A Study On Foreign Students’ After-class Use Of Chinese In China

The extracurricular language environment is an important aspect of language learning.The use of extracurricular language by second language learners in the target language countries is closely related to the social culture of the target language countries.Based on the Social-education Model and the theory of Willingness to Communicate,this paper took the foreign students of Overseas Education College in Xiamen University as the survey object,and used the method of observation and statistical survey to study the foreign students’after-class use of Chinese in China and to understand the factors affecting foreign students’use of Chinese for communication outside the classroom.The survey obtained the following results:(1)After coming to China,students will use Chinese outside of class because of their hobbies and practicing language.They generally speak their mother tongue with their own compatriots,speak Chinese with Chinese or foreigners.And the audience will influence the language they use.The level of Chinese also affects the length of time they speak Chinese.(2)Outside the classroom,foreign students spend the most time in Chinese writing and listening,and spend the least time reading.They like to watch Chinese movies or TV dramas in free time,and occasionally participate in some extracurricular group activities.(3)Foreign students using Chinese to communicate will be influenced by gender,personality and Chinese level.The cultural background and living conditions have no significant influence on the frequency of Chinese students’ extracurricular Chinese communication.(4)Through case studies,we have seen that the use of Chinese after class is influenced by many factors.There are both commonalities we say,such as gender,Chinese proficiency,motivation for Chinese learning,and individuality.We can not only further understand the situation and reasons for the foreign students’ after-class use of Chinese in China,but also have a clear understanding of the development trajectory of their use of Chinese through their own descriptions.In view of the above research results,this study combined practical problems,proposed several suggestions from teachers,school administrators and foreign students,and evaluated and forecast the whole research.These are to improve the time and frequency of foreign students using Chinese after class,to provide better self-management for international students,to make full use of Chinese resources to provide targeted guidance,and to provide effective opinions for creating a good extracurricular Chinese environment,hoping to provide some help for future research.