Enhancing Chinese International Students’ English Communicative Competency in English-Chinese Program; College of Communication Arts, Rangsit University

ของคณะวิชา: College of Communication Arts

Using Visualized Teaching Materials to Enhance Student’s L2 Motivation

Asst. Prof. Dr. Ratchaporn Rattanaphumma Full-Time Lecturer, Suryadhep Teachers College

The English communication learning and practices in the English-Chinese Program

considered both social and cultural impacts of international atmosphere and intercultural

context on Chinese international students, College of Communication Arts, and

International College; Rangsit University. It seems like developing English communicative

competency plays a very important role in Chinese international students' class learning.

With regards to English communicative strategy, all activities in English-Chinese Program

were the guides for fostering the Chinese international students increase the levels of

English communicative competency, and helping them find out some practical strategies to

overcome their difficulties in communicating using English.

At the beginning of semester, I did the literature review of international and local

materials, in-depth interview, observation, and document analysis to analyze and critique

their English levels, skills, grammar, and vocabulary storage for preparing the effective

English teaching-learning planning and direction of class activities, including the teaching

techniques. The purpose was to describe, analyze, and create the English teaching-learning

strategies and cooperative learning in the classroom, and increase intercultural

understanding. After careful analysis of the means of the courses' scores, some causes for

the Chinese international students' weak English communicative competency are found

out that they lacked of enthusiasm in using English to communicate, lack of the related

cultural background knowledge of English-speaking countries, being afraid of making

mistakes, lack of necessary communicating skills, lack of English linguistic knowledge, and

so on.

Therefore, I improved and implemented the "outreach concept" to both the

teaching and learning process in Communication Arts (English-Chinese Program) to develop

Chinese international students to actively participate in English communication, and to

encourage students to make more efforts in order to improve their English communicative

levels and competencies under the strategy of 'collaborative learning'. All in-class teaching

and learning activities are meant to engage a number of Chinese international students,

and to bring English language knowledge and expertise on a particular study topic to the

objectives of study through the variety of professional activities. The class activities

produced through the several forms, such as group presentations, professional workshops,

special talks, trips, and so on.

Overall, the results and findings analysis from the review addressed that they were

three interrelated key steps for designing teaching and learning techniques based on

outreach concept with collaborative learning strategy, which would support the class

management. There were Step 1: Enhance Chinese International Students' English

Language Awareness, Step 2: Improve Chinese International Students' English Language

Knowledge, and Step 3: Develop Chinese International Students' English Language

Competency.

Step 1: Enhance Chinese International Students' English Language Awareness

With the aim of promoting their English proficiency and learning about Thai culture

in ICO 312: Communication in Thai Culture class, the activities followed a teaching flow that

integrated and enhanced the English communicative learning and international exchanges

between Chinese students and other English native students, particularly with respect to

English-speaking context, with critical thinking by challenging Chinese students to select,

analyze, and raise questions about Thai cultures on aspects of Chinese culture, and from

the perspective of the Chinese students. Then, the Chinese students started to share their

opinions and experiences to classroom discussions. Also, they focused on enhancing the

students' English listening and speaking comprehension. At the same time, videos, music,

literature, and field trips were used to facilitate their English communicative skills and Thai

cultural understanding. They challenged and encouraged Chinese international students to

aware and consider the English uses and communicative styles that are more important

concerning to English proficiency.

Step 2: Improve Chinese International Students' English Language Knowledge

I developed intercultural friendships between international students and Chinese

students to result in English communicative practices by cooperative Thai cultural activities

under the concept of 'Learning by Doing'. The activities such as Thai cooking, etiquette,

values, norms, and so on. These activities aimed to motivate interest and alert Chinese

students to practice English with their partners. In addition, to enhance and encourage

them improve of the English communication's knowledge, all Chinese students were

invited to participated in authentic English-speaking settings providing by International

College Rangsit University. They revealed the positive attitude and reflected the high ability

of English word uses and good accent.

In its essence, these activities focused on why Chinese students should care and

why English is important. Also, integral to enhancing awareness is being mindful of how to

inspire Chinese students to improve English knowledge and develop English competencies

during their stay in Thailand. Additionally, they aimed at increasing the level of English skills

of certain international communication skills.

Step 3: Develop Chinese International Students' English Language Competency

With regard to develop the English language competency, I recognized that Chinese

international students have the good knowledge to use English language in four skills;

speaking, listening; reading, and writing, after they got the results from English language test.

Then, I requested and encouraged them were grouped together to work on an assignment,

project, or meaningful activities, including peer-pairing technique regarding to the class

topics as the methods of collaborative learning. This class direction continually enhanced

the four skills leading to the competencies among the Chinese international students. It

revealed that the scores from the Oxford English test were higher than the previous results,

such as the result from B1 to B2 level or from A1 to C1. 

Based on the class evaluation, it clearly specified that all ICO 312 class activities and international setting experiences, which were designed and provides to Chinese international students, could be claimed as standardized evaluation that examined Chinese international students’ four basic English communication proficiency. The results and findings from questionnaires and in-depth interviewed with Chinese international students were presented that they earned the benefit from learning English language through collaborative activities. All students “agreed” to enhance their English language knowledge and competencies. Especially, they precepted how it was useful to practice and improve their English language’s communicative competencies for their current international studies in Rangsit University, and their future works. I also found that once the students acquired the English knowledge, they would be confident to present their English language skills. 
Additionally, they were really happy and felt fun to join the activities in and outside classrooms. They would gradually develop potential English competency in the process of academic learning from now on. 

From the above details of teaching-learning strategies in ICO 312 class among the

Chinese international students, which were adapted from the previous teaching-learning

process, I found that the new explicit knowledge was all about "the peer-pairing technique

and cooperative learning strategy" regarding to their individual background, study styles,

and collectivism concept, which increased the willingness to work with members of other

groups, and could leaded the students to the courses' objectives. These new explicit

knowledges were aimed to promote English capacities and interactions, to develop

friendships in the international context, and to result in English language understanding and

competencies. Also, these new explicit knowledges assisted the Chinese international

students in adapting to a new intercultural and Thai environment, and fostered positive

English studies awareness in intercultural settings. While there was considerable potential

for bringing an English language perspective to the classroom, and there had been

examples of how this might be achieved, it depends upon the collaboration of class

activities across all areas of Chinese international student life, skilled and committed

support them to implement all activities. Definitely, this is an area that deserves positive

outcomes and further study attention.