Designing And Implementing Task-based Instruction for Teaching Chinese as A Second Language

This research is a case study in Shanghai of the Task-Based Instruction (TBI) in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign language (TCFL). It aimed at exploring the teaching strategies and effectiveness of TBI through the analysis of course design, curriculum implementation and evaluation. Three questions were addressed: (1) What are the criteria for designing a high-quality TBI teaching plan? (2) What are teachers' major concerns about the implementation of TBI? (3) Is TBI effective in the TCFL classrooms? This research consisted of three stages: the pilot study, the main study, and the advanced study. The pilot study was the preparation for the main study. The main study was the core phase of this research. The advanced study was the implementation of a fine-tuned TBI teaching plan based on the main study.;This research study found that the evaluation criteria for designing a high-quality TBI teaching plan should include three aspects: the overall design, the implementation details, and design of assessment. The overall design refers to the master plan of the course design and the specification of learning objectives. The implementation details refer to the teaching schedule, the selection and design of tasks, teaching strategies, and teaching resources. The assessment refers to the assessment of stUdent learning in different stages.;This research showed that teachers had three types of concerns when implementing TBI. The teachers with information concerns were eager to know more about the features and requirements of TBI. Their management concerns focused on course preparation, teaching process, and the ability to effectively implement the teaching tasks of TBI. The teachers' consequence concerns were related to whether TBI tasks have positive effects on student learning in the TCFL classrooms. These findings are helpful information for schools and teachers to improve the implementation of TBI.;This research study also found that implementation of TBI can facilitate students to participate actively in learning tasks, improve their learning motivation, enhance their Chinese communication skills, and strengthen their learning of the language forms of Chinese. However, these effects were influenced by the level of Chinese proficiency of individual students.;Overall, the study provided empirical evidence of the feasibility, practicality and effectiveness of implementing TBI in TCFL classrooms.