Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades
The General Guidelines of Grade 1–9 Curriculum lists the following guidelines for effective practices for teachers:8
- Reading is the center of language instruction; however, reading should be learned in conjunction with listening, speaking, composition, and writing
- Student-centered instruction of comprehension strategies should be considered in order to cultivate independent reading abilities
- Teaching a text should begin with an overall review, followed by a paragraph by paragraph analysis to understand the content in depth, and then a study of the format, rhetoric, structure, characteristics, and style of the text
- Comprehension strategies for various types of texts taking into consideration students’ background knowledge should be provided
Generally, teachers of Chinese adhere closely to the textbooks and workbooks, teaching all content therein. In teaching Chinese, most teachers follow a set of procedures and use instructional activities that comply with textbooks and workbooks. For example, lessons in first grade always begin with a warm-up activity, mostly through choral reading or questioning, that reviews previous lessons and previews the next lesson. This is followed by a variety of activities that consolidate learning and concludes with desk work. While teaching procedures used during and after third grade are similar, lessons at these levels use more extended and integrated activities. For example, activities such as brainstorming and dramatization are used to reinforce the lexical or linguistic focus of the lesson or to elaborate on the text.9
In fourth grade, approximately 60 percent of classroom time is focused on character instruction and practice.10 A common method of classroom instruction is for the teacher to write a character on the blackboard and ask students to trace the character in the air.11 Many teachers believe that students will not be able to understand texts without proper instruction on Chinese characters. However, research indicates that from second grade on, students read by the unit of word, not by character.12
Instructional Materials
Taiwan’s national curriculum standard requires schools to follow regulations for selecting instructional materials for students. In general, publishers develop Chinese textbooks based on the General Guidelines of Grade 1–9 Curriculum. A committee formed by the Ministry of Education examines these books and releases a list of approved textbooks. Schools then form a textbook selection committee including teachers, administrators, parents, and subject specialists to choose appropriate texts from this list. Many teachers also use library materials for extracurricular reading and student assignments.
Use of Technology
Almost all primary schools have computer laboratories or computers in the classrooms, and teachers are asked to integrate technology into classroom instruction. Students are required to take computer literacy classes and often are assigned tasks that require them to search for and read information on the Internet.13
Second Language Instruction
As mentioned previously, students begin learning English as a Second Language in third grade. Therefore, qualified English teachers are in great demand. The Ministry of Education provides subsidies to schools that hire qualified foreign teachers who speak English, especially in disadvantaged areas.