International Chinese Language And Communicative Competence Theory

This dessertation takes the overseas TCSOL as its objectives of study (with some Chinese learners in Korea and Thailand as instances) and develops its theses around the development of an international Chinese communicative competence. The research and argumentation is carried on in three steps, one after another. Firstly, an operational and practical model for the constitution of the international Chinese communicative competence is constructed. Then, through a thorough analysis of the Chinese writing corpuses provided by some Korean learners and two questionnaires carried out among some Thai learners, one on the cultural and pragmatic competence and the other on the strategic competence in their Chinese learning and use, some indication of the overseas Chinese learners' Chinese communicative competence is obtained. In the light of the model and the investigation, a detailed and practical study is then made of how to cultivate and develop the international Chinese communicative competence during the course of TCSOL, from compiling and selection of textbooks to classroom teaching and learning activities, and then to testing and assessment.The international Chinese communicative competence is the result of the interaction of knowledge of the Chinese language, skills in using Chinese, the Chinese pragmatic and cultural competence and the strategic competence in Chinese learning and use. A physically and psychologically healthy overseas adult, in a certain learning context, with certain emotions and attitudes and by making use of some strategies, starts to learn knowledge about the Chinese language and culture, gradually obtains skills in using the language orally and literally, and then, by taking advantage of his or her existing world knowledge, will possibly acquire some elementary Chinese language competence. Such a competence, if guided by the rules for using Chinese internalized in the learner, regulated by the communicative strategies in using the language, and through large quantities of simulated or genuine communicative activities in it, will gradually develop into a compound Chinese communicative competence.A detailed study of some200Chinese compositions provided by59Korean university students shows that, in spite of all the errors found in all levels of usage, the Korean learners have acquired the elementary competence in using Chinese after three or four years of learning. If they are to further improve their Chinese and finally acquire a compound competence in the language, however, more specific and practical training or practice will be needed. Such training or practice can be carried out in the integrated Chinese course and in a special course of writing in Chinese.Analyses of the questionnaire carried out among22Chinese majors in three Thai universities indicate that all the learners, after three years of learning Chinese as the major course, seem to have acquired some competence in both comprehension of Chinese culturally-rich words and Chinese language use in everyday communication but that there is a relatively sharp difference between the universities, which, most likely, arises from the difference in school qualifications and individual efforts, as well as the teaching proficiency. Therefore, efforts should be made to enhance immersion of pertinent contents in the Chinese classroom. Analyses of37learners, both majors and non-majors of the Chinese language, in four Thai universities indicate that all of them are utilizing, to a greater or lesser degree, consciously or unconsciously, strategies or techniques in their learning and using Chinese. Their utilization shares common features but have differecnes as well, which might be explained by where they are in the course of their learning and what strategies they have been applying in learning other subjects, as well as their Thai cultural background. Some strategies that have already been proved effective, though, are seldom used among them. Therefore, it is necessary that we get strategy training immersed in and outside the Chinese language classroom. Both investgations show that overseas learners can possibly acquire some compound Chinese communicative competence after three or four years of learning Chinese as the major at school, though there are still errors in their command of the Chinese culture or pragmatics and the strategies in using Chinese communicatively. The errors, though, can be corrected or eradicated in explicit or implicit teaching during the course of TCSOL.The development and acquisition of a compound Chinese communicative competence has to be carried out in the entire course of the enterprise. While the overall design is at most times beyond the individual effort, the other three stages constitute the daily routines for the TCSOL practitioners. A study of fourteen sets of TCSOL textbooks enables us to see the evolution of Chinese teaching materials,as well as valuable experiences and techniques in compiling them for non-Chinese speakers, but none of the existing textbooks can be directly applied to the overseas Chinese classroom so that "specifically contextualized" textbooks have to be compiled or selected for use. Such textbooks may differ in both content and structuring but should all best exemplify the ideas of being "learner-centred","communicative teaching" and "Chinese pragmatic culture immersed". Language teaching and learning that happen in the classroom can influence or accelerate second language acquisition only when it fits well with the learner's state of mind, or psychological condition. For that purpose, all types of methods or techniques that have been invented and applied are being applied in the language classroom today, so long as they are "learner-centred" and "teaching and learning communicatively". Then, a practical classroom teaching and learning case or teaching plan, i.e. the initiating unit of "Chinese for Communication" in UDRU, Thailand, is presented, through which to show how the principles of specificity, communication and regularity are carried out in the TCSOL classroom activities.A comparative analysis of the HSK (or Chinese Proficiency Test), old and new, enables us to see a gradual progression towards a comprehensive "performance-based assessment". So, some practical studies are then made as to how to help develop or cultivate the learners'Chinese communicative competence in two types of tesing: diagnostic and achievement or progressive testing. The cases of testing and assessment offered here all make some attempt to integrate in this final or concluding stage of learning and acqusition of the language knowledge of Chinese, skills in using the language, the pragmatic and cultural competence and the strategic competence in learning and use of the Chinese language.Cultivation and acquisition of the compound Chinese communicative competence will have to undergo two shifts or transitions:the former from knowledge of the Chinese language and culture to skills in using the language-acquiring the elementary competence; the latter from the elementary lanugage competence to the compound communicative competence-which ensures not merely correctness but appropriateness. The realization of both shifts or transitions depends upon large quantities of effective and meaningful language practice and communicative activities. In an effort to carry out such practice and activities in the course of TCSOL so that its goals of development and cultivation of the Chinese communicative competence will be reached, two proposals and four suggestions are put forward at the end, along with some reflections made of the implementation of TCSOL for the time being.