START HERE! (Long abstract)
The aim of this project is to discover and report on how Chinese native speakers learn their own writing system, to facilitate comparisons with non-native speaker Chinese language programs such as those in universities and other schools, and in self-study textbooks.
I am writing a post for each lesson in the first grade textbook, and doing it at approximately the same pace as the lessons are presented in a Chinese public school; my son is currently in first grade at a typical Chinese elementary school, and the posting dates follow the dates of his assignments in the textbook (I backdate some of the posts).
Of course a method for native speaker children has pedagogical differences from a method for non-native speaker adults. For non-native speaker adults, we can expect to find an approach that is:
- presented in chunks
- fast-paced and intensive
- filled with charts and diagrams
- filled with theoretical explanations and technical terminology
- oriented toward preparing the student for communicative situations like personal interaction, business transactions, travel, etc.
In contrast, we would expect a method for native speaker children to be:
- broken down into small steps
- taken at a slow pace
- filled with color pictures
- mostly devoid of theoretical explanations
- filled with connections to a student’s daily life
Indeed, we find most of those differences. But the differences don’t stop there; they go far beyond what one would expect. I have only just started this project, and at the time of this writing I have gone through about 25% of the first grade, first semester textbook. So far, I am struck by how fast the pace is, and by the amount of classical Chinese integrated into the course.
Instead of silently doing this research and writing a paper to be read only by other academics, I have chosen make full use of freely available technology to maximize applicability of this project. To this end, I have structured this project as a course for non-native speakers. In addition to being able to clearly see the differences between the two methods mentioned above, the reader can use this website to actively participate in learning characters in almost exactly the same way as native speakers do (the main difference being that native speakers have an already established command of the language). By structuring this research in this way, I am paving the way for future research that can compare the efficiency of the two methods.
By choosing a blog as a medium for this research, I am also opening the research to immediate public discourse. Anyone, at any point, can use the comments section after each post to engage in discourse with me, or with other readers, offering different points of view, challenges, and suggestions on any aspect of the material.
Please read these introductory posts before you start:
After the comments section of each post (at the bottom) there are links to go to the next and previous posts.
Excellent! Do you have a sense of how standard the textbook is across China? For example, is this THE book all first graders use or are there various ones depending on school, location, etc. as I would expect in any Western country?
I don’t have a perfectly clear sense, but from what I’ve seen so far they are very similar. They all follow the same 课程标准 (curriculum standard). I spoke with my son’s teacher yesterday (somehow anticipating your question) and she said that the differences are basically cultural ones; the northeast versions have more about snow, say, than the southern versions. It would be very interesting to compare versions. At some point, I think I am going to make a PDF version of this textbook.
I can’t find a picture of the cover on the internet, but each post has a link to a Flash-based picture of the relevant pages (in very low resolution that only works with Internet Explorer).
The title is simply called 语文. Next time you see a 6 or 7 year old kid on the street with a bookbag, ask them to show you their textbook. You should be able to find copies at book stores like Xinhua (新华书店).
This looks great. I’m going through a number of the pages now. My nephew is in first grade just started a Chinese immersion program back in my hometown and I’m quite curious to know how they’re going about things, and still waiting on an answer from back home. I’ll have to ask what text they’re using in his class.
“Next time you see a 6 or 7 year old kid on the street with a bookbag, ask them to show you their textbook.”
But do not do so as you lean out of your windowless van, and do not offer to show them your textbook in return.
Kellen you seem to know a lot about vans without windows… (but seriously I chortled so hard I almost thawed out here in Beijing’s pre-heating season)
Albert & Randy, I was glancing right now through my daughter’s 1st grade 语文 book from last year. Very similar. Much more similar than I’d expect from a couple of US textbooks. But I haven’t done more than skim the first parts.
[...] This is the first post in a series designed to bring us foreigners up to the level of Chinese elementary school children (hanzi not included, but if you want that see Randy Alexander’s project). [...]