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Wenting Zhou

Yue Peng

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

 

Abstract

As the linguistic diversity of students in Chinese Internationalised Schools (CIS) continues to expand, differentiated instruction (DI) has emerged as an effective way to address heterogeneous leaning needs in Chinese language classrooms. However, existing research has rarely examined how DI is enacted in practice through the lens of Vygotsky’s “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD), particularly in the context of hanzi instruction. This study investigates how Chinese language teachers implement ZPD-Guided DI in CIS classrooms and how ZPD informs their instructional decision-making. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study draws on data from three experienced Chinese language teachers across two CIS. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, artifact collection, and reflective journals, and analyzed using thematic analysis that combined an initial bottom-up, inductive coding process with a subsequent top-down, theory-informed analysis. The findings reveal varying levels of DI implementation across classrooms, ZPD provides a productive framework for shaping DI in hanzi learning. However, contextual conditions influence the extent and consistency of teachers’ DI implementation. By bridging theory and practice, this study offers practical insights for improving DI use in CIS. Implications for teachers and school administrators are provided to enhance DI’s effectiveness and adaptability in real classrooms.

 

Keywords

Differentiated Instruction (DI), Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Chinese Internationalised Schools (CIS), hanzi instruction, teacher practices

 

解锁汉字教学中的最近发展区：中国国际化学校差异化教学的社会文化视角

 

周文婷

彭越

香港中文大学，中国

 

摘要

随着中国国际化学校不断增加的学生语言多样性，差异化教学已成为解决汉语课堂中不同学生学习需求的有效方法。然而，现有的研究很少从维果茨基的“最近发展区”这一视角来探讨差异化教学在实际中的实施情况，尤其是在汉字教学的背景下。本研究旨在探究汉语教师如何在中国国际化学校的课堂中，实施基于“最近发展区”的差异化教学，以及“最近发展区”如何影响他们的教学决策。本研究采用定性研究设计，基于来自两所中国国际化学校的三名经验丰富的汉语教师的数据。通过半结构化访谈、实物收集和反思日志收集数据，并使用主题分析方法，结合初始自下而上的归纳编码过程，和随后自上而下基于理论的分析。研究结果表明，不同课堂中差异化教学的实施程度各不相同，“最近发展区”为塑造汉字学习中的差异化教学提供了一个有效的框架。然而，具体的环境条件会影响教师实施差异化教学的程度和一致性。通过将理论与实践相结合，本研究为在中国国际化学校中提升差异化教学的运用提供了实用的见解。同时，也为教师和学校管理者提供了相关建议，以提高差异化教学在实际课堂中的有效性和适应性。

 

关键词

差异化教学，最近发展区，中国国际化学校，汉字教学，教师实践