This lecture is part of the "Thursday Lecture Series Chinese Linguistics and Chinese Language Teaching" organized by Institute for Chinese Studies.

Andreas Guder is Professor for Chinese as Foreign Language Teaching, Chinese linguistics and literature at FU Berlin. One of his main research areas are aspects of teaching and learning Chinese as a linguistically and culturally “distant” language in the European Language curriculum.

Li-Jen Kuo is Associate Professor of Literacy Education at Texas A&M University, USA, where she directs the Cross-Linguistic Literacy & Cognition Research Group, World Languages Academy, and World Languages Teachers Academy.

Abstract

As the development of teachers' education and methodology (Fachdidaktik) for Chinese requires an insight into the teaching practice of Chinese as school subject in Germany, in 2021 we conducted a comprehensive survey that was answered by 40 experienced Chinese language teachers in German secondary schools. In the first part of this presentation, we will give an overview of results on teaching practices, curricula, materials, and subjective learning targets as well as some specific needs and challenges in this context. In the second part, we will shed light on a comparison of answers of teachers with a German vs. teachers with a Chinese educational background. The results showed that teachers of different cultural background showed different teaching beliefs, instructional practices and assessments. These cultural disparities in personal educational experiences support further research to identify key areas for improvement in teacher education and subject practices.