The Analysis Of Writing Practice Of Overseas Chinese Textbooks For Junior Middle School

Writing exercise is not only a method of training students’ writing ability, but also an important component of textbooks. This paper analyzes the writing exercises in the following four junior middle school textbooks used for the overseas Chinese teaching, including Zhongwen, Hanyu, Huawen and Chinese for Filipinos. By theoretical approach, quantitative analysis method, contrastive analysis method and sampling analysis method, comparative analysis is focused on the types, quantities and distribution of their writing exercises. It is found that:Firstly, types.Based on the combination and deduction of the three elements of writing exercises, i.e. exercise content, exercise goal and exercise method, the author identifies306 valid types of writing exercise, which serves as the basis of this research. Next, statistics shows that 74 types of writing exercises are covered in these four textbooks. In terms of types of genre, the four textbooks mainly deal with narrative with 30 percent; in terms of types of exercise method, the first place is given to the type of topic composition with 10 percent, in which 9 percent is proposition composition.Secondly, quantities. Quantities are the sum of the repetition of every type. It is found that writing exercise totals 325 of the four textbooks, in which Zhongwen is 136, Hanyu is 102,Huawen is 77 and Chinese for Filipinos is 10 and the quantities differ widely from one to another.On the other hand, composition is also designed as optional in Zhongwen and Hanyu. As to quantities of types, narrative has the most number of 163 with 47 percent, which followed by practical writing with 56 and the percent of 17; as to the types of exercise method, they are dominated by topic composition, rewriting composition, words-given composition and proposition composition, in which topic composition is 76 in total with 23 percent.Thirdly, writing exercise distribution. The quantities of writing exercise of the four textbooks are fairly distributed on the whole. This explains that the writing exercises of these textbooks are arranged evenly and do not show a tendency to increase or decrease with the growth of the grade; as to the exercise types, they do not present a regular distribution in different stages. With regard to the method of exercises, the emphasis on the method of exercisesof the four textbooks is fairly distributed without much difference in quantities. Moreover, for the textbooks that include the optional questions, the proportion of these questions has a rising tendency.Based on the problems discussed above, this paper puts forward the following suggestions:(1)Types of exercise should be the primary consideration of designing writing exercises. Put emphasis on the selection and supplement of types of exercise by selecting necessary and effective ones and abandoning unnecessary, inefficient and invalid ones.(2)The extent to which the instructions are clear can affect the difficulty of the types and thus put the writing exercises under better regulation. This can be achieved by delivering the requirements of exercise goal, the number of words and speed.(3)The quantities of writing exercises affect exercise quality of any textbook. The overall types, types of every genre and types of writing method should be proportionally balanced to reach moderate quantities of writing exercises.(4)Distribute the writing exercises reasonably. Based on the principle of from difficult to easy, the design of writing exercises need to present a regular distribution and there should be a certain proportion of every type. As to writing exercise of genre, there should be changes of gradient and alternate distribution. Types of writing method should distributed in different stages with certain difficulty.