Research carried out in Malaysia identified that learners of Mandarin as a foreign language (MFL) in Malaysia were keen “to make small talk” and “to communicate with Mandarin speaking colleagues at workplace”. However, a survey of the Mandarin learning materials available in the market indicates that there are plenty of learning materials for “General Mandarin” for daily use and materials for “Business Mandarin” but none for “Workplace Mandarin”. Hence, there is an urgent need for Mandarin experts to produce suitable and comprehensive materials specifically for Mandarin for workplace communication. In contributing to the needs of “Workplace Mandarin”, the Mandarin e-Module of “Small Talk at Workplace” was developed to fulfil Mandarin language learners’ needs “to make small talk” and “to communicate with Mandarin speaking colleagues at workplace”. For this purpose, ADDIE Model, a systematic approach consists of instructional design principles was adopted to develop the e-module of “Small Talk at Workplace”. The ADDIE model consists of five phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. It is a strategic plan for designing an e-module and video clips incorporated with Powtoon animation were selected as the platform to deliver the e-content developed for the e-module. The completion of the Mandarin e-Module of “Small Talk at Workplace” is important as it can be marketed as an e-learning toolkit. The toolkit will help learners to make effective small talk as a social skill where effective small talk can be a useful tool to help them achieve goals they set in their work life.
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