A Comparative Study Of Elementary Chinese Textbooks In South Africa

Recently,the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language has become increasingly popular;and as the scale of teaching expands,new methods are needed.In order to adapt to this trend,a wide variety of Chinese textbooks have emerged,with different textbooks being used according to the teaching background.Since textbooks play an essential role in teaching,many textbook studies have been conducted in China and abroad,with a focus on both the macro design as well as the specific content of various textbooks.These studies are,however,not comprehensive.For instance,in the last decade,Chinese teaching in South Afr ica has gradually progressed from its introduction to relative prosperity.Yet there are few theses that focus specifically on Chinese teaching in South Africa,and their analysis of textbooks is not quite inadequate.This indicates that Chinese teaching in the country has not received the necessary attention.As such,this thesis sets out to provide a study of the current situation of Chinese teaching in South Africa.It provides a detailed analysis of:Chinese subject-setting,the current structure and level of students and teachers,as well as the Chinese textbooks used in each school.This data is captured through a survey.A key outcome of this research is that there is no uniformity in the textbooks used to teach Chinese in South Africa,which will likely have a negative impact on the overall quality of Chinese teaching in the country in the longterm.Three textbooks are analysed in this thesis:New Practical Chinese Textbook 1,HSK Standard Course 1 and Happy Chinese 1.They are chosen because:i)they are all comprehensive textbooks for beginners,ii)they are all aimed at learners whose native language is English,iii)they are widely used in overseas Chinese teaching,and iv)are currently the most widely used Chinese textbooks in South Africa.Through a comparative analysis of these three textbooks,some specific suggestions can be given for producing a uniform elementary Chinese textbook for South Africa.This analysis is provided in seven parts:an introduction to the research methods of the thesis;an analysis of the current situation of Chinese language teaching in South Africa;a comparative analysis of the design and main content of the three textbooks;an analysis of the similarity between these textbooks with regard to the South African highschool final exam paper;a survey of Chinese teachers' opinions on the textbooks,and finally some suggestions for designing a more uniform elementary Chinese textbook for South Africa.The comparative analysis of the design and main content of each textbook is the key chapter of the thesis.On a macro level,this chapter compares and analyzes the concepts,principles,and structure of the three textbooks.On the micro level,it compares and analyzes the text,vocabulary,grammar,Chinese characters,culture,and practice of the textbooks.It is hoped that through this research,the strengths and weaknesses of each textbook will become clear,thereby helping South African Chinese teachers to choose the appropriate textbook for their situation,thus improving teaching quality.In the following chapter,the similarity between the three textbooks and the South African matric final exam paper is evaluated.It is further hoped that by combining the results of this analysis with teachers' opinions,innovative suggestions for Chinese textbook design in South Africa can be given,taking into account different learning groups.In an overview of the analysis,it is found that the New Practical Chinese Textbook 1 pays more attention to comprehensive use of language,while HSK Standard Course 1 is more in line with the requirements of the Chinese HSK test.Happy Chinese 1,by contrast,is aimed at cultivating Chinese language proficiency.As such,elementary textbooks for beginner learners and optional courses should adopt HSK Standard Course 1 and Happy Chinese 1,which both highlight the practical fun of learning Chinese by using games and activities to promote teaching.However,the elementary textbooks for matric learners,should of course be based on the exam outline,and should therefore adopt New Practical Chinese Textbook 1 and Happy Chinese 1.These textbooks provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to learning,and select Chinese culture and knowledge thoughtfully.Elementary textbooks for college should adopt the New Practical Chinese Textbook 1 and HSK Standard Course 1 as they also place equal emphasis on both language knowledge and cultural knowledge,and provide detailed examples of language use.The author hopes that the above suggestions will help to write the elementary Chinese textbooks for South African in the future.