I. Introduction
The history of teaching Chinese as a foreign language is as long as the history of friendly exchanges between the Chinese nation and all ethnic groups in the world. The closeness of China's communication with other countries and the strength of its national strength directly affect the rise and fall of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Since the founding of New China, teaching Chinese as a foreign language has gradually become a discipline and a language education undertaking. At present, this undertaking is facing the world and welcoming the future with a brand-new attitude.
Based on this background, we try to comprehensively analyze and summarize the views of the main contributors in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language since it was founded in the early 1950s, and sort out the order of its time logic development, so as to understand the development of TCFL more intuitively, systematically and at a higher level.
The literature review of this paper is basically based on the actual development process of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The second part introduces the historical origin and initial stage of the emergence of Chinese as a foreign language specialty. The third part introduces various theories and viewpoints put forward around the cause of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the stage of consolidation and development. The fourth part analyzes the present situation and trend of TCFL in detail, and looks forward to its development prospect.
Second, the historical origin and initial stage
(A) the historical origin
During the Western Han Dynasty, some ethnic minorities from all over China came to Chang 'an to study Chinese. The real history of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in China can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, many countries in the world sent overseas students to study in China because of their strong national strength. For example, Japan sent more than a dozen "envoys in the Tang Dynasty", each with hundreds of people; After Silla unified the Korean peninsula, it also sent more than one international student to Chang 'an, each group 100. In the subsequent dynasties, international students also came to China to study (the Yuan Dynasty practiced hegemony and the number of international students dropped sharply). Among them, Laoqida and knowledgeable person were textbooks for Koreans to learn spoken Chinese in the early Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Giniger's Eyes and Ears of Western Confucianism and Wade's Collection of Words from the Monarch at the end of the Qing Dynasty were widely influential Chinese textbooks at that time. During the Republic of China, the China government also sent a small number of foreign students to each other, and many well-known scholars engaged in teaching Chinese as a foreign language or related work. For example, from 1924 to 1929, Mr. Lao She is a Chinese lecturer at Oriental College of University of London, UK. The recordings of his lectures in those years are still kept in London.
(b) Initial stage (1early 1950s to1early 1960s)
Although foreigners in China have a long history of learning Chinese, teaching Chinese as a foreign language as a professional subject is a young subject. As it is a new discipline, while it is developing rapidly, there are still different views and even some disputes about the name, nature and tasks of this discipline in society, academia and even within this discipline. The name of a discipline is a reflection of its content and essential characteristics. In the initial stage of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, the academic circles put forward some different views on the name of this subject, which also reflects people's understanding of this subject:
1. "Teaching Chinese as a foreign language": At present, in addition to the majors or departments of teaching Chinese as a foreign language for undergraduates, a few schools already have master's and doctoral programs in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. For example, beijing language and culture university named the only national research base as "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Center", and Professor Zhao Jinming, director of the center, took "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language" as the subject name.
2. "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language": This name can basically reflect the characteristics and connotation of teaching foreigners to learn Chinese, but objectively speaking, because of the word "teaching", people can easily classify it as pedagogy or subject teaching theory.
3. "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language": Because "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language" was originally a title for the cause of teaching foreigners to learn Chinese in China, it obviously has the color of referring to this subject from the perspective of China people. The word "foreign" cannot be used by foreign colleagues who are engaged in Chinese teaching, so it is only applicable to China. Scholars at home and abroad usually use the name "Chinese teaching" when discussing subjects or academic issues together.
4. "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language": From a scientific point of view, this name accurately points out the connotation and nature of this subject. However, because the name is too long and catchy, and because of established reasons, it is unlikely to be widely spread.
5. Teaching Chinese as a foreign language.
Practically speaking, we think that we should strengthen the research on the nature, task and connotation of the subject "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language" in the future, and there is no need to put too much energy into the discussion and debate on the subject name.
From 65438 to 0952, the famous linguist Zhu and others went to Bulgaria to teach Chinese for the first time, which was the beginning of sending teachers overseas to teach Chinese after liberation. At this stage, the research on the theory of teaching Chinese as a foreign language has begun. The earliest paper I can read is Zhou Zumo's Some Problems in Teaching Non-Han Students to Learn Chinese (China Chinese, No.7, 1953). From the beginning, Mr. Zhou Zumo clearly pointed out that Chinese teaching for foreigners and Han people is different from that for Han students in China, and pointed out that teaching should be aimed at the characteristics of non-Han adults learning Chinese. Obviously, Chinese teaching for foreigners and non-Han people is to cultivate their practical ability to use Chinese; It is pointed out that Chinese research should be strengthened in combination with the needs of Chinese teaching.
1958 China's first textbook for teaching Chinese as a foreign language, A Book for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, takes grammar as the main line and is arranged step by step, which lays the foundation for the establishment of a grammar system for teaching Chinese as a foreign language. This textbook embodies the theory and method at this stage.
Third, the development stage.
Consolidation and development stage (early 1960s to mid-1960s)
After 1960s, with the improvement of China's international status, the scale of accepting and sending overseas students needs to be expanded. In order to strengthen the exchange of experience in teaching Chinese as a foreign language in colleges and universities, the Ministry of Education decided that the Beijing Language Institute should set up the Basic Chinese Teaching Newsletter for Foreign Students, which is the first professional publication for teaching Chinese as a foreign language in China. Established in 1965, * * * released 1 1.
At this stage, the focus of theoretical research on teaching Chinese as a foreign language is to summarize the teaching experience since the founding of the People's Republic of China, which is reflected in Zhong Ming's Summary of Chinese Teaching in Fifteen Years (Language Teaching and Research, No.4, 1979). On the basis of summing up experience, we should further clarify the characteristics, requirements and principles of teaching, and strive to promote the development of teaching materials and classroom teaching methods in the direction of standardization. For example, he put forward the teaching requirements of combining teaching content with students' majors and applying what they have learned; The practical teaching principle of "intensive speaking and more practice, combining in and out of class"; "Chinese goes hand in hand", comprehensive training in listening, speaking, reading and writing, and key teaching arrangements in stages; The way of compiling textbooks combining the systematicness of grammar with the vividness of texts; Try to adopt relatively direct Chinese classroom teaching methods.
At this stage, Basic Chinese was also compiled. Due to the influence of the Cultural Revolution, it was not officially published until 197 1 was revised, and the Chinese reader was published in 1972. This textbook highlights and emphasizes the position of actual language in the textbook, which is the direct embodiment of "practical principle" and "relatively direct method"1The Cultural Revolution broke out in 966, and the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language was interrupted.
(3) recovery stage (early 1970s-late 1970s)
In the early 1970s, the international situation changed and China's foreign relations made great progress. At this time, some colleges and universities have resumed enrollment, and many foreign students who stopped studying in China because of the "Cultural Revolution" demanded to resume their studies. Due to the serious influence of the Cultural Revolution, the cause of teaching Chinese as a foreign language at that time faced many difficulties in all aspects, and the ability to accept foreign students was still very limited. The shortage of teachers is the most prominent problem in teaching Chinese as a foreign language in China at this stage.
At this stage, the theoretical research on teaching Chinese as a foreign language is more in-depth, and the papers are mainly published in Language Teaching and Research, such as Lu Bisong's Practical Principles of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Yang Junxuan's Death and Life in Classroom Teaching, and Zheng's How to Teach Foreign Students Selected Works. Lin Tao's Phonetic Teaching and Pronunciation Teaching, Shi Peiwen's and Li Jiyu's The Role of Listening Training in Language Teaching, and so on. The main features are: paying attention to research and solving specific problems in teaching. However, the research scope is still too narrow to rise to the height of discipline construction, which is limited to teaching principles and classroom teaching.
(d) The vigorous development stage (after the end of 1970s)
The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party decided to implement the policy of reform and opening up. The political transformation and the resulting rapid economic development have aroused great concern abroad, and then a "China fever" and "China fever" have also caused a "Chinese fever" in the world. The cause of teaching Chinese as a foreign language is developing vigorously in such a big environment.
During the period of 1978, at the symposium on language discipline planning held by China Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, Lu Bisong first proposed that teaching Chinese as a foreign language should be built as a discipline. 1983 The Research Association of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language of China Education Association (predecessor of China Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language Association) was established. 1984 Wang Li pointed out that "teaching Chinese as a foreign language is a discipline" in his inscription for the fifth anniversary of the publication of Language Teaching and Research. In the same year, He Dongchang, then Minister of Education, clearly pointed out in the report of the Conference on International Students in China: "Years of facts have proved that teaching Chinese as a foreign language has developed. 1In July, 987, the State Council approved the establishment of the National Leading Group for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, which is the government agency in charge of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.
The theoretical research results at this stage are more fruitful. For example, Liu Xun's Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language; Lu Bisong's exploration and summary of the development of teaching Chinese as a foreign language: the application of Linguistics Outline edited by Qi Huyang and Chen Changlai: the language teaching principle of feast; Zhao Jinming's Introduction to Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and so on. At present, teaching Chinese as a foreign language is really regarded as a special subject, and the teaching theory is studied from the height of discipline construction. The main features are: macro research on teaching Chinese as a foreign language, and comprehensive research on all links and activities.
In addition, in 2000, the Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on Common Languages and Characters stipulated that Mandarin and standardized characters should be taught in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. This is the first national law in China concerning the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language.
I. Preface
The history of friendly exchanges between the Chinese nation and people all over the world goes back to ancient times, and so does the history of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The closeness and strength of communication between China and other countries in the world directly affect the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language. It was not until the founding of New China that teaching Chinese as a foreign language became a discipline and a language education. At present, the cause is facing the world and the future with a brand-new attitude.
Against this background, we try to make a comprehensive analysis, summary and review from the perspective of the initial pioneering contribution of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the 1950s to the historical development in the past 50 years, in order to understand the development of teaching Chinese as a foreign language more intuitively, systematically and at a higher level.
The literature reviewed in this paper is basically based on the actual development process of enterprises in China. The second part introduces the history and initial stage of teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The third part introduces the stages of enterprises in China, and the consolidation and development of various theories and viewpoints. The fourth part analyzes the current situation and trend of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in Gu Lan era in detail, and looks forward to the development prospect of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.
Second, the historical origin and initial stage
history
During the Western Han Dynasty, people from ethnic minorities from all over China came to Chang 'an to study Chinese. The real history of Chinese teaching for foreigners in China can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. By the Tang Dynasty, many countries in the world sent overseas students to study in China because of their strong national strength. For example, Japan sent more than a dozen "trips to the Tang Dynasty", with hundreds of people in each group; After the reunification of the Korean Peninsula, Silla sent hundreds of students to Chang 'an. In every dynasty after that, students also went to China to study (after hegemony, the number of students decreased, among which "Chinese" declined). In the early Ming Dynasty, "Pu Xue" was a textbook for teaching Koreans to learn spoken Chinese (Beijing dialect). And "the eyes and ears of Trigaud, a western scholar", and A Record of Language by Wade Gilles can be regarded as a widely influential Chinese textbook at that time. During the period of Du Huan's Republic of China, the China government exchanged a small number of overseas students with foreign governments. At that time, many well-known scholars were engaged in teaching Chinese as a foreign language or related work. For example, Mr. Lao She worked as a lecturer at the School of Oriental and Chinese Studies, University of London from A.D.1924 to A.D.1929, and the recordings of his lectures are still kept in London.
(2) the initial stage (from the early 1960s to the early 1950s. )
Although foreigners have a long history of learning Chinese from the perspective of Chinese, as a professional subject, "foreign language" is a young subject. Because it is a new discipline, while it is developing rapidly, there are still fundamental problems in the society. The academic circles and various disciplines have different views on the name, subject nature and task, and there are even some disputes. The name of the subject is to reflect the essential characteristics of the subject and the subject. In the initial stage of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, some different views were put forward on the name of this subject, which also reflected people's understanding of this subject:
1 "foreign languages": in addition to the current undergraduate majors in foreign languages or foreign languages, there are a few schools that have masters and doctors in Chinese, such as beijing language and culture university, and the only national research base is called "foreign language research center". The monograph "Basic Framework of Chinese as a Foreign Language Research" by Professor Zhao Jinming, the director of the center, uses "foreign language" as the subject name.
2. "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language": This name basically reflects the characteristics and connotation of teaching foreigners to learn Chinese, but objectively speaking, because of "teaching", it is easy for people to belong to pedagogy or curriculum teaching theory.
3. "Chinese teaching:" Because "foreign language" is the name of the cause of teaching foreigners Chinese in China, it obviously has the color of China's perspective to refer to this subject. The word "foreign" cannot be used repeatedly as a foreign counterpart in Chinese teaching, so it only applies to China. When scholars at home and abroad discuss subjects or academic issues, the name "Chinese teaching" is generally used in this case.
4. "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language:" From a scientific point of view, this name more accurately points out the connotation and nature of the subject. However, because the name is too long and catchy, and the reason is established, it is unlikely to be widely spread.
5 foreign language education.
Starting from practice, we think that we should strengthen the research on the nature, task and content of the "foreign language" discipline in the future, and there is no need to pay too much attention to the discussion and debate on the name of the discipline.
1952, famous linguists Zhu and others visited Bulgaria for the first time to teach Chinese, which was the beginning of teaching Chinese to foreign teachers after the liberation of China. At this stage, the research on the theory of teaching Chinese as a foreign language has been going on. The first paper I saw was Zhou Zumo's "Some Problems in Teaching Non-Chinese Majors to Learn Chinese" (China Language No.7 1953). Starting with the Chinese teaching for foreigners and the different "language" teaching for Han students in China, Mr. Zhou Zumo pointed out that non-Han adults need teaching with "China characteristics" in their studies; Chinese teaching for foreigners and non-Han people is to cultivate them.