Using scaffolding resources to facilitate international students’ autonomous online Chinese as a Second Language learning A case study during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract: This case study explores international Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) students’ use of embedded scaffolding resources to facilitate their Chinese language learning in an autonomous online context during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 60 international students enrolled in a Chinese university participated in study. Data were collected via participants’ reflective reports, teacher-led tutorials and individual interviews. This study found that scaffolding resources could be a good facilitator to enhance international CSL students’ autonomy in online Chinese language skill learning, which was not a linear process but a recursive one. In terms of intercultural learning, scaffolding resources were not effective on promoting students’ online learning autonomy. They preferred teachers’ support to their learning. These findings could be instructive for online CSL education during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Learn From Home policy of Chinese universities will last for a long time. Recommendations for future studies are provided on the base of these findings as well.