Inspiration For Overseas Chinese Characters Teaching Of A Study On The Theory And Practice Of Jo?l Bellassen’s “Relative Zi-based” Teaching Method

The French sinologist Bellassen is one of the few famous sinologists in the world who is known for his research on Chinese language teaching,and enjoys great reputation in the International Chinese Language Education community.At the end of last century,he proposed the “relative zi-based” teaching method and implemented this teaching concept by writing a series of textbooks,which opened up a “French” path for International Chinese Language Education and provided a direction worth exploring and thinking.By comparing the “zi-based” theories in China,this paper identifies the dual connotation of the “relative zi-based” pedagogy of Bellassen.On the one hand,it respects the “zi-based” nature of the Chinese language.On the other hand,it gets rid of both theory and practice of the “absolute zi-based” from traditional sinology,which takes into account the duality of “word” and “character” from the perspective of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.This paper focuses on three textbooks edited by Bellassen,which are A Key to Chinese Speech and Writing,Shuo Zi Jie Ci,Snowballing Chinese.Then this paper analyzes the specific embodiment of “relative zi-based” from three perspectives: teaching Chinese characters,teaching oral language,and teaching reading and writing in order to examine the teaching characteristics of “relative zi-based” and conclude that this teaching method affirms the status and value of Chinese characters.The teaching concept of“relative zi-based” is proposed by Bellassen in a non-target language environment of French sinology tradition and Chinese language teaching,which has its own features and some inspirations for elementary Chinese characters teaching and Chinese textbook compilation for elementary and intermediate levels of Chinese learners of International Chinese Language Education.However,“relative zi-based” also has some limitations that need to be recognized and treated dialectically.This paper interviewed Bellassen by email and combined literature review and textbook analysis to collect information and develop the study.There are six parts in the whole paper.The first part is the introduction,which introduces the origin,significance,current research status,and methodology of this paper.The second part analyzes the connotation of Bellassen’s “relative zi-based” from a comparative perspective and points out that Bellassen’s “relative zi-based” is proposed from the perspective of teaching Chinese as a foreign language rather than from the perspective of Chinese character ontology research,so its “relativity” is embodied in that written language teaching is based on characters and spoken language teaching is based on words.Besides,this part also distinguishes the difference between “absolute zi-based” and “relative zi-based” of the Chinese language teaching in France.The third part starts with three textbooks and analyzes the practice of the “relative zi-based” teaching method through textbook compilation.And this part points out that the “relative zi-based” approach to teaching Chinese characters is based on the relative independence of strokes,components,and characters;in oral language teaching,it is based on the interaction between “character sense” and “language sense”;and in the teaching of Chinese reading and writing,it is based on the supplement among characters,words,reading comprehension and written expression.The fourth part concludes advantages and limitations of the “relative zi-based”teaching method.It has three advantages: firstly,it fully respects the economical and practical characteristics of Chinese characters;secondly,it highly applies the principle of economy in character selection and teaching content to enhance teaching efficiency;thirdly,it adopts a step-by-step approach of “Chinese character writing” and “spoken language teaching” to reasonably address the phenomenon of low-frequency characters.However,from the perspective of the current situation and developing trend of International Chinese Language Education,this teaching method also has limitations such as imperfect theory and practice,scope of application to be investigated,and uneven distribution in language teaching.The fifth part explores the implications of the “relative zi-based” from the perspectives of both downward and upward relevance,pointing out that the “relative zi-based” teaching method is consistent with the thinking and memorization patterns of non-Chinese beginners,and it can provide inspirations for teaching Chinese characters to foreigners: on the one hand,the teaching of Chinese characters to foreigners at this stage should pay attention to the auxiliary role of strokes,components,and pictograms;on the other hand,textbook compilers should focus on strengthening the connection between Chinese characters and words,and maximize the use of Chinese characters.The last part is a conclusion,which summarizes the main ideas and conclusions of the paper.