Attention all Americans! Help with M.A thesis' survey is needed!

[RoyT]

Hello everybody,

 

I'm a student at Sichuan Uni., currently studying my M.A in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL).

Nowadays I'm writing my thesis about Chinese studies motivation and purposes, focusing on American students, among others, who already graduated from their universities/colleges and studied Chinese for at least one semester at their home country (USA).

 

The survey is rather simple and short, take about 10-15 minutes to complete and can be taken online here! 

Any help is very appreciated! If you happen to know any one who is qualified to fill in the survey, I'd be delighted if you could pass it on to them

 

Thanx for your time and consideration,

 

Roy T.

 

 

 

 

[Hofmann]

It would be nice if you posted your thesis here once you're done, if you're asking for our participation.

[RoyT]

Will do!

I'm just afraid it'll be too long and boring for everybody..our school forces us to write at least 35,000 characters. 

Thanx for your comment

[roddy]

We don't usually let these through, nobody ever bothers to come back and provide feedback and half the time the surveys are badly designed. 

 

How about you put up a post telling us all about your course / university. That would be interesting. 

[Elizabeth_rb]

Hi!  Well, I've just completed your survey.  I'm not American and I didn't go to an American university, so my answers are relevant to the UK university environment, which I understand to be very different indeed from the US one.  

 

Anyway, I hope my answers are some use to you and all the best with your research.  I too would be interested in a summary of what you're doing and of the results.  I suggest not posting the whole thesis, but an English summary of the main findings.  As a (former) non-native speaking teacher of Mandarin, I'm still keenly interested in this field.

[歐博思]

I just completed your survey as well with what I hope are detailed, quality responses. I too would be interested in seeing your finished thesis, or as Roddy said, a write-up on your university/TCFL courses. I'm considering going into a similar program next fall too.

[roddy]

He did a write-up, then I split it off into a new topic - see here. 

[RoyT]

Thank you everyone who helped me with the survey, I must say this platform has contributed the most answers so far (5-6 answers so far!)...however, this is still far from what is needed, so if anybody still sees this message and has some time to spare, please help me out and fill in

 

@ Elizabeth: Thank you very much for completing my survey! It's really hard to convince people I actually know to fill in the survey, so it is just great seeing a person whom I don't know nor never met doing that with a great pleasure! 

To be honest I have no idea what are the differences between studying Chinese in the UK and US, it is too early now to compare your answers with the Americans, but I'll keep it in mind when I analyze the answers. 

May I ask, where have you been teaching Chinese? and how come you're only a "former" teacher nowadays? Cheers!

[Elizabeth_rb]

You're most welcome, Roy!  I can't bear those people who refuse to spare a moment to help others.  I always found it shocking to see posters from research students around my old uni begging for participants in their study and offering money and other rewards in return, because, frankly, there would be next to no uptake if they were to be expected to do it just for the pleasure of helping someone out.  Pah!

 

Ask anything you like, no probs.  I used to teach at the University of Leeds, England.  I'm a graduate of the Dept of East Asian Studies where I did the 4-year Modern Chinese Studies programme and, when I returned a year later to do a post-grad programme in Translation Studies, I was asked by my former teachers to help out with some of the their beginners classes and marking.  Later on, the uni's Language Centre approached me to take some beginners' classes there.  I'm not doing it anymore for two reasons: 1) We moved and there doesn't seem to be as much call for part-time teachers in the uni of Sheffield's Chinese programme, and 2) health reasons.

 

If you're interested in some of the differences I've spotted between US and UK Chinese studies stuff, let me know and I'll spill the beans.  In the meantime, 加油！