The adaptation of the “What is Happening in This Class” (WIHIC) for use in Chinese language classrooms in Singapore secondary schools

Abstract

‘What is Happening in This Class?’ (WIHIC) is a validated classroom environment instrument developed by Fraser, Fisher and McRobbie (1996) to assess the nature of classroom learning environments. It was translated into Chinese in a cross-national classroom learning environment study with Taiwanese samples (Huang & Fraser, 1997). The present study further modified the Taiwanese Chinese version for use in assessing the nature of Chinese Language classroom environments in Singapore secondary schools. The modification procedure consisted of five stages and the whole cycle was repeated from stage 2 until all the items were satisfactorily translated into Singaporean standard Chinese Language. The aim of this paper is to describe the procedures and report on the outcomes of the different cycles, which the WIHIC questionnaire underwent before the final modified form was adopted for the main study.