Previous research in Chinese character learning strategies has shown that students tend to rely on the mechanical copying and mindless memorization of characters, especially before they acquire enough characters to allow them to use the knowledge of Chinese radicals effectively. The aim of this study is to describe actual mnemonic methods and learning strategies used by first-year Chinese language students. For a period of one semester, 50 Czech university students were asked to keep records of mnemonics used to memorize individual characters. Qualitative data analysis reveals the types of strategies they applied. Strategy content analysis has identified ten frequently-used basic strategies, including Story, Radical, Imagination, Component Comparison, Word, Similarity, Drawing, Emotion, Etymology, and Pronunciation. These strategies are used either independently to elaborate a single piece of information, or in combinations, interweaving two or more pieces of information into one. Strategies show the students’ tendency to analyze characters into components, name individual components, and focus on graphic and semantic information, while omitting the phonological information.
{"title":"A qualitative inquiry of character learning strategies by Chinese L2 beginners","authors":"Michaela Zahradníková","doi":"10.1075/CSL.51.2.01ZAH","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.51.2.01ZAH","url":null,"abstract":"Previous research in Chinese character learning strategies has shown that students tend to rely on the mechanical copying and mindless memorization of characters, especially before they acquire enough characters to allow them to use the knowledge of Chinese radicals effectively. The aim of this study is to describe actual mnemonic methods and learning strategies used by first-year Chinese language students. For a period of one semester, 50 Czech university students were asked to keep records of mnemonics used to memorize individual characters. Qualitative data analysis reveals the types of strategies they applied. Strategy content analysis has identified ten frequently-used basic strategies, including Story, Radical, Imagination, Component Comparison, Word, Similarity, Drawing, Emotion, Etymology, and Pronunciation. These strategies are used either independently to elaborate a single piece of information, or in combinations, interweaving two or more pieces of information into one. Strategies show the students’ tendency to analyze characters into components, name individual components, and focus on graphic and semantic information, while omitting the phonological information.","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129558612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding the Chinese Language: A Comprehensive Linguistic Introduction, by Chris Shei","authors":"Lanqin Zhang","doi":"10.1075/CSL.51.2.06ZHA","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.51.2.06ZHA","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"95 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129192895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"美国学生因果连接标记语篇使用情况研究 (A study of L2 development stages of causal connectives in American students’ written Chinese)","authors":"F. Cao","doi":"10.1075/CSL.52.3.04CAO","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.52.3.04CAO","url":null,"abstract":"本文以美国学生初、中、高级阶段所使用的因果连接标记为样本,经过统计调查表明,英语母语学习者习得汉语因果连接标记过程呈非线性路径,两种语言中的共有义较早为学习者掌握;初级阶段较多受到母语语序影响,学生多使用因标后置式;中级阶段出现了多个词项,即母语和目的语标记词一对多或多对一情况增多,学习者容易将母语词的某个义位相对宽广的语义范围错误地推移到目的语的对应词上;高级阶段中介语因果连接标记模式的使用类型虽然越来越接近母语者,但化石化现象严重,高级阶段学习者除单用和搭配使用因果连接标记外,还出现了连用和套用模式。","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125592028","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To become proficient readers of Chinese, learners must identify characters quickly and accurately. Learners who are able to recognize characters rapidly are able to focus on the overall message rather than the meaning of individual characters. However, the complex orthography of Chinese makes decoding characters difficult. E-gloss tools such as Dim Sum have been highly touted as solutions to ease this burden for second language learners of Chinese (Shen & Tsai 2010; Xie & Tao 2009). Research has shown that when learners use these tools, reading speeds and comprehension scores improve; however, no research has investigated the effect of such tools on incidentally-learned vocabulary. This study compared incidental vocabulary gains by 19 students in two different Chinese courses, reading four texts with an e-gloss tool and four texts in a traditional paper format. Although a significant difference between the two reading formats was not found, simple comparisons of learning gains by individual learners in both reading formats suggest that students’ learning and reading styles may impact the effectiveness of reading with or without the e-gloss tool.
{"title":"A preliminary study on the effects of an E-gloss tool on incidental vocabulary learning when reading Chinese as a foreign language","authors":"Frederick J. Poole, Ko-Yin Sung","doi":"10.1075/CSL.51.3.03POO","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.51.3.03POO","url":null,"abstract":"To become proficient readers of Chinese, learners must identify characters quickly and accurately. Learners who are able to recognize characters rapidly are able to focus on the overall message rather than the meaning of individual characters. However, the complex orthography of Chinese makes decoding characters difficult. E-gloss tools such as Dim Sum have been highly touted as solutions to ease this burden for second language learners of Chinese (Shen & Tsai 2010; Xie & Tao 2009). Research has shown that when learners use these tools, reading speeds and comprehension scores improve; however, no research has investigated the effect of such tools on incidentally-learned vocabulary. This study compared incidental vocabulary gains by 19 students in two different Chinese courses, reading four texts with an e-gloss tool and four texts in a traditional paper format. Although a significant difference between the two reading formats was not found, simple comparisons of learning gains by individual learners in both reading formats suggest that students’ learning and reading styles may impact the effectiveness of reading with or without the e-gloss tool.","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"76 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132100288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of Ruan, Jiening, Jie Zhang & Cynthia B. Leung, eds (2016) Chinese language education in the United States","authors":"Wenxia Wang","doi":"10.1075/CSL.52.2.08WAN","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.52.2.08WAN","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132719396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Teaching Chinese as a Second Language: Curriculum Design & Instruction, 汉语作为第二语言教学:课程设计与教学实例, by Xiaohong Wen","authors":"Xinjia Peng","doi":"10.1075/CSL.52.1.06PEN","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.52.1.06PEN","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"74 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117304721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Studies have shown foreign language anxiety (FLA) can negatively impact learners’ performance in the classroom, but learners experience less FLA during computer-mediated communication (CMC) activities. Although it has been documented that communicating with native speakers (NSs) can make foreign language learners more anxious, very few empirical studies have compared learners’ anxiety levels toward different online chat partners. The current study investigated intermediate Chinese language learners’ FLA in online text CMC activities chatting with NSs and non-native speakers (NNSs). The quantitative data analyses showed that there was a significant difference in the anxiety level between chatting with NSs and NNSs in text-based CMC: chatting with NSs made Chinese learners more anxious than chatting with NNSs. Language confidence and partner familiarity were the two main factors mediating the anxiety. Practical pedagogical implications and future research directions were discussed.
{"title":"Chinese language learners’ anxiety toward chat partners in computer-mediated communication","authors":"Yanlin Wang, S. Crooks, S. Borst","doi":"10.1075/CSL.52.2.02WAN","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.52.2.02WAN","url":null,"abstract":"Studies have shown foreign language anxiety (FLA) can negatively impact learners’ performance in the classroom, but learners experience less FLA during computer-mediated communication (CMC) activities. Although it has been documented that communicating with native speakers (NSs) can make foreign language learners more anxious, very few empirical studies have compared learners’ anxiety levels toward different online chat partners. The current study investigated intermediate Chinese language learners’ FLA in online text CMC activities chatting with NSs and non-native speakers (NNSs). The quantitative data analyses showed that there was a significant difference in the anxiety level between chatting with NSs and NNSs in text-based CMC: chatting with NSs made Chinese learners more anxious than chatting with NNSs. Language confidence and partner familiarity were the two main factors mediating the anxiety. Practical pedagogical implications and future research directions were discussed.","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127776523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Review of Tao, Hongyin (2016)Integrating Chinese linguistic research and language teaching and learning","authors":"Chuanren Ke","doi":"10.1075/CSL.52.3.05KE","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.52.3.05KE","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"196 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115192258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Classroom-based research on second language acquisition, 《基于课堂的第二语言习得研究》, by Fangyuan Yuan","authors":"Shuai Li","doi":"10.1075/CSL.52.2.07LI","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.52.2.07LI","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"93 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114494786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guided by Shulman’s (1987) concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), this study investigates pre-service and new Chinese language teachers’ instructional contexts, their PCK, and their challenges in teaching Chinese to students with disabilities in public K-12 schools in two Midwestern states in the United States. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a survey. The study finds that Chinese language teachers are teaching in very complicated and difficult contexts for students with disabilities, and they are facing tremendous challenges, which may have contributed to their lack of PCK and seriously undermined their confidence and instruction as well. Therefore, more assistance and support are needed for public K-12 Chinese teachers in the U.S. inclusive classroom to promote more sustained development of Chinese education. Since there has been little research on this aspect of K-12 Chinese education in the United States, this study may help prompt more discussion on the topic in our field.
{"title":"Chinese language teachers’ instructional contexts, knowledge, and challenges in teaching students with special needs","authors":"Wenxia Wang, Nai-Cheng Kuo","doi":"10.1075/CSL.51.2.02WAN","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1075/CSL.51.2.02WAN","url":null,"abstract":"Guided by Shulman’s (1987) concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), this study investigates pre-service and new Chinese language teachers’ instructional contexts, their PCK, and their challenges in teaching Chinese to students with disabilities in public K-12 schools in two Midwestern states in the United States. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from a survey. The study finds that Chinese language teachers are teaching in very complicated and difficult contexts for students with disabilities, and they are facing tremendous challenges, which may have contributed to their lack of PCK and seriously undermined their confidence and instruction as well. Therefore, more assistance and support are needed for public K-12 Chinese teachers in the U.S. inclusive classroom to promote more sustained development of Chinese education. Since there has been little research on this aspect of K-12 Chinese education in the United States, this study may help prompt more discussion on the topic in our field.","PeriodicalId":429518,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114814459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}