Chinese Language Teachers’ Use of Applications for Teaching Chinese during New Normal: Case Study of Schools Affiliated with Secondary Educational Service Area Office 38, Sukhothai Province

Abstract

          This research on the use of applications for teaching Chinese in the new normal range of Chinese teachers was a qualitative study. The objective was to study the use of applications for teaching Chinese language during the new normal of teachers at schools affiliated with the Secondary Educational Service Area Office 38, Sukhothai Province. Purposive sampling was used in selecting seven key informants, representing Chinese language teachers at the high-school level from the aforementioned schools. In-depth interview was conducted using questions divided into two sections: 1) three items on the informant’s general data and 2) 13 items on the Chinese language teacher’s attitude towards the use of technology or applications to assist in their teaching. The responses then underwent descriptive analysis.
          Results of the study could be divided into the following three areas: 1) Chinese language teachers, in terms of a list of applications the teachers use in teaching Chinese and issues related to their attitude, where most teachers agreed with and supported the use; 2) Chinese language learners, in terms of a list of applications the learners were interested and adopted in the learning themselves, and issues related to problems in the use of technology media as encountered by the learners and how to solve them; and 3) school policy that supported the use of technology to help organize the teaching and learning, in terms of school regulations regarding the permission for learners to use mobile phones and the support for Internet services.