HANBAN CONFUCIUS CLASSROOMS AND THE LEARNING OF CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IN THAI SCHOOLS

Abstract

Confucius Classroom is an educational institute established in primary and secondary schools in various countries including Thailand to spread Chinese culture and language. At present, research on Confucius Classrooms in Thailand is little, so this study attempts to examine the approaches used by Confucius Classrooms in teaching Chinese language and spreading Chinese culture in Thai schools and to what extent they contribute to mutual understanding between Chinese and Thai teachers. Data collection was done at Confucius Classrooms in four sample schools by in-depth interviews, questionnaires and tests. The respondents included the Chinese heads of Confucius Classrooms, Thai teachers and leaders, Chinese volunteer teachers and Thai students. The findings show that Chinese volunteer teachers use various methods in Confucius Classrooms: five-step method, audio-visual method, classroom activities, playing games, grammar-based method, task-based method and audiolingual method. Some obstacles of using those methods are, for example, improper textbooks, unqualified Chinese volunteer teachers, unreasonable curricula, being too young to learn. It is found that the teaching approaches are more successful in secondary schools than primary schools. To spread Chinese culture, Confucius Classrooms organize many cultural activities, competitions, HSK tests, and other projects. Many students like to take part in the activities but not all of them get good scores in culture tests because not all the activities are effective and meaningful. In terms of cultural exchange and mutual understanding, Thai teachers and Chinese volunteer teachers can exchange teaching experience, and learn from each other. Chinese volunteer teachers have improved their Thai language and understood Thai culture better. On the other hand, Thai teachers and students also have chance to improve their Chinese and gain more knowledge of China.