A Study Of Chinese Novel Reader Based On The Topic Task Content Of The "International Chinese Language Education Chinese Proficiency Level Standards"

In March 2021,the "Chinese Proficiency Level Standards for International Chinese Language Education"(referred to as the "Standards" hereinafter)were released and officially implemented from July 1st.Corresponding changes are bound to occur in the field of international Chinese language education.The "Standards" provide a reference for the overall design of international Chinese language education,textbook development,classroom teaching,and curriculum assessment worldwide.Subsequently,various reading materials based on the "Standards" will emerge like bamboo shoots after a spring rain,aiming to enhance learners’ reading skills and communicative abilities.A literature review revealed that research on the "Standards" mainly focuses on several aspects.Firstly,there is research on the main content of the "Standards." Secondly,studies investigate the significance of the development of the "Standards." Thirdly,there is research on the application of the "Standards." Fourthly,there are studies on the correlation between the "Standards" and other country-specific proficiency standards.Fifthly,comparisons are made between the "Standards" and other domestic standards.While the topic of the task falls within the main content of the "Standards," there are few existing studies specifically targeting it.Furthermore,among the existing research,there is a scarcity of scholars examining Chinese classical novels from a topic-oriented perspective.Selecting novels based on topics is a viable approach,especially considering that one significant reason for the suboptimal use of reading materials in Chinese language teaching is the lack of suitable texts.Based on this foundation,the feasibility of the article is proposed.The article takes the correlation between the topic tasks in the "Standards" and novels as its main focus.Firstly,a brief overview is provided on the background,significance,and prominent features of the "Standards," with a particular emphasis on the topic tasks.This includes an analysis of the tasks for different proficiency levels: elementary,intermediate,and advanced,discussing the alignment between topic tasks and communicative competence,as well as the language proficiency indicators.The importance of each topic task for learners is highlighted.Subsequently,the relationship between topic tasks and language and culture learning is explored.It is pointed out that topic tasks play a facilitating role for learners,and the hierarchical nature of topic tasks imposes different requirements on language and culture learning.Specifically,it requires a comprehensive understanding of Chinese culture over time,an in-depth exploration of various categories of Chinese culture,and a more extensive use of language resources and allusions.Secondly,starting from three aspects—the evolution of the definition of novels,the characteristics of novels,and novel classifications—the feasibility of using novels as language materials for the topic tasks in the "Standards" is examined.The correlation between Chinese novels and the topic tasks in the "Standards" is highlighted,including the temporal coverage of Chinese novel content and topic tasks,the correspondence between Chinese novel content and topic tasks,the rich expression of Chinese novel genres and topic tasks,and the storytelling nature of Chinese novels and the interesting expression of topic tasks.Furthermore,potential issues that may arise during the compilation of reading materials due to different novel genres are discussed,along with corresponding solutions.This includes considerations such as the length of the novel and its citation in the reading materials,the selection of novels based on their creation period and linguistic form,and the choice of writing style and its compatibility with the reading materials.Thirdly,the relationship between reading materials and textbooks is analyzed,and the possibility of mutual transformation between the two is emphasized.The purpose,approach,and criteria for selecting novel reading materials are proposed,and based on these,examples of choosing language and textual topics are demonstrated,taking into account the learners’ actual choices.Finally,based on the previous analysis,several feasible suggestions are proposed for selecting the content of novel reading materials based on the topic tasks in the "Standards." Firstly,the selection of novel reading materials should be aligned with the hierarchical nature of the topic tasks.Secondly,novel reading materials should guide learners to think critically based on the transferability of the topic tasks.Thirdly,in consideration of the temporal aspect of the topic tasks,novel reading materials should encompass both ancient and contemporary works.Fourthly,to reflect the richness of the topic tasks,the cultural aspects in the novel reading materials should be diverse.Lastly,in terms of accuracy of expression and the language learning function of the topic tasks,the language used in novels should adhere to proper grammatical rules and norms.