The Educational Concept Of Waldorf And Teaching Of Chinese To Children As A Foreign Language

Waldorf education(also known as Steiner education)is an anthroposophical,person-centered,non-religious educational movement.As a non-mainstream educational movement,it has had a rapid development during the last 100 years.Waldorf's main educational principles are:to be as close to nature as possible,with many outdoor activities;to use natural materials to decorate the classroom and study implement to give each student individual attention;to avoid using exam results as a means of comparing students.Its special educational focus is on cultural and artistic development.Its cultural education focuses on traditional holidays,with the school hosting many activities relating to the holidays,including asking experts to participate in these events.Its artistic education includes a focus on using artistic methods to study different courses;for example,using songs when learning a language,or using drawings to teach writing.Moreover,Waldorf education attaches special importance to the relationship between the teacher and each pupil and his or her parents.Many children who study at Waldorf schools can feel very happy,and they have a deep interest in learning.This had led many parents who value their children's education to choose a Waldorf kindergarten and school.Today China is the country with the most rapid economic development,and the Chinese language is attracting attention all over the world.At the same time,research into Chinese as a Foreign Language is also increasing.However,because the majority of people learning Chinese are adults,a natural consequence has been that the adult language learner has been the focus of much of the research done to date.In recent years,more and more children whose native language is not Mandarin have started to learn the language,but research material relating to this is extremely scarce.Children's second language acquisition of Chinese is a complicated process,and teachers are required to not only help students grasp a foundational knowledge of Mandarin,but also to understand how children learn,and then to find the most appropriate method for teaching them.In this way they thus help increase children's interest in learning Mandarin.To date,Waldorf education is one of the fastest growing educational movements world-wide.In recent years,Waldorf education in China has been developing faster than that of many other countries.This thesis combines a focus on the teaching methods of children's study of Mandarin as a second language together with a focus on Waldorf's educational practices,exploring how to teach children Mandarin as a second language.By combining Waldorf educational principles with that of Chinese as a Foreign Language methods,I hope to bring out the beauty of Mandarin as a language,as well as expressing the meaning of its culture.I also hope to be able to encourage Waldorf schools to adopt the study of Mandarin,thus popularizing and extending it in its schools throughout the world.