Culturally Adaptive Teaching in One-to-One Live Online Chinese Language Instruction: A Cross-Cultural Study of Learner Engagement and Learning Outcomes

This study investigates whether culturally adaptive teaching strategies (CATS) enhance instructional effectiveness in one-to-one online Chinese language teaching. Drawing on a controlled experimental design, 177 learners from South Korea (n = 42), Japan (n = 38), Vietnam (n = 32), the United States (n = 28), and several European countries (n = 37) were randomly assigned into either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group received eight culture-specific interaction protocols embedded within one-to-one teacher–learner interactions, while the control group followed the platform’s standard instructional script. Instructional effectiveness was assessed through both classroom interaction and learning outcomes. Classroom interaction was analysed through systematic coding of lesson recordings, focusing on learners’ production of unsolicited questions, follow-up probes, and uptake of structured feedback. Learning outcomes were assessed using pre- and post-course proficiency tests. Results showed that across all countries, learners exposed to CATS demonstrated significantly higher levels of real-time engagement, producing more unsolicited questions and follow-up probes, and demonstrating greater uptake of structured feedback, compared with those in the control group. In addition, their composite proficiency gains exceeded those of the control group by 15.9%. Cross-national analyses revealed divergent interactional preferences: learners from South Korea, Japan and Vietnam benefited more from teacher-scaffolded exchanges, whereas learners from the United States and Europe responded more positively to self-directed interaction opportunities. These findings provide controlled evidence that aligning interactional design with learners’ cultural expectations can enhance both engagement and learning outcomes in synchronous online Chinese instruction. The study contributes to second language acquisition research by extending culturally responsive pedagogy into fully synchronous, one-to-one digital environments and offers practitioners a replicable framework for differentiating interactional practices in culturally diverse online classrooms.