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Abstract
This study aimed to build up a Hakka self-learning program on the MIT network platform for world-wide Hakka learners to facilitate their acquisition of kinship compounds which are prefixed by liongzii（兩子）“a couple of.” By using the interactive game software Scratch, this program applied animation technology to presenting twenty six different “a couple of” kinship terms based on kinship relations by direct and side blood, by marriage, of family peers and between generations.
“A couple of” kinship compounds, most frequently used in Sixian Hakka variety, have the following features. First, this type of kinship terms can be used to refer to relatives within and between generations. Next, in the cases of cross-generation relations, they primarily denote honorific meaning to the elders. Then, a prefix /a/ (阿) is further added following liongzii（兩子） “a couple of” when the kinship compounds apply to the elders who are elder than the users’ parents, and vice versa. Finally, a diminutive suffix e (仔) is added following a “a couple of” compound when the kinship term is used to refer to the user’s peers.
A questionnaire was designed in advance to investigate how native Hakka speakers actually use the “a couple of” kinship compounds. The results of the survey showed that the usage of “a couple of” kinship compounds vary as a function of the subjects’ ages and family structures. The kinship compounds are often used by subjects aged 55 and older, who have had many experiences in dealing with big families and hence are familiar with the four types of the “a couple of” kinship compounds However, those used by subjects aged between 30 and 55, mostly leading a eclectic family life, are restricted to the “a couple of” kinship terms that represent relations by blood only. Moreover, subjects aged 30 and younger, growing up in small families, have sparse language knowledge of these types of kinship compounds except for the most frequently used terms liongzii ia (兩子爺) “a couple of son/daughter and father” and liongzii oi (兩子哀) “a couple of son/daughter and mother.” This indicates that the changes in family structures have led to a severe loss of “a couple of” kinship terms.
To assess how effective the interactive Scratch-based program is in teaching Hakka “a couple of” kinship compounds, two fourth-grade classes from two adjacent elementary schools were selected. Students in the control group were instructed in the traditional teaching mode, whereas those in the experimental group were instructed with the aid of the Scratch-based program. A pre-experimental test on the kinship terms in Hakka was conducted with all the subjects, and no significant cross-group or between-school differences were found (p =. 148 ＞ .05). Further, no significant differences (p = .839 ＞ .05) between the two groups were revealed from the results of the pretest on the Hakka “a couple of ” kinship compounds given before the teaching experiment. However, a significant within-group difference (p =. 026* < .05) in the experimental group was found in the post-test conducted after the four weeks＇ teaching, whereas no such significant differences (p = .264 ＞ .05) were found in the control group. In addition, no significant between-group differences (p = .858 ＞ .05) were observed from the students’ post-test performance. On the other hand, the retention test did not show significant within-group differences (p = .800 > .05) in the experimental group given four weeks after the experiment, nor in the control group (p = .267 > .05). Besides, no significant differences (p = .224 ＞ .05) in the retention test performance were found between the experimental group and the control group. Yet, the mean score of the retention test in the experimental group did show a higher retention rate than that in the control group, suggesting that the computer-based interactive teaching mode is more effective than the traditional teaching mode in teaching Hakka “a couple of ” kinship compounds.
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