The Present Situation And Problems In The Teaching Of Oral Chinese At Japanese Universities

The teaching of oral Chinese is an important technical skill of Chinese teachingin the study of “Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages”. However, thecurrent teaching methods and teaching contents at Japanese universities areinconsistency between each university and their conceptions are not united, followingthese facts, its consequences are less than an ideal. As a consequence, the phenomenonthat “Japanese students can read but are not able to speak” has occurred. This thesis isbased on the relevant theory above and describes the present situation of the teachingof oral Chinese at Japanese universities. By analyzing these problems and finding itscauses, I would give experiences based advices on class designing for possibleimprovements for students.This thesis is divided into five parts: The first chapter discusses my motivation,its intention for this thesis, and describes the research methods and essays related tothis research. In the second chapter, the property and principles of the teaching of oralChinese are illustrated by analyzing of a large number of international literatures andessays. The third chapter–the main part of this thesis–contains interviews andquestionnaires about views and opinions on the teaching of oral Chinese from the bothperspectives of teachers and of students. Through analyzing of current situations of theteaching of oral Chinese in details, it is proofed whether the teaching of oral Chinese atJapanese universities follows the order in the second chapter of the basic principles ofthe teaching of oral Chinese. Through demonstrating and pointing out thelong-standing problems due to the oral Chinese teaching system at Japaneseuniversities, the main reasons and causes of the phenomenon that “Japanese studentscan read but are not able to speak”, will be clearly presented, and moreover I proposean idea of possible improvements. The fourth chapter provides a concrete teaching idea.Based on the principles of the oral Chinese teaching system, a teaching plan for possible improvements is designed in consideration of the situation at Japaneseuniversities described in the third chapter. Deliberate on characteristics of Japanesestudents, this plan combines a variety of different teaching methods, and it accordinglysuggests a training method of improvements in speaking ability for reforming thetraditional teaching methods of Japanese universities from diverse perspectives. Thefifth chapter provides a summary of this thesis and reflects on inadequacies due to thevalue of the thesis. Finally, it proposes the view for a future development and my ownexpectations of the teaching of oral Chinese at Japanese universities.I deeply wish that this research will be able to contribute for the futureimprovement of the teaching of oral Chinese and lead to invest in practical oraltrainings of the Chinese teaching system at Japanese universities.