Chinese Colours Cultural Meaning As A Method For Teaching Chinese As A Second Language

Along with the worldwide spread of Chinese language, more and more Spanish studentschoose to study Chinese. This paper, based on the author’s own experience of living andstudying in China, proposes the discussion of a topic which emphasizes the importance ofteaching culture when teaching Chinese as a Second Language.China and Spain, two very far apart countries, two different cultures, and regarding thecolours, two very different perspectives. From the point of view of the Chinese cultureembodied in the colours and throughout a comparison with the Spanish culture of the colours,this paper expounds the importance of the culture in Chinese Teaching making a further studyof the meaning of the Chinese five main colours, combined with a teaching practice and themost appropriate teaching methods for Spanish students, to better learn the Chinese languageand to increase students learning interest and efficiency.The paper consists of five main parts. The first part is a general discussion on therelationship between language teaching and culture teaching, as well as the importance of theculture when teaching a second language. Secondly, the exposition of the colours teaching,and why teaching focusing on the colours can help the students learning. On the third part, thepaper expounds the main differences between Chinese and Spanish meaning of the colours.The forth part, mainly based on the author’s own experience of learning Chinese, is about thepractice of teaching culture, and it mentions specific methods for teaching Chinese,particularly the most suitable for Spanish students.