Using a task-based approach to teaching and learning Chinese as a Foreign Language in a university beginner's level class

The task-based method is regarded as an effective approach for promoting interaction and collaboration in language learning. In a beginner Chinese language course offered as an elective at Aalborg University, Denmark, a selection of tasks was designed and used to attract the students’ interests to learning Chinese as a foreign language. Chinese culture elements were also integrated into the tasks and the learning process. By analysing seven items of a post-course survey, this paper investigates the learners’ opinions toward the task-based language teaching and learning method, as well as the methods used in integrating culture with the language learning in this course. The results indicated that course participants were generally positive about their learning experiences and processes during the course. They appreciated not only the task-based method, but also the ways in which culture was integrated with language learning. Learners’ diverse backgrounds in terms of gender and study programs showed interest in both this learning method and the course itself.