The relationship between teacher perceptions of textbooks and their teaching practice: Chinese as a foreign languge teaching in the NSW context

This thesis examines the relationship between teacher perceptions of textbooks and their teaching practice in the context of Chinese as a Foreign Language teaching in NSW schools. A quantitative survey and qualitative interviews of currently practising secondary teachers reveal that L1 Chinese background teachers experience tensions in several aspects of their work. This study seeks to highlight the importance Chinese background teachers of Mandarin place on textbooks, as well as the extent to which textbooks impact on their teaching practice. Results indicate school languages programs commonly use a suite of teaching materials, including hard copy textbooks. The way these resources are utilized varies from school to school, with some factors intrinsic to individual teacher preferences, and others externally determined. Teacher participants of this study admitted an awareness of pedagogical heritage as a determiner of textbook status. They also shed light on what can be described as a diverse community of teaching professionals in cultural and pedagogical transition. Implications include an argument for improvements in pre-­service teacher training and in-­service professional development programs, which can bridge cultural and linguistic gaps between Chinese background teachers and their colleagues, as well as promote confidence in the use of multi-­modal approach to the creation and use of teaching materials.