Routledge Series on Chinese Language Education – serie

Against the background of the Australian government’s strategic plan to promote Asian languages in schools, this book is an innovative autoethnographic inquiry into what actually occurs in the implementation of a Chinese language and culture program in an Australian context.Drawing on eight years of socio-cultural and educational fieldwork in a primary school, Chunyan Zhang examines complex, fluid and heterogeneous daily teaching practices and the ways in which ideas of China are assembled, presented and performed. She asks the following questions: What is China? Where does Taiwan fit into the China depicted in a multicultural, globalised classroom? Can Chinese communism or Chairman Mao be avoided in teaching English-speaking learners? What kind of China is brought in here while what kind of China is being silenced and othered? Through the partial connection between method assemblage and Daoist concepts, Zhang develops a water-like pedagogy in teaching. She uses the knowledge flow model to examine the imbalanced knowledge flow within teacher-student interactions. From finding China as a hybrid assemblage to proposing China as method, Zhang’s investigation makes an important contribution to the sociology of Chinese language education.This book is an essential and rich content resource for primary and secondary teacher education and research, teacher candidates and educators in Chinese as a second language education.

Against the background of the Australian government’s strategic plan to promote Asian languages in schools, this book is an innovative autoethnographic inquiry into what actually occurs in the implementation of a Chinese language and culture program in an Australian context.Drawing on eight years of socio-cultural and educational fieldwork in a primary school, Chunyan Zhang examines complex, fluid and heterogeneous daily teaching practices and the ways in which ideas of China are assembled, presented and performed. She asks the following questions: What is China? Where does Taiwan fit into the China depicted in a multicultural, globalised classroom? Can Chinese communism or Chairman Mao be avoided in teaching English-speaking learners? What kind of China is brought in here while what kind of China is being silenced and othered? Through the partial connection between method assemblage and Daoist concepts, Zhang develops a water-like pedagogy in teaching. She uses the knowledge flow model to examine the imbalanced knowledge flow within teacher-student interactions. From finding China as a hybrid assemblage to proposing China as method, Zhang’s investigation makes an important contribution to the sociology of Chinese language education.This book is an essential and rich content resource for primary and secondary teacher education and research, teacher candidates and educators in Chinese as a second language education.

In this book, the authors embark on a critical investigation of the complex field of Chinese language education, with a particular focus on exploring new trends and teaching and learning. They delve into the intricacies of language, education and its effectiveness in teaching Chinese as a first language.The book has three objectives: establishing a field of study in Chinese language learning and teaching, providing critical discussion and progressive insights on language education, and offering relevant pedagogical perspectives of learning and teaching Chinese as L1 and L2. The chapters investigate learning and teaching of Chinese in different aspects, including four skills, culture, literature, technology-assisted learning, and learners’ identity. By focusing on the teaching practices of Chinese at different levels, it sheds light on teaching Chinese as a first language. Theoretically, it broadens the linguistic and geographical reach of previous works on language education that mainly examine English as a lingua franca or children’s first language acquisition. Drawing upon theories in language learning, the book demonstrates the applicability of language theories in the first language and Chinese as a non-alphabetic language and examines the impact and effectiveness of some theories in Chinese learning and teaching.Academic researchers, teacher educators, teachers and students interested in Chinese language and education will find this a highly relevant text for its focus on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment of teaching Chinese as a first language.

In this book, the authors embark on a critical investigation of the complex field of Chinese language education, with a particular focus on exploring new trends and teaching and learning. They delve into the intricacies of language, education and its effectiveness in teaching Chinese as a first language.The book has three objectives: establishing a field of study in Chinese language learning and teaching, providing critical discussion and progressive insights on language education, and offering relevant pedagogical perspectives of learning and teaching Chinese as L1 and L2. The chapters investigate learning and teaching of Chinese in different aspects, including four skills, culture, literature, technology-assisted learning, and learners’ identity. By focusing on the teaching practices of Chinese at different levels, it sheds light on teaching Chinese as a first language. Theoretically, it broadens the linguistic and geographical reach of previous works on language education that mainly examine English as a lingua franca or children’s first language acquisition. Drawing upon theories in language learning, the book demonstrates the applicability of language theories in the first language and Chinese as a non-alphabetic language and examines the impact and effectiveness of some theories in Chinese learning and teaching.Academic researchers, teacher educators, teachers and students interested in Chinese language and education will find this a highly relevant text for its focus on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment of teaching Chinese as a first language.

This edited volume represents a collaborative effort from over 20 authors worldwide, who generously shared their expertise and insights on diversity and inclusiveness in Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) education. It critically examines a wide range of acquisitional, curricular, and pedagogical issues related to inclusive practices in diverse CSL educational settings across various geographical contexts, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It focuses on students with varied linguistic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and learning abilities, drawing on a comprehensive collection of original empirical studies.The book is structured into two parts. Part I addresses research on linguistic and learner diversity in CSL education by exploring the challenges faced by different types of CSL learners, acquisition strategies, and assessment methods. Part II delves into the practical implementation of inclusivity in curriculum design and pedagogical practices across diverse CSL teaching contexts.The book offers a research-informed understanding of diversity in CSL education, promoting inclusive teaching practices and methods to effectively engage learners of all backgrounds. CSL practitioners, educators, leaders, curriculum designers, and researchers will find this book to be a useful resource for supporting their research and practice.

This edited volume presents the latest scholarly endeavors to synergize Chinese linguistics with Chinese language education and L2 Chinese acquisition, a direction of inquiry that has emerged as a rapidly developing area and attracted both teaching practitioners and linguists’ interests in recent years.The studies presented in the volume approach a diversity of issues, ranging over linguistics-informed Chinese language education in the contexts of Hong Kong, mainland China, and overseas countries; language pedagogies along various linguistic approaches; L2 Chinese development of different linguistic properties; bilingualism and multilingualism among adult and school learners; as well as linguistically grounded Chinese language learning and teaching via digital means. The volume offers to deepen the reader’s understanding of the existing theories on Chinese language education and L2 Chinese acquisition, and the linguistic theories regarding the nature, component modules, and development of the human language faculty. It also offers new pedagogical inspiration, based on cutting-edge empirical research, for Chinese language teaching in different educational settings.Of interest to scholars in the fields of Chinese language teaching and learning, second language acquisition, or applied linguistics, this volume contributes to the emerging field of educational applications of linguistics and presents an overarching framework that bridges a long-lasting division between language teaching practice and linguistic research.

This edited volume presents the latest scholarly endeavors to synergize Chinese linguistics with Chinese language education and L2 Chinese acquisition, a direction of inquiry that has emerged as a rapidly developing area and attracted both teaching practitioners and linguists’ interests in recent years.The studies presented in the volume approach a diversity of issues, ranging over linguistics-informed Chinese language education in the contexts of Hong Kong, mainland China, and overseas countries; language pedagogies along various linguistic approaches; L2 Chinese development of different linguistic properties; bilingualism and multilingualism among adult and school learners; as well as linguistically grounded Chinese language learning and teaching via digital means. The volume offers to deepen the reader’s understanding of the existing theories on Chinese language education and L2 Chinese acquisition, and the linguistic theories regarding the nature, component modules, and development of the human language faculty. It also offers new pedagogical inspiration, based on cutting-edge empirical research, for Chinese language teaching in different educational settings.Of interest to scholars in the fields of Chinese language teaching and learning, second language acquisition, or applied linguistics, this volume contributes to the emerging field of educational applications of linguistics and presents an overarching framework that bridges a long-lasting division between language teaching practice and linguistic research.

This unique volume focuses on the development of Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) teachers in the global context. It addresses the specific issues and challenges faced by CSL teachers and demonstrates international practices in the field. It also provides a comprehensive examination of their multifaceted professionalism from diverse perspectives.With the rise of China as a political and economic power, learning CSL has increasingly gained its popularity in a global context. According to the Chinese International Education Foundation, by 2023, the number of registered Chinese language learners exceeded 12.5 million. Due to the shortage of teachers, the Ministry of Education in China launched the International Chinese Language Teachers Volunteer Program in 2004. By 2021, more than 61,000 volunteer Chinese language teachers had been dispatched to more than 151 regions and countries. Many more overseas universities, colleges, and higher institutes now have established CSL programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to cultivate local CSL teachers. However as the number of CSL learners continues to grow, the need for high-quality Chinese language teachers has become more urgent than ever. Responding to CSL teachers’ challenges of delivering Chinese language and culture to learners from diverse language and cultural backgrounds, this book explores four interrelated themes: 1) CSL teachers’ professional development in the global context, 2) CSL teachers’ motivation, agency, and identity, 3) CSL teachers’ knowledge and practice in multicultural and multilingual contexts, and 4) CSL teachers’ technological literacy and agency in the digital era.With its focus on both the internal and external complexities of CSL teacher development, the book offers timely insights and practical guidance for researchers, educators, policymakers, and frontline teachers working in this rapidly expanding field.