GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING CHINESE LANGUAGE SKILLS OF MAHAYANA CHINESE BUDDHIST NOVICES OF PHRAPARIYATTIDHAMMA SCHOOLS UNDER CHINESE BUDDHIST SECT

Abstract

Phrapariyatthamma School, General department of group 13 education is one of the major organizations in educational working of Mahayana Chinese Buddhist of Sangha. The organization’s goal is to provide Chinese language teaching to monks and novices who come to ordain in the Chinese Buddhist Sangha by conforming to the international standard of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha’s identity. The aim is to provide monks and novices with four types of Chinese language skills and ability to use Chinese language to spread Buddhism and to keep those monks and novices continue to be religious heir of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha. Objective of the research; 1) to study the level of institution context, Chinese language teaching administration, learning activities, learning resources network and Chinese language skills of novices in Phrapariyatthamma School of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha; 2) to study the factors that affect Chinese language skills of novices in Phrapariyatthamma School of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha; and 3) to propose guidelines for developing Chinese language skills of novices in Phrapariyatthamma School of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha by adopting a mixed method between quantitative research and qualitative research. The sample size in quantitative research is 386 novices from Phrapariyatthamma School of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha. The sample size was determined from criteria of not less than 20 times of the observed variables. The model was analyzed by descriptive statistics and structural modeling equation. For qualitative research, data collection was carried out by in-depth interviews with16 key informants. Research findings: 1) School context level, Chinese language teaching management, learning activities, network of learning resources and Chinese language skills of the novices of Phrapariyatthamma School of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha were at the highest level; 2) Learning activities had the most direct effect on Chinese language skills of novices. Followed by network of learning resources, while the school context and management of Chinese language teaching had indirect effect on Chinese language skills; and 3) Guidelines for developing Chinese language skills of the novices; (1) Emphasizing on ability of the learners in communication (2) Focusing on an enjoyable teaching atmosphere; (3) Incorporating cultural knowledge to create an understanding of the culture of native speakers; (4) Starting from the teaching to listening and speaking by imitating the voice of instructor; (5) Teaching by adopting a variety of activities to increase learning interest; and (6) Focusing on memorizing the conversations. From research findings, the leader of Phrapariyatthamma School of the Chinese Buddhist Sangha and the related government sectors who involved with Chinese language teaching can apply the knowledge to formulate policies or directions of teaching Chinese language for general education to achieve objectives in the future.