A Study on the Practicality of Topical Texts in TCSL Textbooks – in the case of “Hanyu Jiaocheng” used for Vietnamese first year Chinese-major Students

• Main Authors: Nguyen, Thi-Chi, 阮氏芝
• Other Authors: Sung, Yun-Shan
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/jpwzxf

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 華語文教學碩博士學位學程 === 107 === 　　Practicality is one of the most critical principles in the course of compiling text books for teaching Chinese as a second language (TCSL), drawing the wide attention from scholars and experts. A majority of studies on practicality start from the content of the textbook, including comprehensive analysis of texts, new words, grammar and exercises. Yet, relating research on the topical text or vocabulary arrangement is relatively rare. In other words, the study on practicality has been wide enough, thus, it is high time the relating studies should be taken in depth to achieve specific improvements and good development. 　　The text is an important part of the textbook, meanwhile the topic in the text is regarded as the soul of the textbook. Zhao Jinming (1988) argued that the topical texts compiled in the TCSL textbooks are not closely associated with the real language environment while Xu Jiaxuan (1997) contented that some texts have not met the language-using needs of students, especially some texts in TCSL textbooks have been already outdated. 　　Accordingly, this study believes that it is crucial to review the practicality of the topical texts in TCSL textbooks. Among a series of TCSL textbooks, “Hanyu Jiaocheng”, published by Beijing Language and Culture University, has been receiving the favor of many teachers and students in Vietnam. The 2008 edition of “Hanyu Jiaocheng” has been used in Vietnam for almost 10 years, becoming an indispensible material for Vietnamese Chinese-major students. Though it has gained an importantly irreplaceable position, “Hanyu Jiaocheng” largely focuses on English-speaking students. Some topics are not completely adequate with Vietnamese students, so it is supposed that this set of textbooks need to be updated to better facilitate the communication skills of Vietnamese students. 　　Taking Vietnamese elementary and intermediate Chinese-major students as the research object, this article investigates the degree of using topical texts in “Hanyu Jiaocheng” from these research objects to assess the practicality of this set of textbooks. To do that, the study first classifies the topical texts appearing in “Hanyu Jiaocheng”, and then adopts the questionnaire survey method and in-depth interview method to thoroughly understand the frequency of applying topical texts to their daily life. Discussions regarding the problems of the textbooks include: the inconsistency between the degree of importance of topical texts arranged in “Hanyu Jiaocheng” and the frequency of students’ practical using; the scope of some topics in this set of textbooks is rather narrow and there is a shortage of Sino-Vietnamese inter-cultural compare and contrast, etc. This study accordingly proposes that “Hanyu Jiaocheng” add up some topics with high using frequency such as “recreation and idol”, “film and television works”, “love and marriage”, “animal world”, “economic and foreign trade”, etc. meanwhile some topics as “family”, “personal experiences”, etc. should be reduced. At the same time, it is proposed that “Hanyu Jiaocheng” should expand its scope. For instance, “learning” topic should not be limited to the Chinese learning methods, but also be expanded to introduction to studying abroad in China or Taiwan; “social knowledge” should add up some other issues as gender equality, women’s independence, etc., all of which will better meet the needs of communication for Vietnamese students. This article contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing some possible and feasible alternatives for choosing topical texts in TCSL textbooks with an eye to improving the “Hanyu Jiaocheng”, making it more practical. Ultimately, this study lays a foundation for compiling TCSL textbooks based on nationality to enhance the effectiveness of Chinese language teaching.