In language assessment, the contents and approach of assessment are of critical importance to validity. Taking into account the concept of assessment for learning (AfL) and recent developments in Chinese language curriculum, this article aims to establish a system that better assesses listening, speaking and oral interaction skills of Chinese language. The system consists of a framework of listening, speaking and oral interaction skills, a multiparty (including teachers, parents and students, etc.) assessment process, and diverse assessment approaches. This system of oral assessment will not only help to achieve higher validity, but will also guide students to further improve their listening, speaking and oral interaction skills.

Keywords: assessment for learning, listening, speaking, oral interaction, assessment system

This paper reports on the piloting and validation of the "Motivation and Attitudes for Language Learning Inventory" (MALLI) as a tool for surveying Singapore secondary school students' learning motivations, self-efficacy and self-regulation, as well as their perceptions of teacher support and Information Technology use in Chinese and English learning. Two existing instruments, namely, Motivation and Strategies in Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and Chinese Language Classroom Environment Inventory (CLCEI) were adopted and consolidated into MALLI(C) and MALLI(E) (for measuring various factors pertaining to Chinese Language and English Language learning, respectively). We administered the inventories to 318 Secondary one students from a traditional English school, a traditional Chinese school, and two neighbourhood schools. Exploratory Factor Analysis were performed on the collected data, which resulted in the revised MALLI(C) and MALLI(E) with 33 items each, under the following 6 sub-scales: intrinsic motivation value, extrinsic goal orientation, self-efficacy, time and study management, teacher support, and ICT in learning. Our statistical analyses show that both instruments are convincingly validated and can be applied to measure various factors pertaining to Singapore secondary students' bilingual learning.

Keywords: bilingual learning, questionnaire development and validation, learning motivation, learning attitudes

This paper proposes the ACEF (Analyze-Connect-Evaluate-Feedback) framework for enhancing the teaching of evaluative reading. The authors believe that evaluation is an essential component of reading comprehension as well as higher order thinking competency. Students' performance in evaluation, however, is generally poor due to a lack of relevant teaching strategies and effective inputs. To address the issue, the authors therefore attempt to construct a systematic and operational teaching strategy of evaluative reading and assessment and have come up with the ACEF teaching strategy. In designing the strategy, the authors first analyzed the features of the evaluative questions from Singapore Chinese teaching materials and past examination papers. The evaluative questions were then categorized into two major types according to these features. The ACEF framework encapsulates the skills required to answer the two types of evaluative questions. Under the ACEF strategy, the teaching process begins with the "REAP" reading strategy, to be followed by the ACEF framework for evaluative reading. The framework is complemented with rubrics for assessment of evaluation competency. This paper elaborates the strategy and includes a sample teaching plan. The ACEF strategy was implemented in a school over a span of 1 year and statistics showed positive results. Statistical data will be presented in a separate publication.

Keywords: evaluation, teaching reading, ACEF evaluative teaching strategy, rubrics, Singapore Chinese teaching material, lesson plan

Students in the Chinese bridging classes in Singapore come primarily from English speaking families. They converse mainly in English and are generally weak in the Chinese language. Unfortunately, teachers seldom design lessons which focus on improving their oral skills. More often, the oral lessons involve passage reading aiming to meet the requirements of oral examinations. This school-based research project was conducted in a primary two Chinese bridging class in Bukit Timah Primary School. It explores the influence of situated learning on interaction in class, and attempts to discover possible strategies of learning in the designed setting. It aims to help teachers to construct an interactive and conducive teaching environment which would increase the quality of oral lessons. Under the project, oral lessons are designed to adopt the thematic approach and incorporate the concept of situated learning with learning activities related to students' daily lives. Qualitative and quantitative analyses have been conducted in three different aspects, namely, the design of lesson, situated learning and class talk. We hope to see students actively engage in class, thereby increasing their interest in learning the Chinese language as well as improving their ability to converse in Mandarin.

Keywords: oracy pedagogy, situated learning, interaction, teachers' talk

The use of rhetorical devices can facilitate writing and reading. In Taiwan, however, rhetorical devices are often taught in a formal classroom setting whereby though students are taught the devices, they do not have the chance to use them in authentic situations. In this study, the authors attempt to come up with a digital material design for the joyful learning of rhetorical devices. Interviews with experienced teachers, surveys and questionnaires indicate that the three mostly taught rhetorical devices are metaphor, metonymy and exaggeration. Based on literature reviews, the authors believe that scenario stories can enhance the learning of rhetorical skills. They have therefore created a total of nine parallel situational stories which share a common background and are developed from scenarios using the three rhetorical devices of metaphor, metonymy and exaggeration. The situational stories were then reviewed and revised by three teaching experts before they were developed into digital materials. The quasi-experimental design was then tested by 46 eighth-grade students from two classes of two junior high schools so as to assess the overall evaluation of the materials developed and the learning motivation impact. In the final stage of the study, classroom observations were recorded, and the ARCS (Attention-Relevance-Confidence-Satisfaction) motivational model adapted by the authors as well as surveys were used to find out the effectiveness of the design. The surveys were followed by interviews of ten participating students. Major findings of this study are: (1) digital scenario stories produce positive ARCS effects, (2) graphic presentations help students to acquire the rhetorical devices. The authors are convinced that this digital design of scenario stories can be applied in the teaching of different disciplines.

Keywords: rhetoric, metaphor, metonymy, exaggeration, scenario story, digital material

This study investigates the correlation between the use of Malay alphabets for the romanization of Chinese characters by non-Chinese learners and their test results in Chinese reading comprehension. The subjects involved are Malay undergraduates from Universiti Putra Malaysia who learn Chinese as a foreign language. The study examines whether the mother tongue of this group of Malay undergraduates affect their performance in Chinese passages comprehension. There are two main findings: (1) The cognitive thinking of the subjects was affected by their mother tongue. To comprehend a Chinese passage, they needed to go through an intermediate step by romanizing Chinese characters based on the sound system of the alphabets in Malay, their mother tongue. They would then proceed to use Malay to translate the meanings of Chinese vocabulary. (2) There is no significant correlation between the use of romanization of Chinese characters in Malay alphabet pronunciation and the results of the Chinese comprehension test of the subjects. The increase in the percentage of romanizing Chinese characters by the Malay undergraduates did not result in a corresponding increase in the percentage of the scores for their Chinese comprehension test.

Keywords: reading comprehension, non-Chinese learners in Malaysia, romanizing Chinese characters, intermediate step, negative transfer of mother tongue, alphabetic pronunciation