The characteristics of quality online Chinese language teaching and learning in higher education: Perceptions of teachers and learners

The problem. The problem addressed by this study was the quality of online Chinese language teaching and learning in higher education. The aim of the study was to discover the characteristics of quality online Chinese language teaching and learning as identified by online Chinese language instructors and by learners taking online Chinese language courses and to determine to what extent there were similarities and/or differences between the characteristics as identified by the 2 survey samples. The objective was to discover to what extent there was a relationship between the findings of this study and Moore's (1983) theory of transactional distance, specifically dialogue and structure, in distance education.;Method. A 4-point Likert scale instrument of 39 items was developed. An open-ended element was included. Two identical survey instruments were administered to the 2 identified expert and learner samples. Fourteen expert responses (n = 14) from 10 colleges and universities and 50 learner responses (n = 50) from 6 colleges and universities across the United States were received.;Results. Data analysis of rank order of importance indicated that 35 items from the expert sample and 25 items from the learner sample were identified as important characteristics. Data analysis through an independent samples t test was conducted to compare the mean scores of the expert and learner samples and to determine whether significant differences existed between the 2 survey samples. Sixteen characteristics were found to be significantly different statistically, with t values of p = < .05; experts and learners were in agreement concerning the level of importance of the remaining characteristics.;Moore's theory of transactional distance was supported by the findings of this study; therefore, online Chinese language course developers and instructors should consider Moore's theory as an appropriate context within which to ground their online course designs.