This paper examines the 2007 Singapore Primary Level Chinese Language Syllabus and provides insights into the relationship between teaching, assessment and testing, with respect to the development of integrated language skills. To meet the learning objectives stated in the syllabus, it is essential for educators to understand the fundamental laws of second language teaching and acquisition. Students should also be equipped with knowledge of the language. Assessment and testing is an integral part of the curriculum and must be aligned to the learning objectives. If used effectively, assessment and testing can bring about a positive backwash effect on the teaching and learning process.

Keywords: Syllabus, Teaching, Assessment, Testing

Annotation technology is a new concept in the worldwide web. It is now used as a computer assisted language learning tool. The use of this system concept in the vertical layout e-book will be beneficial to Chinese language learners who are used to reading Chinese in the vertical direction. The purpose of the study is to design a vertical layout e-book system, which is a change from the normal horizontal file documentation. Combined with the annotation technology, the vertical layout e-book system has multiple annotation features which include text, graphics, and multimedia. This system supports multiusers, allowing them to share their annotation contents online, which in turn meet their learning needs. During the experimental period, this electronic e-book system has received positive feedback from system administrators and users. We believe that the use of this electronic e-book will enhance the effectiveness of Chinese language learning.

Keywords: Online Vertical Layout e-Book, Annotation Technology, e-Book, Web2.0, Multiuser System

This paper intends to investigate what school-based curricula Hong Kong primary schools have implemented for the Chinese language subject. It also examines the attitudes of Chinese language teachers towards developing school-based curricula. Three cases studies are used to analyse the factors of success. Research methods include questionnaires, text analysis and interviews. 278 returned questionnaires indicate that most primary schools in Hong Kong have experiences in developing school-based curricula in or prior to the year 2008. The school-based curricula developed are closely related to Chinese language learning. An effective school-based curriculum is attributed to the following factors: students' interest are addressed, resources are managed efficiently, collaboration among teachers and employing effective teaching strategies. Difficulties in implementation include lack of the above factors of success, time constraints and the heavy workloads of teachers. The research findings will be useful for schools and teachers interested in developing school-based curricula.

Keywords: School-based Curriculum, Hong Kong Primary School Chinese Language Education Questionnaire, Case Study, Views of Teachers

Show and Tell is a widely practiced activity for teaching and assessing listening and speaking at lower primary level. Based on the principles of assessment for learning, this paper elaborates on the strategies for eliciting students' best performance in Show and Tell. It also examines the effective implementation of formative and summative assessment.

Keywords: Assessment for Learning, Show and Tell, Strategy, Method

In face of the increasingly complex classroom environment, the need to develop teachers' competency in creating new knowledge and pedagogical models through community-based collaborative inquiry has emerged to be a key component of teacher education. This paper attempts to introduce the Knowledge Building Community as a teacher development model to facilitate co-creation of knowledge among teachers. It elaborates on how the model can be employed through a case study to build teachers' competency in making sense of emerging technology.

Keywords: Teacher Education, Knowledge Building Community, Language Education

Chinese character recognition is essential to understanding and generating sentences. It is the foundation for developing reading and writing competence in Chinese language acquisition. In 2007, the Hong Kong Curriculum Development Unit published the Revised Character List for Hong Kong elementary education. This paper reports the results of a study on the character knowledge and recognition ability of 2,942 Hong Kong junior elementary Chinese children by utilizing the 2,376 characters in the Revised Character List (2007). Findings show that: 1. There are no significant language differences between boys and girls in terms of character knowledge and character recognition ability. 2. The children's character knowledge and character recognition ability grow with the increase of grade. 3. The simple Chinese character and the top-bottom structure of complex Chinese character are the two types of the characters that are relatively easy to recognise in terms of children's character acquisition.

Keywords: Chinese Character Acquisition, Chinese as a First Language, Chinese Language Education