Lesson Design For Task-based Intermediate Chinese Class In Korea

Chinese language learning entails four language skills:listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, writing is usually neglected in the beginner's class. Normally it is taught only after a student has reached a certain level in his or her listening, speaking and reading skills. Therefore in normal cases, one's writing abilities and skills hardly meet the early targets. In addition, even students at the advanced level have little interest in writing. This is probably linked to the traditional Product-Based Approach (PBA) in teaching, which is also the main approach used in the Chinese writing teaching in Korea. PBA is a teacher-centered approach:teachers assign a topic, students finish the assignment within the given time frame and teachers grade them. The teachers attend to the product-the accuracy of language forms, but they do not attend to the writing process. Nor do they attend to the writers themselves. To the students, writing is no longer a meaningful task but a dull and mechanical task.In view of this, a more effective approach is needed to improve the current situation in the Chinese writing class in Korean universities. Task-Based Approach (TBA) is popular in the EFL circle, it is a student-centered teaching approach, where the lesson is based around the completion of a central task by the students. This approach is envisaged to build the interest and to improve the writing skills as the students complete the task. To date, however, there is no effective model for the application of TBA in Chinese writing class. In view of this, this paper aims to research the application of TBA in Chinese writing teaching, and to design a task-based teaching model for Chinese teaching. TBA is a student-centered teaching approach.This paper consists of four chapters. Chapter one is the introduction. This chapter first explains the basic concepts of TBA, followed by introduction to the current research status of TBA in English and Chinese teaching in Korea. This chapter also highlights its advantages over the Product-Based Approach and Process-Based Approach in Chinese writing class.Chapter two is the survey on Korean students' expectations of a Chinese writing class. A survey was conducted on the Korean students from the intermediate class in Shandong University (China), and the Korean students from the Chinese Faculty intermediate class in Kyung-one University (Korea). From there, issues regarding students'interest, motif of study and teaching methodology are analyzed. Lesson designs are later created based on the results of the survey. Besides that, the principles and task genre that should be taken into account in designing a lesson are also proposed.Chapter three and Chapter four present a few examples of task-based lesson design. Based on the survey done earlier, the writer proposes a model which comprised of classroom activities at the three stages of task-based language teaching (pre-task, main task and post-task). In the writer's opinion, a task-based writing class provides a more practical and conductive environment to the Korean students, hence improves the students' language abilities and skills. A shift of focus from traditional teacher-centered approach to student-centered TBA allows both teachers and students to get involved in the Chinese writing lesson. This not only enhances the students'language abilities but also increases their interest.Finally is the conclusion. This chapter summarizes the shortcomings of the study and the prospects for future studies. This study envisages to provide a student-centered lesson design in the Chinese writing class. Task-based teaching focuses on the use of authentic materials, it allows for more meaningful communication in an authentic environment, students are more likely to be engaged in the tasks that they are familiar with, hence motivates them in their language learning and develops their language fluency.