Review And Thoughts About PEP-published New Textbook Of Chinese For Secondary Vocational Schools

Chinese teaching for secondary vocational schools is relatively individualized. The special features of vocational education have special requirements for the Chinese course and therefore make it remain an embarrassing status: On one hand, the students do not care about it as they think it does no vocational good. On the other hand, they do need to learn the course for better development; the teachers use the textbook and give classes just like the Chinese teachers in ordinary middle schools without knowing how much what they are teaching can help the secondary vocational schools students. Therefore, it is crucial to choose proper textbook to teach Chinese in secondary vocational schools. Textbooks exemplify teaching purpose and function as an important medium for the realization of teaching goals. Good Chinese textbooks for secondary vocational schools should be perfect combo of Chinese accomplishment and professionalism.After exploring and probing for a long time, the new Chinese texbook for secondary vocational schools published by People's Education Press finally got released in June 2005. There has not been any studies about the new textbook ever since its publish till now, let alone a systematic study. Forefront teachers are basically probing in use of such textbooks without a comprehensive understanding about their advantages and disadvantages of such textbooks. Only when they do, the teachers can maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages. That is as a matter of fact the main purpose of the paper. The author tries to bring up some humble opinions and constructive ideas for Chinese teaching in secondary vocational schools and Chinese textbook development, even if just as a reference.As a teacher of Chinese in a secondary vocational school, the author knows about the the characteristics of students here and is able to evaluate from their points of view based on their actual level and needs. With such advantageous conditions, the author attempts to review and evaluate the textbook in an objective and practical way, applying multiple methods of research and study, including analyzing textbook, analyzing teaching methods, analyzing students and questionaire survey.This paper mainly studies on the following three aspects:1. Layout of the new textbook. Advantages of layout of the new textbook are analyzed from four aspects, namely, humanistic and cultural feature, practicality, practicability, and flexibility. The disadvantages of layout of the new textbook are addressed from another four aspects, including course objectives, sequence of layout, practical efficiency and flexibility.2. Choices of texts for the new textbook. The advantages are analyzed from four aspects, namely, typicality, reflection of contemporary age, and appropriateness. The disadvantages are argued from three aspects, namely, typicality, openness, and reflection of respect and democracy.3. After-class exercises in the new textbook. The innovative features are analyzed from four aspects, namely, difficulty of the exercises, awareness of self-independence, new concepts delivered, and development of oral and written proficiency. The disadvantages are addressed from five aspects, namely, too simple exercises, unsystematic design, unreasonable design, lack of integrity, and no update.4. Proposals for improved compilation. Suggestions and ideas are brought up from four aspects, namely, course objectives, actual needs, vocational relation, student's reading preferences, and their psychology of reading.In a word, the key issues that the paper tries to tackle are the advantages and disadvantages of the new textbook and the way to combine the Chiness profession with secondary vocational schools students' actual level and needs so as to ensure Chinese course taught for vocational purpose and the real characteristics of Chinese course for secondary vocational schools.