Learning by Teaching to Enhance Language Competence and Teaching Skills of Chinese-Major Students: A Cross-Institutional Comparative Study

Abstract

The purposes of this study were: 1) to investigate students’ perceptions toward the development of Chinese language competency, teaching skills, and learning experiences after participating in learner-as-teacher instructional management; 2) to compare students’ perceptions and learning experiences between two higher education institutions; and 3) to synthesize appropriate learner-as-teacher instructional management guidelines for the development of Chinese major students in higher education. The sample consisted of 77 Chinese major students, including 40 students from Sisaket Rajabhat University and 37 students from Rajabhat Mahasarakham University. The research instruments included a five-point rating scale questionnaire and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage.

The findings revealed that: 1) students from both institutions demonstrated highly positive perceptions toward learner-as-teacher instructional management in all aspects, particularly in the development of Chinese communication ability, instructional planning and design, as well as motivation and responsibility for their own learning; 2) when comparing between institutions, students from Mahasarakham showed higher mean scores in language competency, systematic teaching skills, and attitudes due to their experience in real classroom teaching, whereas students from Sisaket demonstrated strengths in self-confidence, lesson preparation, and digital media use resulting from simulated teaching and video-recorded instruction. These findings reflect that different activity formats contributed to the development of different types of skills; and 3) the synthesis of appropriate instructional management guidelines indicated that simulated teaching should be integrated with real classroom teaching by organizing activities progressively from practice sessions to authentic teaching situations, accompanied by reflective processes and performance-based assessment. Such an approach could comprehensively develop students’ language competency, professional skills, and teacher characteristics. The findings also suggested that learner-as-teacher instructional management has strong potential for developing Chinese major students in higher education.