Problems In Teaching Materials Of Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language (TCFL) And Revision Advice

Since the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language aiming at overseas students inChina bears the important task to popularize Chinese culture and teaching material isthe significant blueprint in teaching, it is crucial to prepare suitable teaching materialsof TCFL. According to current research results, the researches of educational circle onTCFL started relatively late and degree of valuing TCFL is far less language teachingand cultural teaching in the language. Besides, the preparation of teaching materials ofTCFL has lacked unified orientation standard and standard style. Therefore, teachingmaterials on the market are numerous, but not refined; the good and the bad areintermingled. This is also once of the reasons why the researches on teaching materialson the culture are very few.This paper first reviews and summarizes the conditions of the researches ofdomestic and overseas scholars on culture teaching, the status of teaching materialevaluation and researches as well as the researches on preparation of culture teachingmaterials. Then, three representative culture teaching materials oriented to overseasstudents in China serve as the examples: Chinese Culture (Shanghai Foreign LanguageEducation Press), Chinese Culture (Beijing Language and Culture University Press) andIntroduction to Chinese Culture (Peking University Press). Aiming at the problem thatthe contents of current cultural teaching materials lack systematicness, four culturaldisplay dimensionalities ("recent-far","concrete-abstract") in Chinese cultural teachingare put forward, in hope of further complying with overseas students’ logic to perceiveChinese culture. Furthermore, this paper also generalizes four major factors influencingpreparation of the contents of teaching materials: historical factor, factor of nationalconditions, folk-custom factor and value factor. Later, aiming at the above factors, thispaper proposes suggestions on writing and revising TCFL cultural teaching materials asfollows:1) history popularization should highlight cultural characteristics;2)introduction to national conditions should based on modern china;3) idea conveyingshould pay attention to universal value. Besides, it is also suggested to classify culturalteaching mistrials, excavate local humanity characteristics, develop local andschool-based teaching materials, realize stereoscopic teaching materials, developsupporting resources, respect differences of multiple cultures and seek unifiedunderstanding of culture.Finally, this study draws conclusions for development direction of future teaching materials of TCFL and considers future teaching materials of TCFLshould not only realize unilateral delivery, but should achieve two-way and evenmultidirectional effective interactions. Therefore, future preparation core (i.e. theorientation of cultural exchange) should promote dialogues among differentcivilizations so as to achieve understanding and joint development of differentcivilizations.Moreover, this study combines the way of questionnaire survey to investigate andanalyze the demands of overseas students (undergraduates) from three universities inChongqing for Chinese culture. According to the survey, their demands for practicalapplicability, enjoyment and intelligibility are most outstanding. Their demand forsupporting resources of cultural teaching materials and their vision for diversifiedteaching means are very strong. This enlightens us that in order to achieve teachingorientation, it is required to fully consider overseas’ learning characteristics and basicneeds, mobilize all their sense organs, combine cultural teaching with language teaching,aim for cross-cultural communication, promote enjoyment and practical applicabilitysimultaneously and adjust the teaching materials with pertinence.In a word, this study on the basis of the researches of predecessors aims to come upwith countermeasures and suggestions for future preparation of culture teachingmaterials, and propose beneficial supplements for the teaching materials throughdiscussions of present compiling concept of teaching materials of TCFL. Meanwhile,this study is also expected to provide certain reference for teachers teaching Chinesecultural courses and overseas students learning Chinese culture during selection ofteaching materials.