Designing
Motivating Activities To Enhance Learning in
Non-Chinese L1 Contexts
Abstract
Victoria Wang, Ph.D.
Given the vast number of innovations over the millennia, only a very few can claim to have affected the lives of people around the world as Rattanapian (2002) pointes out. Rattanapian is referring to the use of internet. The appearance of text-based internet in 1980s advanced conventional classroom teaching. The development of World Wide Web since 1994 has further assisted in learning and research.
More and more foreign language educators have been adopting on-line technology which includes audio and visual output to complement the lack of the native contexts of the target language.
The reason for this is that based on the theory of Information Processing (Padilla et al, 1990), if the learner lacks of the presupposed knowledge of the target language, the new information can not be transferred from sensory memory to and store in the short-term memory:
Figure I. The Model of Information Processing ( Padilla el , 1990)
That is to say if the information cannot be stimulated and sent from sensory to short-term memory, it is impossible for the advancement in the second language. Therefore, applying meaningful and stimulating method will assist to reach the long-term memory of the target language.
This paper will discuss the activities (including utilizing internet) designed to enhance target language learning in non-Chinese L1 context at the University of Toronto, one of such activities is Mandarin Curricular Development Initiations inspired by the Communication Café of the English as a Second Language program.
Key words: internet, World Wide Web, language, on-line technology, Information Processing, target language,
Non-Chinese L1 context, Mandarin Curricular Activity, Communication Café, English as a second Language.