Taiwan. The research design involved a qualitative case study, framed by an interpretivist theoretical perspective and grounded in a constructionist epistemology. The primary research question was “How did the major stakeholders in the case study conceive of the role of e-learning education in a TCSL Master’s program in Taiwan?” Qualitative data collection methods and data analysis techniques were chosen to facilitate an extensive understanding of e-learning in relation to the TCSL Master’s program.<br><br>The findings suggest that perspectives and experiences varied among the participants generally in expected ways but with some surprises. Overall, it was found that, within this Master’s program, e-learning was not a valued component. Three main areas of discussion arose from the findings. First, the factors that contributed to negative influences on participants’ perspectives about the importance of students’ e-learning development in their intended curricula. These were participants’ perceptions of e-learning in TCSL, their prior e-learning experiences in TCSL practice, and their perspectives on the relationship between TCSL teachers’ e-learning competence and job opportunities. Second, when Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) TPACK framework was used to evaluate participants’ curricula in relation to the formal courses of the Master’s program, none of the technology-related types of knowledge was found to be adequately catered for in the program. Third, participants had limited experience in relation to TCSL synchronous online distance learning despite an increasing demand for online TCSL teachers worldwide due to the radical development of ICT in the field of L2 education.<br><br>The research suggests a neglect of a significant role for e-learning in TCSL professional education, both in terms of applying up-to-date theories for L2 learning and in terms of preparing teachers for the explosive growth in international demand for CSL on-line teaching and learning. It adds to this research by providing insights into the perspectives underlying current practice by the three major sets of stakeholders in TCSL education, by drawing out the implications of the findings in terms of theoretical as well as practical perspectives, and by providing helpful recommendations for future research.<br><br>