Exploration and Practice of Mandarin Chinese Teachers in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand

Abstract This study aimed to explore Mandarin Chinese teachers’ knowledge base in China and the United States. To address this research objective, a curriculum inquiry was conducted on graduate-level Teaching Chinese As a Foreign Language (TCFL) teacher education program curricula in both countries. We analyzed the program curricula based on three domains of knowledge, i.e., subject matter knowledge, procedural knowledge, and contextual knowledge. We conducted a document analysis on the program curricula and semi-structured interviews with four teacher educators. The results revealed that both countries focus on different domains of knowledge. China emphasis subject matters knowledge and the US focuses more on procedural knowledge. With different teacher domain knowledge focus in the program curricula, the results implied that Chinese teachers who were graduated from these programs could possess different knowledge base.

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What makes second language perception of Mandarin tones hard?

Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報) ◽

10.1075/csl.18009.pel ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 51-78

Author(s):

Eric Pelzl

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Language Learners ◽

Second Language Learners ◽

Large Body ◽

Learning Difficulties ◽

Review Article ◽

Learning Difficulty ◽

Chinese Teachers ◽

Mandarin Tones

Abstract Mandarin Chinese tones are known to be difficult for second language learners. A large body of research has examined non-native perception of tones, and may provide useful and interesting insights about the sources of tone learning difficulty for Chinese teachers and learners. However, much of the literature is in journals that may be difficult to access or written in technical language that may be hard for non-specialists to understand. This review article aims to summarize key findings from this research in an accessible fashion. I will draw on the research to answer five broad questions: (1) Why are tones more difficult for some learners than others? (2) Why are some tones more difficult than others? (3) Why are tones in words more difficult than in meaningless syllables? (4) Why are tones in context more difficult than in isolation? (5) What can we do about tone learning difficulties?

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