Springer Explorations into Chinese as a Second Language: 31 (Educational Linguistics, 31)

This volume explores how linguistic research can support the teaching and learning of Chinese as a second language. It responds to a rapidly growing interest in the Chinese language all over the world, and answers the need for a strong research background for the discipline. Without that, Chinese language learning remains only a unique experience and/or a useful education challenge. The first section explores crucial issues about the structure and use of Chinese as a Second Language such as word-order, noun-noun compounds, meaning-making in writing, pronunciation and stress and tone. The second section explores the learning of Chinese by seeking answer to questions about difficulties, expectations, beliefs, use of corpus and learning how to express necessity. The authors coming from eight different countries demonstrate how existing knowledge has been generated, bring together different lines of research, point out tendencies in the field, demonstrate and explain what tools and methods researchers can use to address major issues in the field, and give direction to what future research should focus on. Review “The book is a remarkable resource which represents a comprehensive account of issues in the acquisition, use, teaching, and development of Chinese as a second language. … the book serves as a valuable resource, not only for second language researchers, especially those of CSL, but also for teachers, educators, and curriculum developers looking to learn and understand more about second language theories and methods for practically applying them in the field of Chinese as a second language.” (Zhiqi Gong, Chinese Language and Discourse, Vol. 8 (2), 2017) From the Back Cover This volume explores how linguistic research can support the teaching and learning of Chinese as a second language. It responds to a rapidly growing interest in the Chinese language all over the world, and answers the need for a strong research background for the discipline. Without that, Chinese language learning remains only a unique experience and/or a useful education challenge. The first section explores crucial issues about the structure and use of Chinese as a Second Language such as word-order, noun-noun compounds, meaning-making in writing, pronunciation and stress and tone. The second section explores the learning of Chinese by seeking answer to questions about difficulties, expectations, beliefs, use of corpus and learning how to express necessity. The authors coming from eight different countries demonstrate how existing knowledge has been generated, bring together different lines of research, point out tendencies in the field, demonstrate and explain what tools and methods researchers can use to address major issues in the field, and give direction to what future research should focus on. About the Author ISTVAN KECSKES is Distinguished Professor of the State University of New York System, USA. He is the President of the American Pragmatics Association (AMPRA) and the CASLAR (Chinese as a Second Language Research) Association. Dr. Kecskes’ is the founding editor of the journal Intercultural Pragmatics, a book series in Pragmatics as well as the bilingual (Chinese-English) journal CASLAR.