The decision making of the primary teachers in Chinese teaching

Chinese is one of the significant subjects in the primary core curricula in Hong Kong. Through the acquisition of the Chinese, the students are expected to master the skills of writing, reading, listening and oral aspects of the language. Although the acquisition of Chinese seems to be similar as the English, it normally embraces more elements other than language acquisition such as the cultural and social aspects since Chinese is also the mother language of the students. It is therefore interesting to explore how the primary teachers make decisions in Chinese teaching: what are the concerns of the teachers before the lessons, what are the emphasis and interactions during their lessons and what are reflections of the teachers after their lessons. In this study, three experienced teachers were interviewed and their lessons were observed. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted before and after the lessons. The data were triangulated with the data from the lesson observations. The results of the study will shed lights on teacher education in the Chinese teaching.