A Study on Adaptability of the Chinese Language Teaching Material “Happy Chinese” for Elementary Chinese Education in Sri-Lanka

Abstract

The Chinese language plays a vital role in current Sri Lankan education. Although at first the Chinese language has been introduced as a certificate course study program in Sri Lanka, now it has been uplifted as a degree program. In recent years, it has also entered into primary and secondary Sri-Lankan education system. Teaching and learning materials are classroom resources which create better conditions for the combination of both theory and practice in foreign language education. Nowadays "Happy Chinese" textbook is the main teaching material used in elementary Chinese education in Sri Lanka. The aim of this study is to identify the compilation issues of the “Happy Chinese” teaching material which are not adapting for younger adolescents in education system of Sri Lanka in order to enhance using teaching materials and as well as to propose suggestions to improve the quality of Sri Lankan elementary Chinese education. This research is based on a student interview method and the research sample consisted of 35 students who are studying the beginner level of Chinese language in primary and secondary schools in Sri Lanka. They are questioned on the effectiveness of the lesson themes, content and the language used and their satisfaction regarding the compilation of the text material. The findings of the study indicated that the lesson themes are not culturally relevant to the Sri Lankan society, the exercises are not designed to a very satisfactory level, the material content does not focus the difficult language points of the language leaner, the text material does not contain enough target language cultural exposure. Moreover, these kinds of deficiencies might cause lack of interesting towards Chinese language learning. Accordingly, the country-specific teaching materials should be carried out in order to lay out a solid foundation for the cultivation of good Chinese speakers abroad and the scholars should consider about publishing newly innovative teaching materials to determine the success and progress of elementary Chinese language education among primary and secondary schools in Sri Lanka.