Mobile Applications in Mandarin Pedagogical Practice

Teaching is a complicated and comprehensive task. Teachers may spend many years of practice to learn how to teach well, and most of us will not have learned enough. It would be a continuous process to be a good teacher. Instead of keeping on learning what we do not know about teaching the subject, it is better to know what the real problems are happening in the class, reflect what is the cause and come out with an action plan as nobody starts well at teaching. Furthermore, in fulfilling the worldwide demand for Mandarin language acquisition occasioned with the advance affordances of technology, most of the researchers focused on technology impact than the pedagogical aspects. And there is still too little action research regarding teaching pedagogy that has been done on enhancing Mandarin learning, especially in the local context. Thus, it is the right time the researcher cum instructor examines Mandarin pedagogical practice through individual action research to examine to what extent technology-enhanced Mandarin instruction could impact teacher’s pedagogical practice besides assisting students’ learning. A total of fourteen Mandarin non-native learners have participated in the study. The triangulation method was used to ensure the trustworthiness of this qualitative study. The data was collected through students’ diaries, reflective journals, focus group interviews and oral assessment. Then they were analyzed through content and thematic analysis to ascertain the themes regarding teacher pedagogical practice which influenced smartphone usage in Mandarin learning. The results revealed that the human aspect was the most crucial factor in ensuring the success of technology integration instruction. The smartphone was found as a promising tool in teaching Mandarin however it is only effective when teachers use it as a pedagogical tool effectively.