Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language

This book provides a research-based account of how to teach and learn Chinese as a foreign language. In addition to the discussion of relevant second/foreign language research, this volume gives detailed information on ways to develop a pedagogical model that is uniquely suited to teaching Chinese in five key areas: pronunciation (tones and pinyin), characters and words, sentences (when and why different sentence structures are used), discourse and pragmatic competence (coherence and genre), and cultural competence. Specially written for Chinese language teachers, student teachers, and applied linguists, this is the first book written in English that systematically addresses all major aspects involved in teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language. This book covers all the fundamental grammar elements in Chinese, explains their functions in discourse and communication, and explores different strategies for teaching and engaging students in learning the language.

Janet Zhiqun Xing is an associate professor of Chinese and linguistics at Western Washington University. She specializes in discourse analysis, historical linguistics, and teaching Chinese as a second language.

“Xing builds upon an impressively broad base of research in language acquisition and pedagogy, as well as some of the most important Chinese linguistic studies. From the dual perspectives of a learner and teacher of Chinese, it is a book that is of great use to both types of audiences.” —Scott McGinnis, associate professor, Defense Language Institute, Washington Office

“This highly valuable reference book for Chinese language professionals and students is an impressive product of the extensive knowledge and experience of Dr Xing, who is an accomplished discourse grammarian, outstanding teacher, and experienced language program director.” —Yen-hui Audrey Li, professor of East Asian languages and cultures, University of Southern California