LITERATURE REVIEW - Teacher Satisfaction with Online Mandarin Chinese Courses at National Taiwa

In order to serve the needs of this study, the following literature review focused on important aspects of online courses and teacher satisfaction were arranged. This chapter was divided into the following six sections: mandarin language education for foreigners, mandarin language centers in Taiwan, online education programs and courses, online mandarin Chinese program of the mandarin training center, teacher satisfaction and teacher satisfaction factors with online courses.

Mandarin Language Education for Foreigners in Taiwan

In the last decades, Taiwan has been promoting the study of mandarin Chinese in order to increase the number of mandarin speakers throughout the world. The mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world over one billion speakers and is the only official language in China, the reading and writing systems of Chinese own unique confrontations to language education (Tian et al., 2010). Taiwan is an island with an area of 35,981 square kilometers and a population of about 21 million people situated 150 kilometers away from the south-eastern coast of the mainland China (Tsao, 1999). The number of foreign students who decide to study in Taiwanese universities and language centers are increasing due to the importance of the mandarin Chinese in today’s globalization. Taiwan owns an excellent education system and welcomes international students to study undergraduate, graduate and mandarin Chinese studies.

Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world and it’s used as an official language in China, Taiwan and Singapore. This language is also used by Chinese immigrants who live in other countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia, Thailand, Russia, United States, United Kingdom and Canada. In China, this language is known as Pǔtōnghuà “普通話” which means common speech and in Taiwan is known as Guóyǔ “國 語”which means national language. Chinese is spoken in different dialects such as Cantonese, Wu, Hokkien “Min Nan” and Hakka, but overall mandarin Chinese is the most spoken throughout the world. The mandarin Chinese language was established by the Kuomintang, one of the political parties in Taiwan, as the only politically legitimate language (Hsiau, 1997).

The most important language policy of Kuomintang party was the propagation of mandarin

Chinese as the national language of Taiwan (Tsao, 1999). The high quality of the Taiwanese education is offered at undergraduate and graduate levels. The Taiwanese higher education system allows national and international students to undertake undergraduate studies in universities, colleges and technical colleges in four years and graduate studies in a period of two or more years. The government of Taiwan offers scholarships for international students who wish to study in language centers and universities. The importance of mandarin Chinese education has kept pace with China’s economic development since its modernization process in early 1980’s and more than 2,300 universities in 100 countries teach mandarin Chinese courses as part of their curriculum (Ding & Saunders, 2006).

Mandarin Language Centers in Taiwan

The language centers allow students to study mandarin Chinese in the library, classrooms, multimedia rooms, auditoriums, language laboratories, conference rooms, computer laboratories and student lounges. These language laboratories allow students to practice their mandarin Chinese' listening, speaking, reading and writing. The facilities of Taiwan universities include libraries, research centers, audiovisual rooms, conference rooms, cafeterias, shops, health center, exhibition halls, sports and dormitories facilities. Many Taiwanese education institutions have exchange programs with sister institutions around the world in order to enhance academic cooperation. The exchange students who come to Taiwan want to learn the language due to employment, business, cultural and historical reasons.

The exchange students have the opportunity to study mandarin Chinese in mandarin Language centers. Many of the students have learned the language before and they are welcomed to join the intermediate and advanced level classes. This educational institutions sponsor mandarin Chinese art performances, speech contests, workshops and school trips throughout the year. These mandarin Chinese courses are conducted in small sized groups of approximately ten students. The foreign students can study mandarin Chinese in language centers throughout the country and there are currently more than twenty-five language centers in Taiwan. The students are placed in classes based on their mandarin Chinese proficiency level.

The language centers operate in academic terms of three months each. The terms are fall which begins in September; winter, which begins in December; spring, which begins in March

and summer, which begins in June. The language centers offer mandarin classes every semester and provide courses in different levels. The levels of the mandarin Chinese language courses are basic, intermediate, high intermediate and advanced. Every language center offers basic level classes who are particularly designed for beginners. During this level, students learn the bopomofo, hanyu pinyin, the mandarin tones and Chinese characters. The basic level students also study daily mandarin Chinese conversation and learn around 800 vocabulary words. During the intermediate level, students study advanced mandarin Chinese grammar and learn around 16,000 vocabulary words. In this level, the students can read and understand simple readings in mandarin Chinese. During the high intermediate level, students enhance their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. In this level, the students learn around 2,800 vocabulary words and are able to understand newspapers, television programs.

During the advanced level, students have a high level of mandarin Chinese reading, listening, speaking and writing. The advanced level students can read and understand more than 5,000 vocabulary words. In the advanced level, students can understand business, economic, sports, entertainment, arts and literature materials in mandarin Chinese. The language centers in Taipei are: National Taipei University of Education, National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, National Chengchi University, Chinese Culture University, Tamkang University, Fu Jen Catholic University, Ming Chuan University, Taipei Chengshih University of Science and Technology and China University of Science and Technology. The language centers in Kaoshiung are: National Kaoshiung Normal University, National Sun Yat-Sen University, National University of Kaoshiung, Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages, I-Shou University and Kao Yuan University.

Taichung’s language centers are: National Chung Hsing University, Tunghai University, Feng Chia University, Providence University and National Taichung University of Education. The language centers in Taoyuan are Lunghwa University of Science and Technology and Kainan University. In Hsinchu, the language centers are National Chiao Tung and Chung Hua University.

In Jhonli, two language centers can be found at National Central University and Chung Yuan Christian University. Tainan’s language centers in Tainan are National Cheng Kung University, Kun Shan University and Southern Taiwan University of Technology. Chiayi has a language center at National Chiayi University and Yilan has one at Fo Guang University. Pingtung’s

language centers can be found at National Pingtung University of Education and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. There is a mandarin language center in Hualien at Tzu Chi University. The number of language centers by city is shown in the Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Language centers in Taiwan by city. Adapted from https://studyintaiwan.org (2013).

Current Roles of the Teachers of Mandarin Language Centers

The Mandarin Language Centers are represented by an outstanding teaching staff, well equipped with mandarin Chinese teaching certification issued by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, as well as with a wide teaching experience. The teachers who work in the language centers throughout Taiwan have at least two or more years of teaching experience. The language teachers own bachelor and master degrees in teaching mandarin Chinese as a second language teaching and have received training for the Ministry of Education. During their undergraduate and graduate studies, the teachers studied in Taiwan and some in China, Singapore, such as other countries. Due to the increase of technology in recent years, many teachers have received training in modern teaching such as online teaching and multimedia instruction. Despite they already have educational degrees, every year they must attend to lectures, conferences and courses related to mandarin Chinese teaching.

The mandarin Chinese is taught by teachers who want their students to master the language while also learn about the Taiwanese culture. Some of the teachers in the language centers have

more than twenty years of experience and still use traditional teaching methods. In recent years, the teachers have been using new teaching methods in order to make learning more effective.

During the small sized group classes, the teachers evaluate every student' reading, writing, speaking and listening. The mandarin Chinese teachers have included learning materials in the learning process such as movies, songs, poems, newspapers and magazines of Taiwan, China and Singapore for the students. Furthermore, other supplementary materials such as restaurant menus, health and banks forms, newspaper advertisements are used in class to help students with their daily life in Taiwan. Mandarin Chinese instruction requires teachers to teach both culture and language contents. The teachers emphasize in teaching both language and culture because it helps students understand the terminology and history of the mandarin Chinese language.

In recent years, online course designers have been creating mandarin Chinese programs for foreign students and teachers. The programs include mobile dictionaries, games and flashcards.

The students in the language centers own smart phones, iPod and tablets. Some of the students bring the devices to the class and may use the devices for learning or other purposes. The students use the mobile applications for different purposes such as learn new vocabulary, understand the meaning of a character, how to pronounce words, play mandarin Chinese games, practice handwriting and translate phrases and words.

Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University

National Taiwan Normal University is a famous university in Taiwan recognized as an elite institution. This institution was founded in 1946 in the capital city of Taiwan known as Taipei.

This educational institution was originally known as Taiwan Provincial Teachers College and the purpose was to train outstanding teachers for the Chinese secondary education system. In 1967, the name of the institution changed to National Taiwan Normal University. This university has trained and educated many important Taiwanese teachers and researchers.

Nowadays, NTNU encompasses three campuses in the northern part of the island. The Heping campus known as the main campus, Gongguan campus and Linkou campus are part of this prestigious university. This institution has ten colleges that include thirty-two departments and twenty-two graduate institutes. NTNU is a public university known for the variety of degrees and courses in education, arts, sociology, athletics, business management, science and technology.

This prestigious university's fundamental mission is to educate and prepare Taiwan's future

teachers. Since the institution's foundation, many important Taiwanese authors, poets, artists, musicians and researchers have studied undergraduate and graduate curriculums in NTNU. The university has many exchange programs with sister institutions around the world in order to enhance academic cooperation. This educational institution does not only attract Taiwanese students to study but also foreign students decide to study at NTNU. NTNU is known for its mandarin Chinese language program where around 1,700 students from over more than fifty countries study during the year. In 1956, the mandarin Training Center “MTC” was created as an extension of NTNU.

This center is one of the world's most distinguished Chinese language study programs. The mandarin training center is located in NTNU's main campus known as Heping Campus. The MTC's courses involve studies of Chinese language, literature, calligraphy and arts offered in a three month term throughout the year. The center is well known as the leading institute of the test of Chinese as foreign language in Taiwan. Every year, MTC allows students to study in four different terms to undertake language studies during summer or winter breaks. In order to enhance academic cooperation, the MTC offers scholarships to international students who wish to learn the Chinese language. During their studies at MTC, students have the opportunity to use a variety of Chinese learning materials such as textbooks, dictionaries, newspapers, journals. The facilities of the MTC are located on the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth floor of the Bo-ai building of NTNU's main campus.

Online Education Programs and Courses

According to Moore and Kearsley (2011), the terms programs and courses are constantly used in distance education, courses are created at all levels of distance education and an educational institution and consortium will use the term program to indicate the total offering of courses. An online course is a course which eighty percent or more of its content is delivered through the internet (Bolliger & Wasilik, 2009). An online course is offered in part or totally through the Internet (Umass, 2002). The growth of households that own computers with internet access within the United States has facilitated online education (Herbert, 2006). The world wide web also known as internet, has become an important method to deliver education and provides new learning experiences for students (Ali, 2011). In a distance education the course is based on the practices and procedures of the institution, while a program refers to audio or television

programs that belongs to a course (Moore & Kearsley, 2011). The technology used to provide online courses has increased in terms of quality (Southern Regional Education Board, 2006).

Since online education is conducted through the internet, many educational institutions have implemented e-learning in their curriculum in order to meet students’ needs especially for those who work in full time jobs (Sun et al., 2008). Online courses are taught entirely online and teachers and students rarely meet face-to-face, sometimes they may not never meet in person (Umass, 2002). The technology within online courses may produce printed media, such as books or guides, programs, of audio, videocassettes, radio, television broadcasts, computer software, audio, audio-graphic, videoconferencing among others (Moore & Kearsley, 2011). In web-enhanced courses, also known as online courses, students have more responsibilities than in face-to-face environments because they have to do several tasks such as download course material, be part of online discussions among others (Hermans et al., 2009). Rothman et al. (2011) reported that the environment of an online course is important for the success of a program; furthermore the growth and use of online courses within university has grown in a dramatic manner in the last ten years. The universities and colleges have created courses and online programs in order to serve a student population that is dispersed geographically (Roach & Lemasters, 2006).

Herbert (2006) indicated that institutions have used online technologies to offer courses to students who can’t be present in a classroom. Song and Bosselman (2011) reported that ninety-six percent of higher education institutions in the United States, offer over 15,000 online courses and that at least three million students enroll in those courses every semester. By the year 2006, around thirty-five of higher education institutions offered online courses (Bollinger & Wasilik, 2009). Strachota (2006) indicated that measuring online courses outcomes through online survey research can be efficient.

As computers became involved in the provision of education and new technologies developed, online teachers are needed to provide lessons in online learning environments (Dickson-Deane & Galyen, 2010). According to Wallace (2003), since the 1990’s, online university courses have been increasing due its popularity in the field of education, moreover before online environments were available for users, interaction was difficult to accomplish in distance education courses because the only methods of distance education were mail courses and television broadcasts by involving few opportunities for interaction with the teacher and

students. The first online course was offered in 1981 (Wallace, 2003; Dickson-Deane & Galyen, 2010). According to Wilson and Stacey (2004), modern technologies have modified the nature of open and distance education in the last decades by producing a manner for communities of learners and their teachers to communicate with one another in spite of being in different geographical spots. In the past decades, the society has embraced new forms of communications due to the wide variety of tools available through the Internet (Dickson-Deane & Galyen, 2010).

Recent articles in journals and professional magazines advocate in favor of online education (Wallace, 2003). Research has indicated that this century represents important changes in how learning takes place and how is delivered (Dickson-Deane & Galyen, 2010). Research has shown that projections suggest that online courses will increase significantly in educational institutions in the following years (Smart & Cappel, 2006). Research in the field of online education has mentioned that this type of education has many advantages such as the convenience and flexibility offered by the institutions and teachers (Richardson & Swan, 2003). The researcher also emphasized that online learning has the potential to promote reflective thoughts and deep learning and is more efficient than the face-to-face traditional method.

Richardson and Swan (2003) reported that online learning environments are cost effective and more convenient than traditional education environments, furthermore they emphasized that one of the advantages of online education is that students have the capability to work at their own pace, furthermore they can store and retrieve information more effectively. Many teachers agree that online education came to stay (Henry & Meadows, 2008). There has been an increase of online education in many places because online learning has attracted different groups of individuals for different purposes (Li & Akins, 2004). Wallace (2003) reported that colleges and universities from different countries have been offering courses through the Internet.

Given the fact that there is a rapid growth of online education programs, educational institutions must provide good online programs (Kim & Bonk, 2006). Educational institutions have been implementing online education curriculums (Vonderwell & Zachariah, 2005).

According to Johnson and Aragon (2003), a strong online learning environment must include a compound of the following standards: (1) point individual differences; (2) encourage the student;

(3) prevent information overload; (4) build a real-life scenario; (5) motivate social interaction; (6) offer hands-on activities and (7) encourage student reflection. Universities have been using

active modes of learning that demands students to develop their computing skills (Drennan, Kennedy & Pisarki, 2005). Kim and Bonk (2006) indicated that in the United States, many educational institutions have embraced online education and the number of students enrolled in online education is rapidly increasing. Bolliger, Inan and Wasilik (2014) indicated that more higher education institutions in the United States have implemented online courses that involve degree programs. Online courses are part of the academic curriculum and the school is the one that determines the right and validity of the subject matter and delivery methods (Dargham et al., 2012).

Benefits and Challenges of Online Courses

Online education provides many educational opportunities such as collaborative learning, student-centered learning, and easy access to global resources, learning through multimedia presentations, accessible for students who are non-traditional (Umass, 2002). Online education enhances student interaction and faculty-student communication; enables student-centered teaching approaches; offers 24/7 accessibility to course materials, offers just in time methods to assess and evaluate student progress; among others (Blackboard Inc, 1999).

Mohammadi, Ghobani and Hamidi (2010) reported twelve advantages of e-learning: (1) it is a student focused teaching process where the role of the teacher is to guide and facilitate the teaching process; (2) it is convenient for students to access class materials anytime and anywhere;

(3) it is a type of cooperative learning; (4) it is a fast, dynamic and diminishes the expenses; (5) fosters self-paced learning where students can learn at their own pace; (6) fosters interaction between learners and teachers; (7) contains all sources and tools such as virtual courses and simulations; (8) enrollment, supervision and tuition activities are done through the Internet; (9) the courses can be prepared by various teachers from different geographical positions; (10) students can learn more than one major or specialty; (11) it increases the motivation of students especially when learning a new language; (12) it offers flexibility, convenience.

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