SSU學生記者之自導性學習研究 - 政大學術集成

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(1) . 國立政治大學國際傳播英語碩士學位學程 International Master’s Program in International Communication Studies College of Communication National Chengchi University. 碩士論文 Master’s Thesis. On The Way to Becoming ExpertsSSU Student Journalists’ Self-Directed Learning. Student: Jie-Yao Ma Adviser: Tsung-Jen Shih. 1 .

(2) . Acknowledgement It has been a tough journey for me to finish my thesis, but I believe all the hard work is worth it. I have always enjoyed the time writing this study, because this study also represents my development as a former SSU member. Before I became a member of IMICS, I was a non-journalism major who wished to become a journalist. I attended several journalism workshops, or training camps pursuing a chance to gain advanced journalistic training. I have been through several obstacles and challenges on my way of becoming a journalist. By presenting this study, I hope it can help future student journalists to take on a more effective way to have their journalistic training. I would like to express my gratitude to several important figures for helping me to finish my thesis. First is to my adviser, Tsung-Jen Shih, thank you for always giving me directions, and helping me to enhance the quality of me thesis. Next, I would like to thank my oral defense committee members, professor Yi-Chieh Lin and Wen-ying Liu, for giving me inspirational advice. I would also like to thank all the IMICSers who have helped me in the past: Richard, Josephine, Ruby, Joanna and Dorothy. The last but not least, thanks to my family members’ full support, which made the production of this thesis become possible. Finally, it is time to share my study with everyone. I hope you will enjoy reading it.. 2 .

(3) . Abstract Studies have shown a discrepancy between what journalism education provides and what the industry desires. The root of this problem lies in the absence of providing procedural knowledge to students in classrooms. To provide a solution to this issue, this study examined the Self-Directed Learning (SDL) interactive model adopted by the Student Sports Union. Employing a semi-structured in-depth interview, this study examined the process through which eight journalists in the Student Sports Union (SSU) became experts. The results show that the SSU journalists’ SDL model promotes theoretical knowledge, hands-on experience, and an applied skill set for journalism, which are useful for transforming student journalists from novice to expert. Keywords: SDL, SSU, sports journalist, sports journalist cultivation, novice vs. expert. 3 .

(4) . List of Figures Figure 1.1 Research conceptual framework----------------------------------------------------------11 Figure 2.1 Spear’s interactive model------------------------------------------------------------------18 Figure 5.1 Process of SSU’s SDL --------------------------------------------------------------------70. 4 .

(5) . List of Tables Table 4.1 Backgrounds of Interviewees--------------------------------------------------------------33. 5 .

(6) . Table of Content I. Acknowledgement--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 II. Abstract-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 III. List of Figures-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 IV. List of Tables------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5 1. Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 2. Literature Review-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 2.1 Student Sports Union (SSU) ------------------------------------------------------------------12 2.2 Self-Directed Learning ------------------------------------------------------------------------13 2.3 From Novice to Expert ------------------------------------------------------------------------19 2.4 Sports Journalist --------------------------------------------------------------------------------22 3. Research Method------------------------------------------------------------------------------------26 3.1 Semi-structured interview--------------------------------------------------------------------26 3.2 Interview Questions---------------------------------------------------------------------------27 3.3 Sample size ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28 4. Research Findings------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29 4.1 Background of Interviewees-----------------------------------------------------------------29 4.2 SSU’s SDL-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32 4.3 SSU’s Interpersonal Relationship-----------------------------------------------------------37. 6 .

(7) . 4.4 SSU members’ SDL Activities -------------------------------------------------------------42 4.5 SSU members’ SDL Knowledge -----------------------------------------------------------47 4.6 SDL Influential Factors----------------------------------------------------------------------51 5. Discussion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------56 5.1 The formation of SSU’s SDL ---------------------------------------------------------------57 5.2 Limitations ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------63 6. Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------65 6.1 Summary---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------65 6.2 Implication-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------66 References------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------69 Appendix--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------74. 7 .

(8) . 1. Introduction The importance of journalism education is clearly stated in the sentence, “The future of the news industry is determined by the successfulness of journalism education” (Cheng, 1964, p.39). The young journalists we cultivate nowadays will determine the future landscape of the news industry. It is important to equip our students with the requisite skills they need to become professional (Cheng, 1964). However, there is “a mismatch between graduates and the demands of employers” in journalism (Niblock, S., 2012, p.23). The crux of this argument lies in the knowledge that journalism education can provide (Chung, Tsang, Chen, 1996). According to Chung, Tsang, and Chen (1996), the domain of knowledge a journalist needs can be divided into four dimensions, respectively: common declarative knowledge, logic procedural knowledge, professional declarative knowledge and strategic procedural knowledge. Common declarative knowledge and logic procedural knowledge are the basic knowledge one needs to survive. Professional declarative knowledge is about general facts and concepts in a specific domain. As for strategic procedural knowledge, it relates to the ability to execute knowledge and to deal with information processing. Among the four types of knowledge, it is the strategic procedural knowledge that helps journalists to cope with issues like problem representation or interviewing, and to survive in the dynamic environment of journalism (Chung, Tsang, Chen, 1996). Strategic procedural knowledge is the key to cultivate professional journalists (Chung, Tsang, Chen, 1996). Nevertheless, in the past, journalism education focused more on providing declarative knowledge, and diminished the importance of procedural knowledge (Chung, Tsang, Chen, 1996). One of the core reasons is that procedural knowledge is mostly tacit knowledge, which is not easy to conceive through a traditional education environment (Tsang, Chung, Yang, 2001). In this case, for students to perceive 8 .

(9) . procedural knowledge, “learning by doing” becomes an important method. Through authentic events, a student journalist is more able to proceduralize their knowledge from “knowing what” (declarative knowledge) to “knowing how” (procedural knowledge) (Chung, Tsang, Chen, 1996). Also, given the fact that “the most important knowledge for experts is conceived and incubated in the practical actions and events of professional practice” (Schempp, 2008, p.134), for journalism education to have sound development, we must combine theory and practice together (Cheng, 1964). Upon realizing this hiatus in journalism education, the researcher has developed this study to examine the Self-Directed Leaning (SDL) mechanism adopted by the Student Sports Union (SSU). The target group of this study, SSU, is a student journalist organization founded by the Chinese Taipei University Sports Federation (CTUSF). The aim of this organization is to provide a platform for university students who are interested in sports to acquire basic skills and concepts of sports journalism. Students who joined SSU mostly have no prior journalism training. The manager of SSU only provides students with access to journalism training and sports games. The progress of SSU members’ journalistic skills is mainly developed through their own endeavors. This cultivation process matches the educational concept of SDL. According to Gibbons, “SDL is any increase in knowledge, skill, accomplishment, or personal development that an individual selects and brings about by his or her own efforts” (2002, P.2). Within SDL, learners are involved with a series of inquiries (Knowles, 1975). Through constantly formulating key questions and collecting data to answer the questions, learners are equipped with the core skill of SDL, independent thinking. Such skill is about the “know how,” which in turn provides students with the competencies they need for their academic and practical needs (Gibbons, 2002). To achieve this goal, practical training has been viewed as an important method (Gibbons,. 9 .

(10) . 2002). For SSU student journalists, through accessing authentic sports events, they are able to gain experience, to expand knowledge (especially the procedural knowledge), and to hone the skills they need to become expert (Schempp, 2008). SDL is critical for adults to have sustainable development (Candy, 1991). Nevertheless, not everyone is suitable for SDL. “It is only after someone has been reading, studying, and thinking about an area for some time that he or she is capable of true ‘self-directed’ inquiry in that subject” (Candy, 1991, p.315); otherwise learners may not appreciate the essence of the discipline. When applying these principals to the scenario of SSU journalist cultivation, this study aims to find out that, with equal journalism training and equal rights to attend sports events, what are the factors that influence the outcome of each individual SSU’s SDL? What kinds and what amount of practical experience, knowledge and skills should SSU journalists have to pave their way to expertise? To discover these issues, the researcher adopted the SDL interactive model developed by Spear (1988) in this study. Three elements are included in the interactive model. They are: (1) Opportunities people find in their own environments; (2) Past or new knowledge; (3) Chance occurrences, as is shown in Figure 1.1 In Spear’s words, SDL does not occur automatically; instead, it only occurs when one step of action matches with other steps of actions that bear the same idea or resources (1988). In the case of SSU cultivation, the main concern of this study is to find out what elements are involved in graduated SSU’s SDL interactive model, and how these elements helped SSU’s to breed the experience, knowledge and skill they need to become experts.. 10 .

(11) . Figure 1.1 Research conceptual framework When examining the SDL method in the scenario of student journalists’ cultivation, this study has its significance, because it is the first study that employs SDL into journalism education. For the results of this study, the researcher wishes to gather already graduated SSU journalists’ SDL experience through in-depth interviews, and to convert this tacit knowledge into documentation for future generations of young journalism graduates to refer to. This study focuses on the cultivation of sports journalists, but it can also apply to other fields of journalists’ training.. 11 .

(12) . 2. Literature Review As stated in the introduction, SDL plays an important role for SSU members to move from novices to professional journalists. SDL therefore will be employed as the key concept that guides the direction of this study. Literature related to SDL is thoroughly reviewed. But to develop valuable research questions, it is critical to clearly define and to have further understanding of the target group of this study first. Accordingly, literature regarding SSU and sports journalists is also included in this chapter. The transition from novice to expert is a thought-provoking topic to probe into. In this study, the researcher is curious about what kinds of endeavors may contribute to student journalists’ transition towards professional journalists. Relevant studies of novice versus expert are explored in this chapter. But before explaining relevant theories, it is necessary to give an introduction about the Student Sports Union.. 2.1 Student Sports Union (SSU) SSU has been operating since 2007, and is continually expanding. SSU’s main focus is to provide news reports related to university sports, and to cultivate youngsters to become professionals in sports communication. Students who want to become a member of SSU need to pass a paper test in order to join. The core vision of SSU is to cultivate responsible, independent, and skillful youngsters to engage in sports communication (CTUSF, 2013). Every year, SSU sets up a two-day training program around October to give guidance of sports journalism to students. The training program is limited for university students to attend. Training courses include news writing, interview skills, news editing, and sports marketing. At the end of the program, SSU recruits 15 to 20 students among the attendees through a paper test to join the organization. SSU student journalists come from different backgrounds, with different 12 .

(13) . professional skills. From CTUSF’s perspective, they consider SSU student journalists as a pivot to promote university sports. For this reason, CTUSF provides SSU student journalists with numerous internship opportunities, covering both domestic and international sports events, for students to acquire skills related to sports communication, including news reports, sports advertising, and public relations. SSU student journalists are able to gain access to different types of sports games. However, the amount of news reports and the type of sports covered depends on the student journalists themselves. Student journalists can decide freely which news and how much news they want to cover. But to maintain membership, they are required to hand in five news reports per semester. At the beginning, SSU only produced news reports about university basketball games. As time passed by, they gradually increased the types of sports to cover. Until 2014, they have written news reports related to 28 sports, and produced over 5000 news reports. Currently, SSU has its own official website to post daily sports news, and a YouTube channel to provide videos and live streams related to university sports events. The training of SSU journalists has gradually expanded from print media to broadcast media. Staring from a novice, and moving toward an experienced journalist in both print media and broadcast media, the researcher of this study is curious about how SSU members prepared themselves through SDL to meet all these demands. What types of events they have chosen to attend? And how did they equip themselves with requisite skills? These issues will be discussed in the following chapters.. 2.2 Self-Directed Learning The definition of SDL is slightly different among adult education scholars. The most cited definition of SDL is by Knowles (1975). He describes SDL as a linear process “in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing 13 .

(14) . their learning needs, formulating goals, identifying human and material resources, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes” (p. 18). To be more specific, Tough (1979) defines SDL as a process in which people engage in “a series of related episodes, adding up to at least seven hours.” For those who are involved in this process, their main motivation “is to gain and retain certain fairly clear knowledge and skill, or to produce some other lasting change” (Tough, 1979 p. 7). As for Maurice Gibbons (2002), he considers SDL as “any increase in knowledge, skill, accomplishment, or personal development that an individual selects and brings about by his or her own efforts using any method in any circumstances at any time” (p.2). And when approaching SDL, these five elements are regarded as basic: (1) Student control over as much of the learning experience as possible; (2) Skill development; (3) Students learning to challenge themselves to their best possible performance; (4) Student self-management; (5) Self-motivation and self-assessment (Gibbons, 2002, p.11). Furthermore, to become a truly self-directed learner, Candy considers these capabilities as essential: (1) The ability to plan personal and group activities; (2) The ability to identify and obtain, and the skill to use various sources of information; (3) The ability to read, watch, and listen with different objectives in mind; (4) Skill in note taking, recording, paraphrasing, quoting, systematizing data, writing précis, and keeping records; (5) Numerical literacy; (6) Command of a foreign language; (7). The ability of self-evaluation; (8) and Problem-solving ability (Candy, 1991, p. 314). In addition to the above-mentioned points, Guglielmino (1977) points out characteristics self-directed learners need to possess, respectively: (1) Independence and persistence in learning; (2) Willing to take the responsibility for his learning, and keeps positive when facing challenges; (3) Has a high degree of curiosity; (4) Full of. 14 .

(15) . self-confidence; (5) Able to utilize his skills and organize his time for learning; (6) Has a tendency to be goal oriented (p. 73). Although Guglielmino points out that independence in learning is important in SDL, it do not mean one is completely isolated. As Brookfield (1985) stated, “no act of learning can be self-directed if we understand self-direction as meaning the absence of external sources of assistance” (p.7). Adult educator Candy (1991) supports this point by indicating that “the success of a SDL project depends largely on the extent and type of assistance obtained by individual learners, and on the quality of the personal relationships established between the learner and his or her helper” (p. 200). And the helper here may be their “teachers, tutors, mentors, resource people, and peers” (Knowles 1975, p. 18). Unlike Teacher Directed Learning, which puts emphasis on teachers’ experience, or on textbook writers’ knowledge, SDL focuses more on learners’ experiences, which are gained through practical experience. It is believed by SDL scholars that students “learn about others and their lives by knowing them directly and working with them” (Gibbons, 2002, p.11). For Gibbons, he believes since “the social domain is concerned with the individual’s ability to relate to others, to learn from them, and to work with them,” it is important to include both academic studies and social domains of human experience in SDL (2002, p.10). SDL is important because it helps students to form their unique style of learning (Gibbons, 2002). According to Gibbons, SDL “enables student to customize their approach to learning tasks, combines the development of skill with the development of character, and prepares them for learning throughout their lives” (p.3). If we consider this point from SSU students’ perspectives, besides their SDL performance, the external assistance student journalists may receive from CTUSF, from athletes, or from professional journalists during interviews may influence and facilitate SSU member’s SDL. Hence, the researcher needs to include questions such as “When. 15 .

(16) . you were a SSU journalist, have you ever received any support or material resources? Did it have an impact on you?” to find out what kinds of external assistance they have received that made a difference to their SDL. Up to this point, we can see that self-directed learning refers to a process in which learners can make their learning plan according to their own needs, put this plan into action, continue learning over a period of time, utilize accessible resources to improve their learning, evaluate and improve the effectiveness of their learning, and ultimately achieve their goals. Within this process, SDL learners need to be independent, self-motivated, goal-oriented, and maintain a good relationship with others to reach a successful outcome. As previously mentioned, Knowles (1975) described a linear model, in which learners moved from one step to another to reach their ultimate goal. However, according to the year-end report of SSU (CTUSF, 2014), even with the same amount of journalistic training, and the same access to attending sports events, SSU journalists’ performance still varies greatly at the end of each semester. In addition, only a small number of SSU graduates are able to enter the news industry. With the same amount of training, resources and support, why do SSU’s SDL performances still vary greatly? Obviously, the linear model is unable to explain this phenomenon. In this case, the researcher of this study adopted Spear’s (1988) interactive model to further probe into this issue.. 16 .

(17) . Figure 2.1 Spear’s interactive model The main idea of the interactive model is that SDL does not occur in a linear fashion. Instead, it only occurs when one step of action matches with other steps of actions that bear the same idea or resources. When a stage of action is completed, it further creates the base for the next stage; all of the elements of the first stage and second stage are interrelated. The interactive model focuses “not only the learner, but the context of the learning, and the nature of the learning” (Rubenson, 2011, p.30). Within the interactive model, three elements are included: opportunities people find in their own environments, past or new knowledge, and the chance the learner utilized to learn (Spear, 1988). The three elements together form a “unique learning experience” (Roberson, Merriam, 2005) for SDL learners. The interactive model emphasizes how “the circumstances of one’s life will shape the learning” (Roberson, Merriam, 2005, p.271). As Spear and Mocker mentioned, “the structure, methods, resources and conditions for learning are provided or dictated frequently by the circumstance” (Spear, Mocker, 1981, P.7). An in-depth interview study. 17 .

(18) . by Roberson and Merriam (2005) has also proven that “rarely did the participants purposely diagnose, evaluate, or set a climate” during their learning. Instead, it is “the internal or external incentive to learn” that helps adults to form their SDL (Roberson, Merriam, 2005). Roberson and Merriam found that “SDL is often a response to developmental issues of that particular life stage” (2005, p. 284). SDL for adults starts from an incentive to learn, and is usually related to late life changes like health problems or technological challenges. Late life changes may occur as chances for adults to pursue further learning. To continue the learning process, a suitable learning environment is needed to develop learners’ knowledge. Local education institutions or community clubs may be some examples of such environments. For adults to perceive new information from their learning, their past or new knowledge also plays an important role (Roberson, Merriam, 2005). Roberson and Merriam’s research revealed that adults’ SDL processes are more congruent with Spear’s interactive model. Owing to this reason, it is crucial to utilize Spear’s interactive model to examine SSU members’ SDL process, to see what kinds of conditions provide SSU student journalists with such advantages to form their SDL. In the past four decades, self-directed learning has been a popular research topic in adult education. In recent years, SDL has also been employed in human resources development, medical education, and museum education. Even the South Korean government has adopted SDL to develop the Self-Directed Learning Policy. The purpose of this policy is “intended to take the task of directing learning processes and strategies away from the hands of the teachers to those of the students” (Sung, 2011, p.347). Their ultimate purpose is to “better equip our children with autonomous learning skills required for adapting to rapidly changing future societies” (Sung, 2011, p.347).. 18 .

(19) . Similar to the Korean government, the researcher of this study also hopes to assist future student journalists to get equipped with requisite journalistic skills. Therefore, from this part of literature review, the researcher formulated two types of interview questions. The first type of questions is about student journalists’ learning plans. These questions are designed to understand what kinds of efforts student journalists have spent for their own improvement. The second type of questions was designed in regards to student journalist’s personal characteristics and interpersonal relationships, to identify the internal and external factors that affect SSU members in forming their SDL. From this section of the literature review, the researcher came up with the following research questions: RQ 1: Based on Spear’s interactive model, what opportunities, chances and knowledge do SSU journalists possess that have helped them to form their SDL? RQ 2: What kinds of interpersonal relationships do SSU journalists possess that play an influential role to their SDL?. 2.3 From novice to expert “You cannot be born to expertise, nor buy it or borrow it. You have to work at it” (Schempp, 2008, p. 11). As Schempp mentioned, no one can be an innate expert. Endeavor is a crucial key to expertise. However, endeavor alone is not enough. To successfully transform a novice into an expert, one needs to increase his or her experience, knowledge, and skills (Schempp, 2008). Differences between expert and novice Before we discuss how a novice may become an expert, it is important to review the differences between the experiences, knowledge and skills that an expert possesses and a novice possesses. Abilities like intelligence or memory does not set experts apart from novices. In fact, the main key lies in how experts think and solve problems 19 .

(20) . effectively. When defining expertise, “how you organize your knowledge” matters more than “how much knowledge you have” (Schempp, 2008). The reason why experts can think and solve problems in an effective way is mainly due to the formation of their knowledge. According to Bransford (2000), Experts’ knowledge “is organized around core concepts or big ideas that guide their thinking about their domains” (p. 36). When we examine an expert vs. novice in the news industry, journalism scholars have mentioned that expert practitioners are those who know how to integrate or eliminate elements during information processing” (Chung, Tsang, Chen, Chang, Chen, 2002, p.21). In comparison, novices’ knowledge is loosely combined (Tsang, Chung, 1995), as novice journalists may only consider the problem from a superficial perspective (Chen, 1997), and they usually use the same method to cope with different situations (Chang, 2011). If we analyze experts’ knowledge through the schema theory, we find that experts possess larger schema than novices (Tsang, Chung, 1995). With this large schema, experts are able to: (1). Deal with information processing effectively. (2). Solve problems in a more relaxed manner. (3). Reflect abstract thinking (Chang, 2005). (4). Classify information to explain real world situations (Tsang, Chung, 1995). (5). Think flexibly, comprehensively, and are more capable of considering other alternatives (Chen, 1997). (6). Shift strategies when unexpected incidents happen (Chang, 2011). For expert journalists, possessing a large schema allows them to capture the deep structure and temporal context of a news event (Chang, 2011), or to consider a situation through a fragment of knowledge (Chen, 1997). Except for the scale of their knowledge base, how long journalists have been working in the profession may also influence his or her performance. For those journalists who worked in the field for a longer time, they have accumulated extensive. 20 .

(21) . prior knowledge and prior experience. Therefore, they are able to ask in depth questions (Tsang, Chung, 1995), and are more able to capture the situational factors of a particular incident (Chung, Tsang, Chen, 1996). The type of knowledge experts possess and novices possess are also different. Both experts and novices possess declarative knowledge, but it is experts who possess more procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge is about general facts, such as who is the medalist in a sports event. Procedural knowledge is about “knowing how,” and is the strategic knowledge one particularly possesses to solve problems (Tsang, Chung, 1995). In journalists’ work environment, they face different challenges everyday. It is the procedural knowledge they possess that determines how well they handle various situations. As mentioned in the introduction, procedural knowledge is the key to expertise. Nevertheless, such knowledge is mostly tacit, which has practical value, but is not easy to conceive through formal education (Tsang, Chung, Yang, 2001). How to become expert: ways to improve As mentioned above, experience, knowledge, and skills are three secrets to expertise. According to Schempp (2008), these three elements are in fact interrelated. One needs to have experience and knowledge to form a robust base for decision-making. Nevertheless, to perform outstandingly, skillful action is required. To make progress from a beginner level, beneficial activities like journal writing, formal education, seminars, reading transcripts of other people’s experience, and networking with professionals or peers may also help beginners to keep track and make improvements to become more skilled and knowledgeable (Schempp, 2008). Schempp pointed out that “practical knowledge earned through experience is more helpful in meeting the daily challenges and demands of work’ (2008, p.128), because this is knowledge people can apply and memorize easily in life. Through experience,. 21 .

(22) . one may identify the strength and weakness of the skills he or she currently possesses, and the skills that need improvement (Schempp, 2008). Take novice journalists for example; through constant interviews, they may improve their skills of interviewing. Increased interactions with interviewees help novice journalists to establish the concept of news coverage (Huang, R.C., 2012). From this part we can see that experience is necessary for becoming an expert (Chen, 1997). Nevertheless, increasing experience, or having the same experience as others does not necessarily lead one to expertise. Two elements are involved; one is the prior knowledge one possesses, and the other is about how one organizes knowledge (Tsang, Chung, 1995). In terms of SSU members’ SDL, this part of the literature review explains the interactive model adopted in this study. Joining SSU is the opportunity student journalists found in their SDL journey. The prior knowledge or the schema they possess provides them the elements to further form their SDL. But to move toward expertise, SSU journalists still need to seek out other chances to gain experiences around them. In this case, how they organize and utilize the knowledge and resources they possess becomes decisive. In the previous paragraphs, we have discussed how a SSU student journalist can move towards becoming an expert through SDL. In the following paragraph, the researcher reviews the necessary requirements to take on the profession of journalism.. 2.4 Sports journalist In the past, many journalism studies have focused on providing guidance for the cultivation of journalists. For example, Hohenberg (1978) mentioned in his book The Professional Journalist that in order to begin a career as a journalist, one needs to have a thorough education, to be familiar with journalistic skills, and to have a strong will to face any difficulties at hand. Similarly, Cheng (1989) proposed that a wide range of 22 .

(23) . knowledge, good virtue, professional attitude, and a well-prepared body and mind are the requirements one needs to become a journalist. Nevertheless, the requirements listed above are merely basic for one to undertake a career as a journalist. To become a genuine sports journalist, there are still few more prerequisites. In his book Sports News Writing and Editing, professor Chou pointed out five requirements for becoming a journalist. These requirements are: have been through a professional journalism education and possess a keen mind and observation ability, good writing ability, good virtue, and a healthy mind and body (1992, p. 64). He further focuses on the requirements for sports journalists, and points out the need for knowledge of sports rules, sports administration, and important sports figures. Professor Chou stated clearly in his book that only by acquiring these knowledge and skills could a person become a professional sports journalist (1992). As for journalism scholars Gelfand and Harry (1969), they mentioned four requirements for one to become a sports journalist. Respectively, they are: (1). Educational background. (2). Knowledge of what is news. (3). Personality traits such as cheerfulness, sincerity, courtesy, tolerance, poise, enthusiasm, confidence, inquisitiveness, and perseverance. (4). Mastery of the language, and the ability to write clearly and concisely (p. 4). Except points 1 and 2, which are similar to previous arguments, Gelfand and Harry pointed out two significant requirements a journalist should have: personality traits and mastery of language. Similarly, Phil Andrews (2005) considered that to become a sports journalist, one “must be able to convey your knowledge and enthusiasm to others in a lively and entertaining way, and to be willing to devote as much time to practicing your writing skills as the sports people about whom you are writing spend practicing theirs” (p. 3). From this quote we can see that Andrews pointed out the importance of practical training.. 23 .

(24) . Practical training is not only fundamental for sports journalists, but also applies to student journalists. For student journalists to become professional, it is necessary for them to have as much practical experience as they can. As mentioned previously, practical experiences and training are important for students because they help them to develop their knowledge system from “knowing what” to “knowing how,” and to learn to transform their knowledge from textbook material into knowledge they actually possess (Tsang, 2000). The skills or knowledge students conceive through practical training “will continually evolve with each new occasion of use,” and may be recast into a “more densely textured form” (Brown, Collins &Duguid, 1989, p.33), further preparing them to survive in the dynamic journalism environment (Tsang, 2000). In conclusion, we can see that most journalism scholars consider thorough education, good personality, a wide range of knowledge, good language ability, practical experiences, and good writing skills to be the basic requirements a student needs to become a professional journalist. Knowledge regarding the sports industry is also decisive for sports journalists to execute their job successfully. Based on this part of literature, the researcher is able to design interview questions for SSU student journalists to examine how SSU student journalists prepared themselves with these requirements, and to see how they fulfilled the demands of the news industry. From the above literature review, the researcher found that procedural knowledge is the main difference between novice and expert. For SSU student journalists to become experts, the researcher is curious about: RQ 3: What types of practical training may assist SSU students to transform declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge? From the literature review we may also notice that experience is important for a. 24 .

(25) . novice journalist to become mature. However, studies have pointed out that journalists’ prior knowledge and the way they organize that knowledge also plays a crucial role. In this case, the researcher would like to discover: RQ 4: What types of knowledge are important for SSU journalists to pave their way to expertise? And how did they organize the knowledge?. 25 .

(26) . 3. Research Method According to Wimmer and Dominick (2011), “the choice of which method to use depends primarily on the research question and the objectives of the research” (p.123). Instead of quantitatively calculating the effectiveness of SSU members’ SDL, the purpose of this study is to discover the traits and the processes of SSU members’ SDL, and compile suitable training methods and subjects for student journalists based on SSU members’ experience. The four research questions in this study seek qualitative answers. Hays and Singh (2012) once mentioned, “qualitative research is the study of a phenomenon” (p.4). Within qualitative studies, a researcher’s goal is to gain a deeper understanding on an issue, and to further illustrate the phenomenon. Adult education scholar Merriam (1998) also pointed out, “qualitative research assumed that meaning is embedded in people’s experiences and that this meaning is mediated through the investigator’s own perceptions” (p.6). To better discover the meaning of SSU members’ SDL experiences, it is important for the researcher to employ in-depth interviews in this study.. 3.1 Semi-structured interview According to Tracy, “interviews are especially valuable for providing information and background on issues that cannot be observed or efficiently accessed” (2013, P.132). One of the features of employing the interview method “is the wealth of detail that it provides” (Wimmer and Dominick, 2011, p.139). Semi-structured in-depth interviews enable the researcher to “gain complex in-depth information from participants” (Savin-Baden and Major, 2013, p.358), and allows the researcher to identify “commonalities and differences across individual respondents on one or more topics” (Lapan, Quartaroli and Riemer, 2012, p.94). Through in-depth interviews, the researcher hopes to understand the commonalities between SSU students’ SDL, and what kinds of 26 .

(27) . personal differences in learning have helped them to become professional journalists. For Hesse-Biber and Leavy (2011), in-depth interviews are a special kind of conversation. Active asking and listening between the researcher and the interviewee is crucial to this type of research. The process of their conversation is the source where the researcher can extract meaning. It is a meaning-making process. Another special feature of in-depth interviews is that they are issue oriented. Hesse-Biber and Leavy further point out the fact that this method is very useful “when the researcher has a particular topic he or she wants to focus on and gain information about from individuals” (2011, p.95). In the case of SSU students, through in-depth interviews, the researcher is capable of gaining insights from SSU graduates, and to thoroughly discover their SDL process. Employing semi-structured interviews also allow “individual respondents some latitude and freedom to talk about what is of interest or importance to them” (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2011, p.102). Owing to the uniqueness of each interviewee, there may be questions the researchers did not think of prior to the interviews. Through semi-structured interviews, there is more room for the researcher to discover differences between interviewees. Consequently, it “allow the conversation to develop, exploring new topics that are relevant to the interviewee” (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2011, p.102).. 3.2 Interview Questions Due to the research topic, the researcher confined the interview questions to how these student journalists arranged their SDL. The researcher hopes to understand what types of activities they were involved in, what types of training they have had, and to discover what has lead them on the path to becoming professional journalists. The researcher designed 20 interview questions in total. These 20 questions were based on three aspects. The first aspect is about their personal background, and the 27 .

(28) . second is about their actual performances during their time at SSU. The third aspect is about their SDL process. Related interview questions are presented in the Appendix.. 3.3 Sample Selection Todres (2005) has pointed out that for a phenomenological research, “the aim is to understand a phenomenon more deeply through adequate exposure to the qualities of the phenomena that are given by the living of the phenomenon” (p.109). SSU is a specially designed student organization. Student journalists who join this organization may come from different kinds of professional backgrounds; for example, liberal arts, education, physical education, or business administration. The applicants are not limited to mass communication majors only. However, after students joined SSU, the SDL process of mass communication majors and non-majors may be very different due to lack of prior journalistic trainings. Nevertheless, even for mass communication majors, it is likely that they never took any practical courses about sports journalism before they entered the organization. Therefore, the selection of interviewees for this study does not depend on their academic major, but on their actual performance while they were in SSU. The actual performance here refers to the amount and types of sports events they covered. Only those student journalists who had covered over 5 news reports and 2 types of sports are included in the sample of this study. For comparison, eight SSU members were selected according to their educational background and the length of their SSU membership. To ensure the quality of this research and to protect the rights of the interviewees, before each interview the researcher informed the participants of the purpose of the interview, the process, and how the results may be used. With such information, the interviewees can make a voluntary decision whether to enroll and continue to participate.. 28 .

(29) . 4. Research Findings This study interviewed eight people. Information regarding these eight interviewees is listed in the chart below. In order to answer the initial research questions, research findings are presented according to the following themes: backgrounds of interviewees, SSU members’ SDL, SSU members’ interpersonal relationships, SSU members’ SDL activities, SSU members’ SDL knowledge, and other SDL influential factors. Table 4.1 Backgrounds of Interviewees. CHIA LUO CHANG TSENG YEH LIN YU HSU. Bachelor. Master. Years of SSU. Current profession. Chinese Literature Chemical Engineering Early Childhood Education Journalism English Literature English Literature Business Administration English Literature. Journalism Physical Education Physical Education. 3 3 4 1 4 2 3 2. Student Student Journalist Journalist Journalist Journalist Student Journalist. Journalism Journalism Journalism. 4.1 Background of Interviewees Educational Background The eight SSU journalists’ educational backgrounds can be divided into three main categories: liberal arts, physical education, and journalism. The SSU members who possess a Bachelor’s degree from an area other than these three fields of study decided to apply for a Master’s degree related to physical education or journalism due to their experience in SSU. For example, respondent LUO majored in chemical engineering as an undergraduate and joined SSU during his senior year. With ample sports journalism training in SSU, 29 .

(30) . LUO became more certain about his interest and decided to pursue higher education in a sports journalism related field. As LUO stated: I do not really like chemical engineering, and I do not want to continue this profession as a career. At that time, when I joined SSU I revived my love for sports. After several sports interview experiences, I made up my mind to become a sports journalist. Consequently, I applied for graduate school in physical education to strengthen my academic knowledge of sports. Reasons to join SSU SSU journalists’ educational backgrounds may be quite different, but they all began their sports journalism journey for a similar reason: their love for sports. Each of the SSU journalists had a certain degree of connection with sports in the past; they may have been a student athlete or a long-term sports fan. Concerning their purpose in joining SSU, two scenarios emerged: 1.To appreciate the essence of sports journalism. 2.To make contributions to the sports they love. For the first scenario, interviewees consider SSU to be a platform for them to get to know the world of sports journalism. These interviewees all wish to learn journalistic skills and to expand their social networks in the field of sports journalism, with the ultimate goal of finding a job in the sports communication industry. Before joining SSU, CHIA had already become interested in sports journalism. She joined this organization hoping to improve her journalistic skills. She said: SSU provides systematic training sessions, which includes lectures and practical news coverage. From the lectures, I can learn from professionals’ experiences; from practical training, I am able to hone my journalistic skills. The training courses in SSU have enlightened me about the world of journalism. As for HSU, her main intention in joining SSU was to expand her social network.. 30 .

(31) . HSU: “I am from the English department, so I have few chances to meet people from the news industry. I considered joining SSU to be a nice opportunity for me to expand my social network.” YEH is also from English department and joined SSU to pursue her dream. YEH: “I majored in English Literature, but I wanted to become a sports journalist. I joined SSU to see whether I could do an internship or find a job in the news industry.” Most SSU members had little or no knowledge about journalism before they joined SSU. However, even for TSENG, who majored in journalism, it was not until she joined SSU that she actually got involved in practical sports news writing. As TSENG stated: My department does provide training courses on news writing. However, what I had learned at school was closer to general concepts of what to write and how to interview. On the contrary, the training in SSU focuses specifically on sports news. Training courses such as sports photography, sports interviewing and sports news writing have profoundly helped me to excel at my current job. In the second scenario, interviewees joined SSU to support the sport they love. As YU shared: When I was a kid, my dream was to stay by the sports fields all day to watch sports games. So when I had the chance to join SSU, I was so happy. I tried to cover as much news as possible whenever I had free time. CHANG also mentioned: I never thought I would become a journalist. I joined SSU simply because I love sports. At that time, I did not have any specific learning plan. All I wished for was to become familiar with more sports and more athletes. CHANG, like many other interviewees, started her news coverage by focusing on the kind of sport she is most familiar with: basketball.. 31 .

(32) . 4.2 SSU’s SDL The eight interviewees all began their SSU journeys by covering basketball news. RQ1 explores what opportunities, chances and knowledge SSU journalists possess that has helped them to form their SDL. The Formation Process of SSU journalists’ SDL Among the eight interviewees, five were once members of a basketball team. They know basketball rules well; therefore they started their SSU journey from covering basketball news. The other three interviewees do not play basketball, but they are fans of the sport, so they also chose basketball games as their first stories to cover. The eight interviewees started from writing basketball news, but they did not merely focus on writing about this single sport. Being sports lovers, SSU writers often indulge themselves by covering different types of sports. CHIA expressed: “Every opportunity in SSU seems interesting to me. My goal is to conduct as many interviews related to different types of sports, different levels of sports, or different gender groups as possible.” It is the same case for LIN. As a female basketball player, she started with basketball news. Then in her second year, she began to challenge herself and started to write news reports related to volleyball and football. As for TSENG, before joining SSU, she never had the chance to cover volleyball news. So after she joined the group, she seized every opportunity to learn volleyball rules, to become familiar with more volleyball athletes, and to write news about the game. Most SSU members have stayed in the organization around 2-3years. Within this amount of time, these SSU members have kept one clear objective in mind: to know more about sports. They have tried to cover and to learn about as many sports as they can. However, these interviewees did not have a specific learning plan at the beginning; in fact, they set their plan gradually. 32 .

(33) . YEH joined SSU when she was a freshman and stayed in SSU for four years. In her first year, YEH focused mainly on her schoolwork and didn’t have much time for SSU. She could only manage to hand in five news reports during that semester, which is the minimum requirement of SSU. YEH: At that semester’s year-end meeting, I realized that I had missed many chances to cover interesting stories, because the manager of SSU provides extra opportunities for those who are more involved. This motivated me to set a goal to write about more games during the second year, and to write news about more different kinds of sports during the third year. Therefore, my most productive year was the third year; I handed in 40 news articles related to nine different sports. Because of my constant involvement, the manager of SSU provided me with extra opportunities to join international events like the FISU Forum and the World University Triathlon Championship in my third and fourth years. One of the reasons that allowed YEH to increase the amount of interviews she conducted was that she had more free time in her sophomore year. The same went for YU, as more time in his schedule allowed him to increase his involvement in SSU. YU: I joined SSU in my senior year, so I had plenty of free time. Besides, I was preparing to take the entrance exam for graduate school. Covering sports news served as an outlet for me to release my stress. I went to basketball courts whenever I was free, or when I needed to shift my attention. In total, I wrote about 50 news articles in that semester. Except for the issue of free time mentioned above, geographical proximity is also a crucial factor that influences SSU members’ SDL. CHANG shared, “My university often held university basketball games and volleyball games. Because I was usually close by, I had the advantage of covering more matches. During that period, it was. 33 .

(34) . convenient to go to the courts whenever I had free time.” In addition, the researcher discovered that a SSU journalist’s background plays an important role in shaping his or her SDL. TSENG covered mostly female basketball news after she joined SSU. According to TSENG, this was mainly because of her personal relationships with these athletes. TSENG: I’ve been a basketball athlete since high school, and I am friends with many former HBL female athletes from my school. I also have prior knowledge about their performance and their personalities. Because I am their friend, they often share their thoughts and stories with me, which turns out to be a great source for news writing. In addition, my school often holds university female basketball games. These factors all gave me advantages when covering female basketball news. SSU journalists’ SDL Approach In order to become professional journalists, interviewees reflected similar approaches to improving themselves. SSU members’ learning approach can be classified into 4 areas: 1. News writing. 2. Interpersonal communication. 3. Data collection. 4. Improvisation. News writing is SSU student journalists’ primary focus. SSU training started their news writing journeys by following the inverted pyramid writing principle. In order to improve, SSU revealed that “reading, writing, and asking” are fundamental approaches. CHIA pointed out, “Through reading, I can absorb new knowledge and new writing techniques to add depth to my stories.” CHANG further explained the process: At first, I used a certain pattern to present my articles. But after I read many news stories written by professionals, and had written a good amount myself, I gradually got the sense of how to present a nice article. I was then able to further transform my articles by presenting a different theme or adding different perspectives to it. I could sense my progress during the process. I started my SSU journey as someone who. 34 .

(35) . knew nothing about news writing, and have since become someone who knows how to maintain relationships with interviewees, how to conduct an interview, and how to write a feature story. Even though I do not have a journalism degree, through accumulating interview experiences I have become more skillful at news writing. To push their improvements further, interviewees revealed that observation and imitation are two important approaches. By reading other journalists’ news reports, observing how they interview people, and imitating how they write articles, SSU members are able to learn advanced journalism skills and create their personal writing style. As LIN brought up, she first learned news writing skills through comparison. LIN: I often read the same news story written by different news agencies. I would compare these news reports to find differences and to discover if there were any details that I had originally missed. I also observed certain journalists’ articles to see how they elaborated upon stories to make them more interesting, or how they combined stories together with statistics. Unlike LIN, who focused on developing news writing skills, LUO sought to learn interview skills through observation. LUO believes that the toughest part of news writing lies in asking the right questions: When conducting sports interviews, you need to be able to understand the game to ask relevant questions. And you need good questions to produce nice articles. Since this is the case, I often observed how professional journalists approach an issue, and how they combine all the collected information together into a news report. Peer observation is another important approach for SSU members to learn news writing skills. Interviewees like YEH observed news articles written by experienced SSU members and tried to learn from their strengths. YEH said: One of my friends, LIU, is good at storytelling. I often refer to his articles when. 35 .

(36) . writing feature stories. CHEN and CHIU are productive student journalists; they are able to produce several articles in a short period of time. So I often consult them about how to speed up my writing time. Likewise, YU often referred to his peers’ articles to improve his ability to write feature stories. YU: There are two SSU members’ articles that I often refer to. One is Debbie, who often starts her news reports with a quote from the athlete. This makes her news articles special and more readable. I often refer to her articles when I am writing feature stories. The other person I consult is CHIA. Her articles are very concise, but she includes all the important information in just a few lines. I often observe their articles, take notes, and then have a discussion with them. As for TSENG, she discovered through observation that some journalists have prepared their own databases, such as game records over the past 10 years, and then will use these data often in their news reports. TSENG: This has influenced me to pay attention and to collect athletes’ records to enrich my news reports. I am specializing in badminton news, so currently I have compiled my personal databank, which includes Taiwanese badminton players’ world records and rankings over the past few years. In addition to news writing, imitation also helps SSU members to prepare for other journalistic positions. HSU’s goal is to become an anchorperson, so she focuses on developing her ability to present news. HSU: “I consider imitation to be an important skill. Through imitating the way an anchorperson presents news, I am able to make progress and improve my own oral presentation skills.” Interpersonal communication is another crucial skill that SSU journalists have learned from their practical experiences. Through frequent interviews, student. 36 .

(37) . journalists have learned to build up interpersonal relationships with interviewees and other key sources. Their role as student journalists has also influenced SSU members to change their way of interacting with people. CHIA expressed that she has changed her method of interacting with people after she joined SSU. CHIA: I am not a talkative person, but when working as a journalist, I need to be active and speak to others directly. From my experiences, I have learned how to build up mutual trust with my interviewees, so that they will be willing to share more stories with me. Also, I have realized that in order to conduct a good interview, you need to be well prepared by searching for related information and preparing questions in advance, and then adjusting your questions during interviews if needed. As a journalist, you need to find the best way to interact with different interviewees. YU discovered the importance of setting an appropriate interview atmosphere when he conducted an interview with a disabled basketball athlete. YU: In the past, I only asked athletes about their performance on the court. But for this news story, I interviewed the player about his personal life and how he manages to attend all the team practices and games with only one arm. This is the first time I tried to chat with my interviewee instead of simply interviewing them for information. After this experience, I realized that it is better for me to interact with my interviewees in a relaxed manner. By changing the atmosphere from that of a formal interview to an easygoing chat, in which I can talk with interviewees like friends, the interviewees are more willing to open their hearts and share their minds with me.. 4.3 SSU’s Interpersonal Relationship The interpersonal relationship mentioned above may be further elaborated upon, as it can refer to interactions with a peer, team leader, SSU manager, athlete, or professional journalist. In this study, the researcher is curious about what kinds of interpersonal 37 .

(38) . relationships SSU journalists possess that play an influential role in their SDL. In this section, the researcher explores the findings to address RQ2. In SSU, student journalists are divided into three groups according to their geographical location. Team leaders in each group provide feedback to members whenever they hand in a news article. The manager of SSU may also provide students with extra suggestions about how to improve. The relationships formed between SSU members offer abundant resources for SSU journalists. As CHIA mentioned: “The exchange of experiences in SSU means a lot to me. From conversations with other SSU members, I can learn new journalistic skills or even get some extra job opportunities.” When speaking about his relationship with peers in SSU, LUO expressed strong emotions: I had just transferred to a new school when I joined SSU. I did not have many friends at school, so I depended on my friends in SSU for companionship. After all, we shared the same hobby and the same goal. To this day, we discuss our favorite athletes, watch games and work to become sports journalists together. The relationship with my friends in SSU is like a constructive competition; we compete with each other to push ourselves to improve. As LUO pointed out, it is common for SSU members to consult with senior SSU writers about how to improve their news reports. LUO once took on the task of writing volleyball news. During the production process, he consulted a senior SSU member, who was once a volleyball player, about how to write excellent volleyball news. The senior SSU analyzed the game for him and pointed out particular aspects worth paying attention to. LUO: “People in SSU have helped me to discover my blind spots, and in that way, they have helped me to make progress.” YU had a similar experience. YU is a certified basketball referee; he knows. 38 .

(39) . basketball rules extremely well. However, he knew nothing about news writing when he first joined SSU. After he learned the inverted pyramid writing technique taught in SSU’s news writing training course, YU contacted his division leader, followed her to the basketball sidelines, and observed how she asked questions and took notes. Yu then wrote a news report and compared it with his team leader’s version of the same game. As YU pointed out, “The relationship between me and my team leader is crucial. With my team leader’s help, I gradually gained a clearer idea about news production.” Besides interacting with peers, SSU members often met professional journalists during their work. Professional journalists can be viewed as role models for SSU members to follow. However, they may also occasionally serve as bad examples for student journalists. LUO once met a journalist who interviewed athletes while he was having his lunch. LUO: “I thought it was inappropriate. It reminded me to be aware of my attitude and behavior when conducting interviews.” CHIA also agreed that by observing professional journalists, SSU members are able to learn from their strengths and weaknesses. CHIA: Whenever I saw journalists who asked questions without any preparation, it reminded me to be careful to not to make the same mistake. If I met someone who asked great questions, it inspired me to develop new ways to conduct my interviews. While SSU members may not have many direct interactions with professional journalists, LIN pointed out that SSU writers should always be aware of their attitude: Whenever you meet a professional journalist, remember to be polite to them. They are experts in this industry. They are able to help you to move further, or to stop you from working in this field. If you are polite, they may be willing to share their experience with you and guide you in a direction that will help you succeed at your job. Aside from gaining extra help, LIN also mentioned that establishing a good. 39 .

(40) . relationship with experts might help student journalists to pick up on tacit knowledge and wisdom about the industry. LIN: There is a lot of journalism knowledge that you cannot learn from textbooks or from the Internet; it lies in the minds of these experts. Only by having direct interactions with them can one learn the essence and depth of knowledge about the field. I often need to consult professional journalists for information about important figures or potential athletes. They have been in the industry for a long time, so they are better able to predict or decide what is newsworthy, and to then connect various pieces of information together in a cohesive way. In addition, LIN analyzes how important interpersonal relationships have been to her once she entered the industry. LIN: When I was in SSU, the workload was less; it was fine for me to work on my own. But after I entered the industry, I realized that I depended more upon my coworkers. Under time constraints and a heavy workload, sometimes it is impossible to finish all the interviews or take all the pictures. This is when I need help from other journalists. Maintaining good relationships with other people in the industry can help me finish assignments on time. As well as the benefit of receiving extra help, maintaining interpersonal relationships may also provide additional opportunities for student journalists. LUO once got the chance to write a news story for a tennis company because of his previous volunteer experience. As for HSU, she met her boss at a SSU event and got offered a position as an anchorperson. Another experience that most SSU members share is being assigned to cover a topic that they are not familiar with. This may include reporting on rules or sports figures they did not understand. When they were novices, they may have been nervous about. 40 .

(41) . venturing into unfamiliar territory, but as their experience increased, they figured out ways to solve such problems. For example, they learned to search for related information through the Internet to increase their knowledge, or to ask a key informant for help. As for HSU, she prefers asking a source questions to get direct answers. HSU: Through asking questions directly with a key person, I can get the answers I need quickly and comprehensively. I’m able to learn directly from them, which works better than searching on the Internet by myself. In addition, through this method journalists can also build a positive relationship with that key person. The various ways that SSU members react to such situations also relates to the journalists’ personalities. HSU prefers direct interaction, while TSENG still prefers finding answers by herself. From time to time she might also consult a personal reference for help. TSENG: I prefer searching information by myself. But for some sports like golf, I can only obtain limited knowledge from the Internet. To learn more, I have been visiting golf courses often to chat with coaches, to get to know the athletes, and to become familiar with the rules of golf. Additionally, TSENG also mentioned that it is important for journalists to build up a social network of key sources and references before covering big events. TSENG: Some matches, such as preliminary rounds, may not be viewed as newsworthy, but I will still visit the sidelines to expand and maintain my social connection with interviewees. If I visit them often and make friends with them, we can gradually build up trust and then they may be more willing to share extra information with me. Also, after I entered the industry, I realized that collecting an athlete’s telephone number is important. Sometimes we need to do a second follow-up interview to get updates, or simply to fulfill your boss’s requirement to get extra information. Therefore,. 41 .

(42) . whenever I interview an athlete that I haven’t met before, I will ask for his or her phone number right after the interview to ensure that I am able to contact them when needed.. 4.4 SSU members’ SDL Activities SSU provides student journalists with a platform to experience the world of sports journalism. Through years of practice, interviewees reported that their journalistic abilities have advanced. As CHIA shared: By increasing the amount of interviews in the second year of my SSU journey, I have learned how to react to unexpected situations. Rather than just asking questions, I found out it is also necessary to pay attention to interviewees’ emotions, or to the surrounding environment. LUO reinforced this point by saying: My ability has been upgraded comprehensively. Especially for news writing, through constant practice and instruction by professionals, I made progress from merely imitating to discovering my own personal writing style. From my increase in experience, I have also learned how to react to diverse situations, and thus improve my ability to improvise. LIN shared similar experiences. LIN: It was around my second year in SSU that I started to consider how to improve my articles. In hindsight, when I first started to write news, I included some content that seems irrelevant now. As the years passed by, I started to recognize how to eliminate unnecessary details and how to elaborate things in different ways. Overall, I realized how to improve my writing. From the aforementioned quotes we can see that through practical training and accumulating experiences, SSU journalists are able to transform declarative knowledge 42 .

(43) . into procedural knowledge. But what types of practical training may benefit SSU members to transform declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge? In the following discussion, the researcher will discuss the answers to RQ3. SSU Activities The manager of SSU provides student journalists with both domestic and international internship opportunities related to sports communication. Once they are assigned to their missions, student journalists can decide freely what topics to cover. CHIA mentioned: SSU gives us freedom to decide what to cover. The core mission of SSU is to write stories about student athletes who are special but unknown. Interviewing such athletes is great training for me to hone my interview skills. Since these athletes are unknown, I need to do extra preparation for data collection and interview questions. Activities like international sports events also broaden SSU members’ horizons, and provide them with a chance to practice their English. CHIA and YU were both staff workers at an international table tennis event. During the event, they needed to conduct English interviews, which presented a great challenge for them. As CHIA mentioned: The first challenge was that we needed to translate our questions into English. However, due to the language barrier or cultural differences, they still may not always understand our questions. So the second challenge lay in adjusting the way we stated our questions from time to time, to get our points across to the foreign athletes during the interviews. Many SSU members experienced series coverage at Universiade or other international championships. At such international events, student journalists are able to interact with athletes from different sports and to learn to follow up on news in a short period of time. Four of the interviewees shared their experiences.. 43 .

(44) . YEH: I was in charge of the 2013 Universiade news project. I got to know the rules and the athletes of many different sports because of this mission. I did a lot of online research during this period of time, and learned how to read statistics and write the special terminology for different sports. The experience was quite unforgettable. It further connected to my first mission after I entered the industry, in which I was assigned to write news reports about the Incheon Asian Games. Because of my experience in SSU, I am able to deal with diverse topics and finish writing news reports on time. CHIA: I experienced events like the Asian University Men’s Basketball Game and the Gwangju Universiade. At the first event, I learned to do interviews in English; as for the second one, it increased my knowledge of multi-sport events. Events like the Universiade include many sports other than basketball, baseball and football, and I learned a lot about those sports’ rules. These experiences from SSU let me see clearly that writing news reports is not just about interviewing, and there are still a lot of aspects to be aware of. For example, an awareness of international politics or Universiade-related events helped add depth to my stories. CHANG: Conducting pre-event interviews at the Shenzhen Universiade was an important experience for me. That was the first time that I entered the National Sports Training Center, where I interviewed athletes from archery and weightlifting. I chose these sports purposely, because I wanted to challenge myself and get to know different sports that I had little exposure to. LIN: The World University Karate Championship was a great challenge for me. The. 44 .

(45) . manager of SSU only provided us the coaches’ contact information as a starting point. All the other components involved in covering the event, including what to interview, how to interview, and how to make contacts with athletes and coaches, depended on my own initiative. I needed to write news reports before, during and after the championship. Therefore I had to find ways to contact athletes while they were traveling abroad. This experience was like pre-employment training for a sports journalist career. It is the exact same situation once you step into the industry. Your boss only gives you a general direction, and then you have to collect the rest of the information and finish your work on your own. From the quotes above, it is clear that international events serve as an opportunity for SSU members to: 1. Learn different sports rules. 2. Hone their data collection ability. 3. Experience the work mode as professional journalist. Other than learning from international events, SSU members revealed that they have also learned to improve their ability through conducting different SSU duties. YEH mentioned: “I was a team leader in my third and fourth year. I needed to switch from a writer’s perspective to a reader’s perspective to give helpful advice. This helped me to improve my news writing skills through constant reflection.” As for TSENG, her experience with simultaneously providing news reports to two different organizations has helped her to write about the same incident from different angles. The learning process at SSU focuses mainly on sports communication and provides training geared towards print and broadcast media. CHANG, YEH and TSENG, currently working in the industry as sports journalists, expressed that their experiences at SSU have truly helped them in completing their current work assignments. CHANG: Thanks to my training at SSU, the pace of my writing is quicker, as I am able to identify the key point in a short period of time. This is mainly because now I am used. 45 .