A Comparative Study Of Cultural Textbooks For Chinese As A Foreign Language

With the rapid development of China’s economy, the enhancement of the comprehensive national strength, the advancement of international status, more and more foreigners arouse rich interest on TCFL. Foreigners learn Chinese not only to master a kind of language but also to learn Chinese culture in the process of learning. Under this trend, cultural role and position in international education of the Chinese increasingly stand out. Therefore, much attention has been paid on cultural teaching in TCFL teaching in recent years. However, cultural textbooks play an important role on carrying out cultural teaching of TCFL. The quality of cultural textbooks has a crucial role on whether TCFL teaching can be effectively carried out or not.This essay takes two intermediate-advanced cultural textbooks An introduction to China and Chinese Cultural Geography an examples and combines the result of questionnaire survey to discuss the existing problems from current TCFL cultural textbooks and put forward some suggestions. This essay consists of four parts including Chapter Ⅰ to Chapter Ⅳ.Chapter Ⅰ mainly introduces the cause of research, research meaning, research objects, research methods and present situation of the research to point out that the research of TCFL cultural textbooks is not yet comprehensive, thorough and there are still many problems deserving further investigation.Chapter Ⅱ is the survey on overseas students’interests on Chinese culture and the demand of cultural textbooks by the way of questionnaires. Questionnaire I shows us the high ratios of Chinese food, tourism, traditional festivals. According to Questionnaire Ⅱ, their demands for enjoyment, practical applicability, pertinence are the most outstanding. Their demands for supporting resources of cultural textbooks and diversified teaching means are very strong.Chapter Ⅲ is the main part of this essay, which analyses the textbooks from two aspects:compiling mode, structure and content. Content comparison is the key and is contrasted from the general principles of teaching compiling and the perspective of cross-cultural communication. The contrastive analysis of the two cultural textbooks shows clearly the deficiencies of current cultural textbook compiling.Chapter IV proposes some suggestions from three aspects according to the existing problems of current cultural textbooks. Firstly, enjoyment, practical applicability and pertinence should be grasped while TCFL cultural textbooks are compiled. Secondly, cultural textbooks should focus on cultural tolerance and respect, bilateral culture and communication skills from the perspective of cross-cultural communication while they are compiled. Finally, in order to meet overseas students’ demand to the cultural textbooks, some supporting resources should be developed.The essay points out existing problems of current cultural textbooks and comes up with some beneficial suggestions for future textbooks compiling through discussions of the two cultural textbooks. This study is expected to propose beneficial supplements for current cultural textbooks compiling, and meanwhile provide certain reference for teachers teaching Chinese cultural courses.