Collaborative knowledge building and sharing: Mobile app assists ethnic minority learning Chinese writing

Abstract

In Hong Kong, the number of students learning Chinese as a second language (CSL) increased by 50% in the past 10 years. Due to the significant differences in the language system of Chinese language, these students encountered enormous learning difficulties, especially in Chinese writing. The traditional way of teaching relies on teachers’ teaching and textbooks. However, this may induce a ceiling effect and also unease to update the teaching content to address individual student’s learning needs from time to time. It is observed that learning progress is slow and ineffective. Since information technology (IT) becomes popularize in the educational field as well as our daily living, we may make good use of it to solve the difficulties in learning CSL. The team developed a mobile application with related pedagogy named “mLang” in 2014. The effectiveness of the system has been examined in several schools implementing different school-based CSL curriculum. Research results showed that mLang effectively enhanced students CSL writing performance and self-regulated learning ability. Their writings were richer than before, and their writing motivation has been enhanced. mLang gives students a platform to share in the CSL class what they are interested in, and make their ideas and personal experiences as extended learning materials as mLang e-flash cards. Teacher examined and shared e-flash cards created by students with good quality among the class. They then have a pool of interesting ideas contributed by their peers to support their writing. This book chapter detailed explains the theoretical and pedagogical framework of mLang with an exemplar of teaching design and discusses how to use IT to assist CSL students’ learning.