Textbook Localization And Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language Professional - The University Of Vienna Hanxuexi Teaching Material And Teaching Present Situation Investigation And Analysis

This master thesis focuses on Chinese language teaching materials localization/adaption and the issue of teacher professionalization in a non-native speaker environment. The thesis concludes that in the process of materials localization/adaption it is both possible and necessary to promote a certain extent of teacher professionalization, which eventually will serve as the foundation of any attempt to write a fully developed textbook, the ultimate objective of materials localization. The conclusions drawn are based on research conducted during winter semester2011-2012in the Chinese language program as part of the BA Sinology of the Department of East Asian Studies-Sinology at the University of Vienna, including classroom observation, questionnaires and interviews with teachers and students.In German speaking countries, studying China specific university majors is so far the only way of achieving Chinese oral proficiencies above beginners level and the skills necessary for reading authentic Chinese texts. The Department of East Asian Studies-Sinology at the University of Vienna currently provides the largest China specific BA program in the German-speaking world and is the only institution in Austria offering a MA program in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. In other words, the Department of East Asian Studies-Sinology at the University of Vienna is not only the biggest institution for Chinese teaching in Austria, but is also responsible for the training of Austria’s teachers of Chinese as a foreign language, since the implementation of a new masters degree program in fall2011focusing on teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Hence any attempts to the further professionalizing of Chinese teaching in Austria, including localized language teaching materials, must have their starting point there.The thesis holds the view that under the current circumstances of the Viennese Sinology’s Chinese language program, which are discussed in detail in chapter4and6, it is necessary to pay more attention to the process of materials localization/adaption and less to its outcomes. The long-established teachers, assisted by the less experienced staff members and masters students of the new-implemented masters degree should work together, in order to further identify and gradually cater to the students and teachers needs, which are not yet fully taken care of. In concrete terms, teaching staff and master students should try to supplement more additional materials around the language program’s core material, the revised edition of the textbook Hanyu jiaocheng, which is already in use for several years and for which a large number of supplementary materials has already been designed by the teaching staff. From this perspective, a complete change to another textbook does not seem feasible. The existing supplementary materials are presented in chapter5.On the basis of a detailed discussion of the above-mentioned supplementary materials’nature, the characteristics of materials for the purpose of teaching Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in general and the learners’ and teachers’needs (see chapter2and3), CFL materials are categorized as focusing on cognitive, perceptive, and methodological aspects of learning as well as the type of information medium used. The thesis finally suggests a guideline for future efforts regarding materials localization/adaption at the Department of East Asian Studies-Sinology at the University of Vienna.