Exploration And Application Of Situational Teaching Approach In The Elementary Spoken Chinese Classes

Using the theories and principles of the Situational Language Teaching(SLT)method as a guideline for research,the present thesis aims to improve the overall quality of Spoken Chinese pedagogy and provide a number of practical suggestions for the usage of SLT in the oral classroom.In order to achieve this,the author has investigated into the true effectiveness of SLT,not only through conducting student interviews,but also through completing a series of full in-class recordings of Elementary Spoken Chinese at Xinjiang University.This paper is comprised of a total of six sections.Section One is an introduction,which not only focuses on the aim and significance of research,but also provides a comprehensive summary of the development of SLT as an independent teaching method,commenting upon both its origins and its gradual development from a mere theory to its practical usage in the classroom.Section Two provides an introduction and analysis of the definition of SLT and its related theories,giving an account of its most common pedagogical techniques.Furthermore,in order to make adequate preparations for a future career in teaching,the author has also described the principles which SLT should adhere to when being put into practice in the classroom.Section Three not only gives an in-depth survey and analysis of students' basic information,but also discusses the possibility of developing and adopting such a method as SLT in the future and the reasons therefor.Section Four,the main section of this thesis,aims to record the entire process of how SLT is implemented in the Elementary Spoken Chinese classroom.It focuses on a total of five different areas,including the ‘lead-in' to a new topic,the explanation of new words,the teaching of texts,the clarification of key language points and comprehensive oral practice.Section Five examines the overall effectiveness of SLT.First of all,the author shall not only prepare a series of questionnaires to measure how satisfied students are with SLT as a pedagogical method,but shall also analyze the students' end-of-term examination grades.Through the simultaneous analysis on both of the above,we can get a clearer picture of how effective this teaching method really is.Section Six refersto the findings made over the previous two chapters and contemplates both the shortcomings of SLT and the problems which may be faced upon its implementation,followed by a list of corresponding solutions.The author then provides a thesis summary and conclusion based on the previous chapters.