Research Into The Conditions Of Chinese Mardarin Language Education At The Salzburg Chinese Institute, Austria

As aspects of Chinese power grow increasingly powerful, and as international communication and dialogue with China enlarges and intensifies, the work of spreading the Chinese language abroad has likewise become increasingly important. Language is the medium of culture, and it is thus one of the most salient aspects of a country. If China is to spread its culture abroad, it needs to place the study of the Chinese language at the forefront. At present, there are ever more foreigners abroad taking an interest in the study of Chinese, some of whom even fall in love with the language. In recent years, our country has attached great importance to the establishment of Confucius Institutes abroad, with the result that the number of However, on the other hand, this growth of interest in the Chinese language and the spread of Confucius Institutes abroad have revealed a number of glaring issues, namely, a lack of trained Chinese teachers and a shortage of Chinese teaching materials and resources abroad. When I was in Austria, I witnessed firsthand the increasing global interest in learning Chinese. In August 2014,I went to Salzburg, Austria as a volunteer teacher to the Salzburg Chinese School, and taught Chinese language and culture to a variety of students. This experience gave me an insight into the current situation of teaching Chinese abroad, especially in Austria. Students of Chinese in Austria are predominantly concentrated in the capital Vienna, followed by the city of Salzburg. The largest proportion of students at the Salzburg Chinese School is made up of children of Chinese nationals living in Austria, though a significant proportion is of Austrian origin. Working as a teacher at the Salzburg Chinese School for several months, I learned a great deal about the teaching situation and school conditions, and, in the process, came across several glaring issues that affected the quality of teaching. First among these was the shortage of Chinese textbooks and teaching materials, which, for example, made it difficult for teachers to adequately prepare lessons and negatively impacted their professional teaching standards, all to the detriment of the students. In order to more thoroughly understand the current conditions of teaching Chinese abroad, I researched the perspectives and experiences of students and teachers, and investigated the prevailing teaching methods and curriculums. This paper focuses on the problems faced by the Salzburg Chinese School, and recommends strategies and policies for resolving these problems. By using the Salzburg Chinese School as a case-study, and through researching the conditions of other Chinese language schools abroad, this paper aims to address not only the obstacles preventing the Salzburg Chinese School from being a first-class teaching institution, but also presents a set of strategies and policies for wider application wherever Chinese language schools are found. The overall goal of my thesis is to contribute to the improvement of Chinese language teaching abroad, and to help provide a sustainable basis for the long-term spread of Chinese language and culture.