A study on Developing an Learner-centered General Chinese Curriculum : Analysis of curricular and learner needs
This study aims to enhance the quality of general Chinese in university by developing learner-centered curriculum and instruction based on student's needs. In an effort to develop an effective general Chinese program of a university, the present study examined curricular and learner needs for general Chinese courses of universities. The curricular of general Chinese programs collected from a total of 46 universities in South Korea were analyzed to examine class teaching hours, credits, courses, diffentiated-level classes, special courses, and a waiving policy of credits based on student proficiency. Also the survey and the interviews were carried out with the students studying in one university (N=387) to find out their needs on general Chinese courses. The curricular analysis showed the followings: 1) When analyzing the general Chinese courses curriculum of 46 universities surveyed, most of universities preferred 2~3 hours/2~3 credits Chinese courses,; 2) The results of surveys showed that the participants have strong needs for improving differentiated-level education. 3) It seems to be necessary to accommodate learners, teachers demand and realistic constraints on learning Chinese language learners.