The demand for Chinese teachers, programs, and standards is spiralling. More and more people around the world want to learn Chinese.
There is a huge problem, however. It’s on the supply side: not enough trained teachers, not enough programs to suit the diverse needs of an expanding global market. I searched recently for what we […]
Archive for the 'Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL)' Category
Indefinable TCSL
Published by November 29th, 2006 in Learning Chinese and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 34 CommentsThe momentum of TCSL
Published by November 10th, 2006 in Learning Chinese and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 11 CommentsCui Xiliang, the president of BLCU, pens an article in the China Daily today, ‘Chinese language learning booms as world enters new era’. It doesn’t actually say that much new, but it’s revealing of the attitudes amongst the leaders in the field.
My take: the infrastructure that is supposed to enable the global rise of […]
Interview with Professor Cyndy Ning
Published by November 8th, 2006 in Uncategorized, Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) and Interviews. 23 CommentsToday we bring you another of our podcast interviews with the good and the great of the Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) world, Professor Cyndy Ning. Professor Ning is Associate Director at the Center for Chinese Studies at the Univeristy of Hawaii. She had some very interesting things to say about learning Chinese, […]
Redundant words
Published by September 24th, 2006 in Learning Chinese, About ChinesePod and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 1 CommentI want to follow on from a recent debate about using authentic listenings on ChinesePod. We certainly do plan to use some - recorded ‘on the streets’, without scripting, etc, in the coming months. However, I’d like to share some more on why we could not use an authentic only approach to build […]
The objective/subjective learning dimension
Published by September 19th, 2006 in About ChinesePod and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 2 CommentsIn an earlier post, ‘Analysis or experience?’ I listed some differences between these two approaches to learning. I’d like to go a bit deeper into one of the items on that list, as it has come up in conversation since - The objective/subjective dimension.
Traditionally, language lessons were presented in a (necessarily) linear way. This form of presentation was objective in the […]
Analysis or experience?
Published by September 15th, 2006 in About ChinesePod and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 36 CommentsEarlier in the week I mentioned the term ‘experiential learning’. I think this raised some concerns amongst some of our readers - it seemed to suggest something vague and ‘new age’. In fact, I think it is very far from that, but grounded in learning through practical, day-to-day experience. Let me give you a little […]
Textbooks and ’standard speech’
Published by September 3rd, 2006 in About ChinesePod and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 9 CommentsI think there are misconceptions about how Chinese is used in real life. Part of the problem has been the traditional textbooks. There exists a myth that, in some unidentified part of China, a certain class of people use ‘perfect’ Chinese grammar, pronunciation, etc, in their daily speech. This is pretty wrong. (One of the […]
Hank’s Language Podcast Survey
Published by September 1st, 2006 in About the Chinese language and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 5 CommentsHank Horkoff has a Language Podcast Survey over at his (highly recommended) Network Sense blog. The survey doesn’t include English provision, but it still puts things into perspective to my mind.
There isn’t yet a mass awareness of what this medium can do. Podcasting as a teaching/learning tool is a new thing with limited number […]
‘With a Changing World Comes An Urgency to Learn Chinese’
Published by August 26th, 2006 in Learning Chinese and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 15 CommentsThe Washington Post has a longish article on the rise of Mandarin in US schools. The administration seems to be squarely behind this. The author has correctly identifed one of the major problems - a lack of trained teachers. The Hanban is trying to tackle this issue but they’re not in a position to train […]
‘Chinese students more organized, less imaginative than American counterparts ‘
Published by August 23rd, 2006 in China and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL). 11 CommentsHere’s a fascinating report from the U Florida. It outlines how ‘Chinese students are more organized, but less imaginative than American counterparts’.
Some quotes from the article:
“Children who prefer a practical and organized learning style tend to do well in the sciences, and children generally choose career paths that complement their temperament.”
– 86 percent […]
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