Adopting mixed methods for research topics in teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rtcfl.36829Keywords:
Chinese as a foreign language, Chinese as a second language, mixed methods research, methodologyAbstract
Mixed methods research (MMR) is expanding across various disciplines, and some researchers in the field of teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign or second language (CFL/CSL) have tried to adopt this approach. Drawing from Plano Clark and Ivankova (2016) the socio-ecological framework of MMR, this paper synthesizes the application of MMR in CFL/CSL studies and highlights issues informative for future CFL/CSL researchers and MMR methodologists. Specifically, this paper discusses first the patterns of research questions, participants, and settings, and second the definition of MMR, the rationale for using MMR, the design of MMR, the intersection of MMR with other approaches, and the quality of meta-inferences in the included studies. It concludes that although there are a certain number of studies which use MMR to investigate CFL/CSL topics, however, many aspects in the application of MMR are still open to discussion. Future studies in CFL/CSL which use MMR should be aware of the essence of mixing two strands of methods and of the meta-inferences quality.
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Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Creswell, J. W. and Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Creswell, J. W. and Plano Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Du, H. (2013). The development of Chinese fluency during study abroad in China. The Modern Language Journal 97 (1), 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.01434.x
Goldberg, D., Looney, D., and Lusin, N. (2015, February). Enrollments in languages other than English in United States institutions of higher education, Fall 2013. Retrieved from https://apps.mla.org/pdf/2013_enrollment_survey.pdf
Guo, S. and Möllering, M. (2016). The implementation of task-based teaching in an online Chinese class through web conferencing. System 62, 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.07.003
Hesse-Biber, S., and Johnson, R. B. (2013). Coming at things differently: Future directions of possible engagement with mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 7 (2), 103–109. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689813483987
Lan, Y. J. and Lin, Y. T. (2016). Mobile seamless technology enhanced CSL oral communication. Journal of Educational Technology and Society 19 (3). 335–350.
Lin, C. -Y., Huang, C. -K., and Chen, C. -H. (2014). Barriers to the adoption of ICT in teaching Chinese as a foreign language in US universities. ReCALL 26 (1), 100–116. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344013000268
Looney, D., and Lusin, N. (2018). Enrollments in languages other than English in United States institutions of higher education, Summer 2016 and Fall 2016: Preliminary report. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/2197676-PDF
Morse, J. M. and Niehaus, L. (2009). Mixed Method Design: Principles and Procedures. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J. and Johnson, R. B. (2006). The validity issue in mixed research. Research in the Schools 13 (1), 48–63.
Plano Clark, V. L. and Ivankova, N. V. (2016). Mixed Methods Research: A Guide to the Field. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.
Ruan, J., Zhang, J., and Leung, C. B. (2015). Introduction. In J. Ruan, J. Zhang, and C. B. Leung (Eds), Chinese Language Education in the United States (pp. ix–xv). New York: Springer.
Sugie, S. and Mitsugi, M. (2014). Practice and evaluation of blended learning with cross-cultural distance learning in a foreign language class: Using mix methods data analysis. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics 18 (2), 1–19.
Tashakkori, A. and Creswell, J. W. (2007). The new era of mixed methods [Editorial]. Journal of Mixed Methods Research 1 (1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2345678906293042
Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (Eds). (2003). Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (Eds). (2010). SAGE Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and BehavioralRresearch (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506335193
Teddlie, C. and Tashakkori, A. (2009). Foundations of Mixed Methods Research: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Xu, X., Padilla, A. M., and Silva, D. (2014). The time factor in Mandarin language learning: The four-week intensive versus the regular high school semester. The Language Learning Journal 42 (1), 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.677054
Yang, Y., Crook, C., and O’Malley, C. (2014). Can a social networking site support afterschool group learning of Mandarin? Learning, Media and Technology 39 (3), 267–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2013.839564
Zhang, J. and Lu, X. (2013). Variability in Chinese as a foreign language learners’ development of the Chinese numeral classifier system. The Modern Language Journal 97 (S1), 46–60. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2012.01423.x
Published
2019-01-26
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Liang, F. (2019). Adopting mixed methods for research topics in teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language. Researching and Teaching Chinese As a Foreign Language, 2(2), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.1558/rtcfl.36829
