Lee Chih Hsien, Ang Swee Choon

Abstract

A class of slow students from Tampines Primary School took part in the school-based project entitled "Improving Primary 6 Students' Chinese Oral and Written Skills through Communicative Approach Teaching Designed Lessons" project in 2010. The project drew its theoretical base from Vygotsky's "Zone of Proximal Development" and D. H. Hymes and M. A. K. Halliday's communicative and differentiated teaching strategy. It aimed to enhance slow students' oral and written competence through tailored-designed teaching activities. Interviews were conducted at different timing and context- post-research interview, post-PSLE interview, and interview after the release of PSLE results. We revisit our research ideas, teaching design and practice through the participants' feedback, contrasting to quantitative data, and look forward to develop a more effective teaching strategy of Chinese language for slow students.

Keyword(s) :   Slow Students, Vygotsky, Hymes, Halliday, Students' Feedback, Teaching Strategy, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)