A Chinese Textbook For First Grade Italian Students:My Thoughts Of Compiling And Some Teaching Advice

The main content of this paper is the composition of a textbook for teaching Chinese, explicitly written for Italian elementary students. Being the author an Italian Chinese language teacher and an international master student, the basis of the textbook lies on the knowledge of the two languages, Chinese and Italian, on the understanding of cultural differences between the two countries and on the experience of the author herself as a teacher.The content of this paper is divided into two main parts, the first part is the discussion and analysis of the theoretical reasons underlying textbooks compilation and the didactic objectives of the textbook itself. Particular attention has been placed on the so called "country-specific teaching materials",which are to be considered the future trend of development of textbooks for teaching Chinese as a second language. As a matter of facts, as far as Italy is concerned, this kind of materials are still insufficient and inadequate to the pace of development of Chinese teaching, not to mention materials specific for teaching the youngsters and children.The first part of the paper also describes didactic objectives, some basic principles on which the author relied on during the process of writing the textbook, as well as some didactic advice. Having taken into consideration the differences between the two languages, the main focus of the present textbook is the development of a good pronunciation and the understanding of the basic principles of the formation of Chinese characters. According to the author, once the students have mastered these two aspects of the language, any future systematic study of the language, including grammar and the memorization of characters, will be easier. Consequently, two particular teaching techniques are relied on and used in the whole textbook, TPR (total physical response) and game theory, not to mention the use of tongue twisters apt to help Italian students develop a standard pronunciation.In conclusion of the first part, the author also explains why studying Chinese may be helpful to the education and the cerebral development of Italian students.The second part of the paper is the textbook itself. All materials and pictures are specifically designed by the author for Italian students. The textbook is formed by 15 chapters, and tries to develop the students’ curiosity and mental flexibility, in order to acquire the Chinese language in the most natural way.