From TCFL/TCSL Courses of the US 100K Strong Initiative to English-Taught Classes: A Case Study of Yuan Ze University

How to categorize Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) or Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) courses in higher education depends on hosting institutions, national-level governmental policies, international diplomatic, overall global trends, and even economic factors. In Euro-American higher education, they belong to Asian Studies Programs, Departments of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures, or Departments of World Languages and Literatures. In Mainland Chinese higher education of the post-2010s, they are categorized as classes in College of Chinese as a Foreign Language (對外漢語學院). In Taiwanese higher education of the post-2010s, they are placed under the administrative umbrella of Graduate Institutes of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL), Departments of Chinese, Language Centers, or English-taught classes all over the Taiwanese campuses. This article aims to analytically record the case study of how hosting institutions, national-level governmental policies, international diplomatic, global trends, and even economic factors gradually affected and reshaped Yuan Ze University’s TCFL/TCSL courses of the US 100K Strong Initiative and English-taught classes in the recent five-year period from 2011 to 2016.[i] Keywords: TCFL, TCSL, 100K Strong Initiative, Alcorn State University, English-Taught Classes, MY Camp, MIT, University of Notre Dame, PTV, CTV, Yuan Ze University, Far Eastern Group Notes [i] Ms. Nai-ling Lu (呂迺玲), the secretary at the Global Affairs Office in Yuan Ze University, offered valuable information to me in order help me complete this article. I owe a debt of gratitude to her

Culture Teaching and Learning in an Advanced Placement Chinese Course

The significance of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom has been widely acknowledged. However, it remains a challenge for language teachers to properly incorporate culture teaching into language teaching. Chinese language teachers in the United States also encounter the challenge of teaching culture to the increased number of Chinese language learners. In particular, scant attention has been paid to how Chinese language learners approach cultural issues and develop cultural awareness in the language teaching context of American secondary education. In order to address the research gap, the present study aims to explore how the teaching and learning of culture develop in an Advanced Placement Chinese course in an American high school based in the state of California. This qualitative case study looks into concepts of culture perceived by the Chinese language instructor and the students. The teacher’s general approach to the teaching of culture is also investigated through classroom observations. The researcher then examines the observed teaching approaches and analyzes how the pedagogical practices help students’ development of diverse cultural perspectives. As the ultimate goal of culture learning is successful intercultural communication, this research study also focuses on exploring students’ development of cultural awareness through the process of Chinese language learning. Research findings show that the teacher and the students have a similar notion regarding what constitutes culture. Despite their clear definitions about culture, the teacher feels it challenging to update her students with contemporary Chinese culture and some of the non-heritage students feel it hard to identify with any ethnic cultures. In terms of teaching approaches, the teacher makes good use of cultural values, cultural comparisons, and cultural change to connect the teaching of cultural products or practices with their corresponding cultural perspectives. Nevertheless, other teaching approaches might lead to cultural stereotypes or hinder formation of diverse cultural perspectives. Furthermore, heritage and non-heritage students are found to benefit from different ways to develop cultural awareness

An analysis of the translation of vocabulary lists in textbooks for teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL)

Recent research in the Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) field has focused on the pedagogical perspectives underlying TCFL textbooks and their compilation. With the increasing interaction between China and other countries in global contexts such as culture, economics and commerce, there is a great need to expand research regarding all areas and issues within TCFL, especially in the important area of vocabulary and its translation in TCFL textbooks (Tsung and Cruickshank, 2011). This research investigates a range of translation problems related to the accuracy of the vocabulary lists featured in 12 selected representative TCFL textbooks for teaching Chinese as a foreign language. This thesis presents findings from three triangulation cases (questionnaire survey, corpus research, and assessment test) involving two different groups of participants (e.g. Chinese teachers who completed the questionnaire survey and Chinese undergraduates majoring in English who underwent the assessment test). The contribution of this study is as follows: 1) I conduct a series of empirical evidence based on the viewpoints of practitioners regarding the identified translation problems to fill the gap that there are more descriptive and pedagogical works in the vocabulary translation of TCFL textbooks; 2) I adopt functional equivalence theory of translation and linguistics–based approaches (semantic, pragmatic and grammatical perspectives) to establish a theoretical framework which provides a flexible way of analysing translation and enables the original meanings of Chinese words to be analysed through various perspectives, especially for Chinese and English vocabulary analysis and translation; 3) I draw on translation quality evaluation theory to generate a translation quality evaluation framework which can serve as a reference point for other translation evaluation work regarding vocabulary conducted during other relevant studies; 4) I demonstrate that the majority of translation problems gathered from the selected TCFL textbooks were found at the preliminary level and in the content word class which have much practical relevance and research value for the pedagogical purpose of vocabulary teaching and translation; and 5) I build up a specific parallel corpus with passages and vocabulary lists of the selected TCFL textbooks

A review of technology-enhanced Chinese character teaching and learning in a digital context

The acquisition of Chinese characters has been widely acknowledged as challenging for learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) due to their unique logographic nature and the time and effort involved. However, recent advancements in instructional technologies demonstrate a promising role in facilitating the teaching and learning of Chinese characters. This paper examines studies exploring technology-enhanced character teaching and learning (TECTL) through a systematic literature review of relevant publications produced between 2010 and 2021. The synthesized findings shed insights on the research undertaken in the TECTL field, identifying a focus on characters’ component disassembling, re-assembling, and associations among orthography, semantics, and phonology. In addition, learners’ perceptions toward the use of technology and the benefits of various types of technological tools are also discussed in detail. Implications for TECTL are also put forward for future pedagogical practice and exploration

Non-background Chinese learners' pronunciation acquisition through language transfer : an action research in a Sydney public school

This research focuses on the exploration of a language transfer teaching approach to make Chinese (Mandarin) learnable for young beginning learners. A qualitative action research methodology was chosen as most relevant to improve the teacher researcher’s teaching practice in a primary school in Australia over three school terms/ three research Cycles. The aim of this research was to find a suitable language transfer-based teaching approach to make Chinese learnable to non-background Chinese learners. The overarching research question was: How can students’ L1 (English) be employed to facilitate the pronunciation acquisition in their L2 (Chinese) learning? Ringbom’s (2007) contention that there are three cross-linguistic similarity relations between languages: “similarity relation”, “contrast relation”, and “zero relation” was implemented to explore the research question. Grounded in the outcomes of Cycle 1 teaching and learning the teacher researcher refined Ringbom’s (2007) three categories into two – “Similar Relation” and “Non-relation” and continued to implement this framework in Cycles 2 and 3. Based on the data analysis and informed by a review of the literature, this action research found that Mandarin and English do share various phonetic similarities of vowels and consonants. In addition, identification and application of such phonetic similarities (language transfer) between Mandarin and English helped young beginning learners to engage in Mandarin pronunciation lessons more effectively and confidently. This research also explored the tensions for teaching and learning pronunciation when no similarities could be identified in the Mandarin vocabulary to be taught. Various supplementary teaching approaches were developed and implemented to assist the young learners’ Mandarin pronunciation when “Non-relation” between the languages was identified. This thesis has concluded with an in-depth discussion of the findings in relation to the research question and its contributory questions. This has resulted in a list of teaching strategies being offered for other like-minded teacher researchers to trial

A systematic review of the use of virtual reality in teaching Chinese as a foreign language

The purpose of this review is to provide a thorough analysis of existing research on the implementation of virtual reality (VR) in teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL). In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the potential benefits of VR for language learning, and multiple studies have explored its application in TCFL. However, to date, no systematic reviews on the specific uses of VR in TCFL have been conducted. This study aims to bridge this gap by conducting a comprehensive review of empirical articles on the topic, identified from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The search terms include “VR”, “virtual reality”, and “Chinese language”. The findings of this review shed light on the current trends in VR-related publications in the field of TCFL, the research settings where VR is used to support learning, and the potential benefits and effectiveness of VR in enhancing Chinese language learning, such as linguistic growth, communication skills, motivation, and immersive and authentic learning contexts. The review also highlights the challenges and limitations of using this technology in TCFL. The significance of this review lies in its potential to inform educators, researchers, and practitioners interested in using VR in TCFL about the current state of research and its implications for language learning. It can also contribute to the development of best practices for the effective use of VR in TCFL, ultimately leading to improved language learning outcomes for students

From graduate schools to K-12 schools: the transformation of Chinese language teachers ---- Understanding the socialization process of novice Chinese language teachers in the U.S.

This study tried to understand how teacher education programs and the practices in American K-12 schools shaped beliefs and behaviors of Chinese language teachers through the theoretical framework of Lacey’s theory of teacher socialization. Under this overarching purpose of the study, the interactions these novice Chinese language teachers had within the contexts of their teacher training programs and K-12 schools were examined by analyzing the social strategies they applied in corresponding contexts. Seven novice Chinese language teachers with various language, educational, and work backgrounds were interviewed for this study. The findings from surveys and in-depth interviews revealed the teachers were trying to establish themselves as authorities in the profession of teaching. In addition, some seemingly contradictions on the interpretations and choices these participants made within both the contexts of graduate schools and K-12 schools disclosed these teachers’ demands on the practicality of the teacher education programs at graduate school level. The need for support, recognition, and appreciation at schools were expressed by the participants in this study as well. The findings of this study suggested that the graduate programs that collaborated teacher education with local schools would be beneficial for novice Chinese language teachers to have a smoother transition. Additionally, integrating all aspects of teacher knowledge in teacher education programs, especially the knowledge of themselves as language teachers and the teacher profession, was indicated by the findings of the study. Some contradictions on choices of social strategies between NS and NNS novice teachers of Chinese also provided some insights for school administrators in terms of understanding teacher candidates and establishing sustainable development environment for Chinese language programs in American K-12 schools

Teacher cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence: A qualitative study on preservice Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong SAR, China

The purpose of this study is to examine preservice Chinese language teachers’ cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence. In the study we collected data through in-depth interviews with seven preservice teachers in a Master of Education program (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, TCSL) at a university in Hong Kong SAR, China. The findings indicated that the participants had a relatively positive attitude and inclination toward the development of students’ intercultural communicative competence, while their conceptualizations of culture tended to be static and ambiguous. In addition, the participants’ objectives in teaching intercultural communicative competence were found to be more attitude-than knowledge- or skill-oriented. The study offers valuable insights that preservice language teachers’ cognition plays a crucial role in their future professional development and calls for curricular innovations with intercultural aims in teacher education programs

Teaching Material Design about "The Analects"Thoughts for Foreign Intermediate Learners

近年来，汉语在国际上的地位越来越高，在世界范围内掀起了“汉语热”，这很大程度上都得益于汉语国际推广事业。以孔子学院为依托的汉国际推广事业作为国家的一项重要战略，已经初具规模。但是当前的对外汉语教学还不是非常成熟，在具体操作中也还存在种种问题，所以所有的对外汉语教师都在摸索行之有效的教学方法。如何在对外汉语课堂语言文字教学中渗入中国文化的内核，如何摆脱孔子学院“无孔子”的尴尬状况，同时，怎样把儒家思想中的普世价值引进到对外汉语教学中来，这些都是当前学界讨论的热点。由此，本篇论文重点讨论:针对外国学生的中华文化教材中《论语》思想的专门编写研究。论文有五章组成。 第一章绪论主要包括两个部分，第一部...Recently, Mandarin enjoys an ascending popularity in the international society and a Mandarin Fever is spreading throughout the world. To a large extent, this success is due to the international promotion of Chinese enterprise. The international promotion of Chinese, an important national strategy based on the Confucius institutes, has begun to take shape. But the present teaching Chinese as a for...学位：汉语国际教育硕士院系专业：海外教育学院_汉语国际教育硕士学号：2652012115124