Advertisement
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Intelligibility, Tones and Young Beginner Learners of Mandarin Chinese Robert Neal, 2025-03-12 Two decades ago, Mandarin Chinese seemed set to become a mainstream school subject in Anglophone settings. Yet current learning outcomes are generally disappointing. Is Chinese too difficult for learners at this level? Should it be left to the posh kids with pushy parents? Set within the context of teaching and learning Chinese at an inner-city secondary school in the North of England, and adopting a case study research design, this book aims to develop research-informed insights into the nature of the pronunciation challenges facing beginner learners of Chinese. While existing research has shown that producing native-like tones is difficult for Anglophone learners, the question of how important tones are for intelligibility has been largely ignored. Do heavily accented tones actually matter? Which specific areas of the learners’ speech signal mislead their listeners? How aware are learners of their own pronunciation errors? Teachers of Chinese may not be able to solve entrenched geopolitical tensions, but we can lay the foundations for a stronger engagement with China through excellent teaching. However, before authoritative pedagogical interventions can be made, far more understanding is required of not only how adolescent beginners learn Chinese in school settings, but also what can be realistically expected of them. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Supporting the Learning of Chinese as a Second Language: Implications for Language Education Policy Joseph Lo Bianco, Elizabeth Ka Yee Loh, Mark Shiu-kee Shum, 2024-10-25 The research in this volume takes account of the context of policy promoting Chinese as a second language (CSL) in several countries and regions, (Australia, East Asia and South-East Asia), and the wider social context of multilingual and multicultural societies. Furthermore, this book reports results of two research studies which investigated how to develop effective strategies to promote learners’ motivation and the motivational developments of adult learners in real-life settings, helping to overcome gaps in this under-researched area. Findings reported in this book have been scientifically examined and found to be effective in enhancing the learners’ CSL proficiency, increasing their learning motivation, and addressing the need for a diversity of targeted approaches to CSL. Most are applicable across preschool to secondary levels. The theoretical grounding of this research work represents a new direction for research in teaching Chinese as a second language. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Hacking Chinese Olle Linge, 2016-03-26 Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study. - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision. - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The Convergence of K-12 and Higher Education Christopher P. Loss, Patrick J. McGuinn, 2021-03-02 In The Convergence of K–12 and Higher Education, two leading scholars of education policy bring together a distinguished and varied array of contributors to systematically examine the growing convergence between the K–12 and higher education sectors in the United States. Though the two sectors have traditionally been treated as distinct and separate, the editors show that the past decade has seen an increasing emphasis on the alignment between the two. At the same time, the national focus on outcomes and accountability, originating in the K–12 sector, is exerting growing pressure on higher education, while trends toward privatization and diversification—long characteristic of the postsecondary sector—are influencing public schools. This volume makes the powerful case that it is no longer possible to think of one sector in the absence of the other, given the economic, demographic, and technological forces that are pushing the educational system toward convergence. Taken together, the chapters in this book provide a promising new line of inquiry for examining contemporary questions in education policy. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The Toxic Classroom Richard Steward, 2020-06-09 The Toxic Classroom offers a wide-ranging look at education today and explores in detail the pressures children experience as a result of constant change, digital technology and political interference. Beginning with what it is like to be a child in the classroom, the book goes on to provide a detailed analysis of the curriculum, assessment and accountability, school structures, educating for global citizenship and the plethora of social issues schools are now expected to solve. Written from the perspective of a successful headteacher with over 30 years' teaching experience, the book considers what needs to be done to put things right and outlines a more equitable and effective school system. Each chapter outlines the steps schools can implement immediately and the longer-term policy changes that are needed de-toxify the classroom and facilitate a genuine love of learning. Offering a challenging yet compelling argument for putting education back into the hands of teachers, this book will be of great interest both to the general reader and to those working within education such as teachers and professionals who wish to improve the ways in which children learn and develop. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Fluent in 3 Months Benny Lewis, 2014-03-11 Benny Lewis, who speaks over ten languages—all self-taught—runs the largest language-learning blog in the world, Fluent In 3 Months. Lewis is a full-time language hacker, someone who devotes all of his time to finding better, faster, and more efficient ways to learn languages. Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World is a new blueprint for fast language learning. Lewis argues that you don't need a great memory or the language gene to learn a language quickly, and debunks a number of long-held beliefs, such as adults not being as good of language learners as children. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Sharing Less Commonly Taught Languages in Higher Education Emily Heidrich Uebel, Angelika Kraemer, Luca Giupponi, 2023-12-22 This edited volume highlights how institutions, programs, and less commonly taught language (LCTL) instructors can collaborate and think across institutional boundaries, bringing together voices representing different approaches to LCTL sharing to highlight affordances and challenges across institutions in this collection of essays. Sharing Less Commonly Taught Languages in Higher Education showcases how innovation and reform can make LCTL programs and courses more attractive to students whose interests and needs might be overlooked in traditional language programs. The volume focuses on how institutions, programs, and LCTL instructors can work together, collaborating and thinking across institutional boundaries to explore innovative solutions for offering a wider range of languages and levels. With challenges including instructor isolation, difficulty in offering advanced courses or sustaining course sequences, and minimal availability of pedagogical materials compared to commonly taught languages to overcome, this collection is a vital resource for language educators and language program administrators. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Licence (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: LANGUAGE ATTRITION AND EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES YU Zhonggen, 2014-06-12 Starting from studies on language attrition, this book goes deeper into the area of educational technologies. Considering that language attrition might be a reverse process of language acquisition, proper use of educational technologies could promote language acquisition but slow down or diminish language attrition. This book attempts to combine the threshold hypothesis and regression hypothesis with use of educational technologies so that language attrition could be hindered. Chinese Mandarin Attrition among Tertiary Students in Malaysia was identified to pave a solid way for researches on both threshold hypothesis and regression hypothesis. Language attrition in terms of mandarin Chinese, the threshold and regression hypotheses were also discussed in this monograph. This book also covers topics related to educational technologies such as clickers, QQ, multimedia, together with blended learning and indicators of satisfaction. This book includes in-depth reviews of literature and plentiful data to support the studies, which is worth reading. Readers will acquire something new in the fields of language attrition and educational technologies since few studies have been conducted combining these both areas. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: A Practical Chinese Grammar Hongnian Zhang, Sze-yun Liu, 1994 Fifty lessons examining both structural patterns and morphological features characteristic of Mandarin Chinese. The book describes cultural idiosyncrasies in language use as well as gives discoursal strategies for forming sustained conversations. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Study Gods Yi-Lin Chiang, 2022-08-23 How privileged adolescents in China acquire status and why this helps them succeed Study Gods offers a rare look at the ways privileged youth in China prepare themselves to join the ranks of the global elite. Yi-Lin Chiang shows how these competitive Chinese high schoolers first become “study gods” (xueshen), a term describing academically high-performing students. Constant studying, however, is not what explains their success, for these young people appear god-like in their effortless abilities to excel. Instead, Chiang explores how elite adolescents achieve by absorbing and implementing the rules surrounding status. Drawing from eight years of fieldwork and extensive interviews, Chiang reveals the important lessons that Chinese youth learn in their pursuit of elite status. They understand the hierarchy of the status system, recognizing and acquiring the characteristics that are prized, while avoiding those that are not. They maintain status by expecting differential treatment and performing status-based behaviors, which guide their daily interactions with peers, teachers, and parents. Lastly, with the help of resourceful parents, they rely on external assistance in the face of potential obstacles and failures. Chiang looks at how students hone these skills, applying them as they head to colleges and careers around the world, and in their relationships with colleagues and supervisors. Highlighting another facet of China’s rising power, Study Gods announces the arrival of a new generation to the realm of global competition. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Moral Education in China Wangbei Ye, 2023-02-20 The book presents up-to-date research on moral education teaching and teachers in China. By providing an accessible, practical, yet scholarly source of moral education, education aims and teachers’ ethical roles in China, which is also an international concern, the author systematically reviews Moral Education curriculum, moral education pre-service teacher education, current policies and practices of Moral Education teaching and teachers. The book will be resourceful for researchers, practitioners and policymakers in moral education, citizenship education and teacher education. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Divided Languages? Judit Árokay, Jadranka Gvozdanović, Darja Miyajima, 2014-01-21 The present volume is a collection of papers presented at the international conference “Linguistic Awareness and Dissolution of Diglossia” held in July 2011 at Heidelberg University. The aim is to reevaluate and compare the processes of dissolution of diglossia in East Asian and in European languages, especially in Japanese, Chinese and in Slavic languages in the framework of the asymmetries in the emergence of modern written languages. Specialists from China, Japan, Great Britain, Germany and the U.S. contributed to the volume by introducing their research focusing on aspects of the dissolution of diglossic situations and the role of translation in the process. The first group of texts focuses on the linguistic concept of diglossia and the different processes of its dissolution, while the second investigates the perception of linguistic varieties in historical and transcultural perspectives. The third and final group analyses the changing cultural role and function of translations and their effect on newly developing literary languages. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The Rough Guide to China David Leffman, Martin Zatko, 2011-06-01 The Rough Guide to China covers of all of mainland China including Tibet, along with the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Clear, detailed maps show all listed arrival points, accommodation, restaurants and sights, while boxes provide bilingual keys. Use it to explore the sophisticated nightlife emerging in Beijing and Shanghai, to chill out in the mellow travellers’ havens of Dali and Yangshuo, or roam the streets of characterful antique towns such as Lijiang. Up to date descriptions give the low-down on famous sights such as Beijing’s Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army outside Xi’an, limestone peaks around Guilin and the cruise through the mighty Three Gorges along the Yangzi. There’s also full practical information for less-known attractions: hiking holy mountains such as Shandong’s Tai Shan; where to experience the culture of China’s many ethnic groups, including Tibetans, Miao, Dai and Mongolians; how to explore remoter rural areas; and where to experience local food, from streetside snack stalls to plush Beijing Duck restaurants. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Rethinking the Asian Language Learning Paradigm in Australia Kayoko Hashimoto, 2024-11-21 This edited book calls for a rethink of the current Asian language learning paradigm that frames Asian languages as strategic and economic tools, rather than an inherent part of Australian society. As an increasing number of Australians have Asian ancestry and speak languages other than English at home, it argues that we must reset the paradigm and understand Asian languages as intrinsically Australian to maximise existing linguistic and cultural assets. The interdisciplinary chapters, focusing on Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese, report on the state of Asian language learning and teaching in mainstream educational settings as well as heritage language education in informal contexts in Australia. With an additional chapter on implications for other Anglophone countries, this volume urges a transformative approach to Asian language education in the context of current global migration and multilingual demographics in order to nurture global citizenship and honour linguistic diversity. The book will be suitable for academics, policy makers, practitioners and teachers. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Mandarin Chinese Characters Language Practice Pad Xin Liang, Martha Lam, 2018-03-06 Five minutes a day is all it takes to begin learning Chinese! The perfect guide for busy people who want to learn Chinese, Mandarin Chinese Characters Language Practice Pad helps even those completely unfamiliar with the language learn and write the 332 most essential Chinese characters--in just five minutes a day! Each page introduces one new character--showing how it is pronounced and written, along with its meaning and related vocabulary. The reverse side offers sample phrases and sentences to demonstrate how to use the words in their correct context. After studying the character and its compound forms, users can practice writing these in a notebook, with the ability to reference the mnemonic visual aids and stroke order included on each page. This is an ideal resource for HSK Levels 1 & 2 as well as AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam prep. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: ADFL Bulletin Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (U.S.), 2000 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The Chinese Recorder , 1912 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The China Journal , 1927 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Remembering Simplified Hanzi 1 James W. Heisig, Timothy W. Richardson, 2008-10-31 The approach that has helped thousands of learners memorize Japanese kanji has been adapted to help students with Chinese characters. Remembering Simplified Hanzi covers the writing and meaning of the 1,000 most commonly used characters in the traditional Chinese writing system, plus another 500 that are best learned at an early stage. Of critical importance to the approach found in these pages is the systematic arranging of characters in an order best suited to memory. In the Chinese writing system, strokes and simple components are nested within relatively simple characters, which can, in turn, serve as parts of more complicated characters and so on. Taking advantage of this allows a logical ordering, making it possible for students to approach most new characters with prior knowledge that can greatly facilitate the learning process.--BOOK JACKET. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Basic Spoken Chinese Cornelius C. Kubler, 2014-08-12 This is a beginning-level course in spoken Chinese that employs a revolutionary new method designed to have you quickly speaking and comprehending Mandarin Chinese. Along with its sister book Basic Written Chinese and their accompanying workbooks, Basic Spoken Chinese offers a complete introductory course to the Chinese language. As a native English speaker, working hard to learn Chinese is not enough; you have to work smart to learn this very different language efficiently. Downloadable audio and video reinforce the material introduced in the book. No matter why you've chosen to learn Chinese--for business, travel, cultural studies or another goal--the Basic Chinese approach of two separate but integrated tracks in spoken and written Chinese will help you learn this language most efficiently and successfully. Detailed explanations in English of Chinese pronunciation, grammar, usage, culture, society, and recommended learning approaches. A digital Instructor's Guide is available electronically. A written Character Transcript (Simplified and Traditional) is available electronically. The downloadable materials feature: 40 videos with dozens of native speakers filmed on location in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. 6 hours of native-speaker audio, including all of the book's conversations. Build up sections, new words, and pronunciation exercises. Available separately, Basic Spoken Chinese Practice Essentials is the companion workbook for Basic Spoken Chinese. This practical guide includes a broad range of drills and exercises designed to enhance your proficiency in speaking and comprehending dramatically. While intended for use with the companion textbook, it can be used together with any Chinese textbook or teaching program to hone your Chinese language skills. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: International Review of History and Political Science , 1988 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Nominal Arguments and Language Variation Li Julie Jiang, 2021 Nominal Arguments in Language Variation investigates nominal arguments in classifier languages, refuting the long-held claim that classifier languages do not have overt article determiners. Li Julie Jiang brings the typologically unique Nuosu Yi, a classifier language that has an overt definite determiner (D), to the forefront of the theoretical investigation. By comparing nominal arguments in Nuosu Yi to those in Mandarin, a well-studied classifier language that has no overt evidence of an article determiner, Jiang provides new accounts of variation among classifier languages and extends the parameters to argument formation in general. In addition to paying particular attention to these two classifier languages, the discussion of nominal arguments also covers a wider range of classifier languages and number marking languages from Romance, Germanic, and Slavic to Hindi. Using a broad cross-linguistic perspective and detailed empirical analysis, Nominal Arguments in Language Variation is an important contribution to research on classifier languages and the fields of theoretical syntax, semantics, language variation, and linguistic typology. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Language Processing in Chinese Hsuan Chih Chen, Ovid J.L. Tzeng, 1992-05-25 The aim of this book is to integrate the most recent research in the cognitive aspects of the Chinese language into a single academic reference for those interested in language processing and related fields. Chinese is perhaps the most widely used language in the world. In addition to its popularity, many specific features make it unique in relation to many Indo-European languages. Chinese words generally do not have inflections indicating grammatical attributes such as number, gender and case for nouns, or tense and aspect for verbs. Chinese words have no inherently marked lexical categories. Unlike the alphabetic symbols common to Indo-European languages, the Chinese writing system is logographic in nature. Chinese script/speech relationship is highly opaque, with the Chinese characters representing lexical morphemes in contrast to alphabetic symbols which represent phonemes. This volume presents research findings indispensable to the general understanding of human language processing about how people process the Chinese language. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighter National Research Council, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, Committee for the Symposium on Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighterâ¬"2010, 2011-01-30 The Symposium on Avoiding Technology Surprise for Tomorrow's Warfighter is a forum for consumers and producers of scientific and technical intelligence to exchange perspectives on the potential sources of emerging or disruptive technologies and behaviors, with the goal of improving the Department of Defense's technological warning capability. This volume summarizes the key themes identified in the second and most recent symposium, a two-day event held in Suffolk, Virginia, on April 28 and 29, 2010. The symposium combined presentations highlighting cutting-edge technology topics with facilitated discourse among all participants. Three categories of surprise were identified: breakthroughs in product and process technology, new uses of existing technology, and the unexpectedly rapid progression of a technology to operational use. The incorporation of an adversary's own culture, history, beliefs, and value systems into analyses also emerged in discussions as an important factor in reducing surprise. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Conference proceedings. ICT for language learning. 9th edition Pixel, 2016 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Education for Global Leadership Committee for Economic Development. Research and Policy Committee, Committee for Economic Development, 2006 To confront the twenty-first century challenges to our economy and national security, our education system must be strengthened to increase the foreign language skills and cultural awareness of our students. America's continued global leadership will depend on our students' abilities to interact with the world community both inside and outside our borders. This report warns that the U.S. will become less competitive in the global economy because of declining quality foreign language education at the college and high school level. Additionally, the American public's deficiency in foreign languages and cultures is hampering efforts to counter terrorist threats. To have a citizenry that is knowledgeable of world regions, global issues, and foreign cultures, as well as conversant in other languages, we will need to strengthen the curriculum of the K-12 education system as well as that of our colleges, universities, and professional schools. Although there is much that can be done by states, governors, business leaders, and others, leadership by the Federal government will be crucial in jump-starting this effort. This report recommends (1) teaching international content across the curriculum and at all levels of learning to expand American students' knowledge of other countries and cultures; (2) expanding the training pipeline at every level of education to address the paucity of Americans fluent in foreign languages, especially critical, less-commonly taught languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian/Farsi, Russian, and Turkish; and (3) national leaders--political leaders as well as the business and philanthropic communities and the media--should educate the public about the importance of improving education in languages other than English and in international studies. Appended are: (1) A Timeline of Important Developments in International Studies and Foreign Language Education; and (2) Major Federal Legislation Pertaining to International Studies and Foreign Language Education. (Contains 167 endnotes.) [This report represents a statement by the Research and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development. For the Executive Summary of this report, see ED502295.]. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: A History of the Girl Mary O'Dowd, June Purvis, 2018-04-10 This book is centered on the history of the girl from the medieval period through to the early twenty-first century. Authored by an international team of scholars, the volume explores the transition from adolescent girlhood to young womanhood, the formation and education of girls in the home and in school, and paid work undertaken by girls in different parts of the world and at different times. It highlights the value of a comparative approach to the history of the girl, as the contributors point to shared attitudes to girlhood and the similarity of the experiences of girls in workplaces across the world. Contributions to the volume also emphasise the central role of girls in the global economy, from their participation in the textile industry in the eighteenth century, through to the migration of girls to urban centres in twentieth-century Africa and China. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Representing Youth Amy L. Best, 2007-01-01 From youth culture to adolescent sexuality to the consumer purchasing power of children en masse, studies are flourishing. Yet doing research on this unquestionably more vulnerable—whether five or fifteen—population also poses a unique set of challenges and dilemmas for researchers. How should a six-year-old be approached for an interview? What questions and topics are appropriate for twelve year olds? Do parents need to give their approval for all studies? In Representing Youth, Amy L. Best has assembled an important group of essays from some of today’s top scholars on the subject of youth that address these concerns head on, providing scholars with thoughtful and often practical answers to their many methodological concerns. These original essays range from how to conduct research on youth in ways that can be empowering for them, to issues of writing and representation, to respecting boundaries and to dealing with issues of risk and responsibility to those interviewed. For anyone doing research or working with children and young adults, Representing Youth offers an indispensable guide to many of the unique dilemmas that research with kids entails. Contributors include: Amy L. Best, Sari Knopp Biklen, Elizabeth Chin, Susan Driver, Marc Flacks, Kathryn Gold Hadley, Madeline Leonard, C.J. Pascoe, Rebecca Raby, Alyssa Richman, Jessica Taft, Michael Ungar, Yvonne Vissing, and Stephani Etheridge Woodson. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The Handbook of Practice and Research in Study Abroad Ross Lewin, 2010-11-24 Co-published with the Association for American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) The Handbook of Practice and Research in Study Abroad is a comprehensive survey of the field. Each chapter eloquently conveys an enthusiasm for study abroad alongside a critical assessment of the most up-to-date research, theory, and practice. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language Janet Zhiqun Xing, 2006-01-01 This book provides a research-based account of how to teach and learn Chinese as a foreign language. In addition to the discussion of relevant second/foreign language research, this volume gives detailed information on ways to develop a pedagogical modelthat is uniquely suited to teaching Chinese in five key areas: pronunciation (tones and pinyin), characters and words, sentences (when and why different sentence structures are used), discourse and pragmatic competence (coherence and genre), and cultural competence. Specially written for Chinese language teachers, student teachers and applied linguists, this is the first book written in English that systematically addresses all major aspects involved in teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language. This book covers all the fundamental grammar elements in Chinese, explains their functions in discourse and communication, and explores different strategies for teaching and engaging students in learning the language. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Taiwan Steven Crook, 2010 From sword-wielding shamans to unique birds an in-depth guide to Taiwan s human and natural attractions. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: China Journal of Science and Arts , 1927 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Language Teachers' Stories from their Professional Knowledge Landscapes Lesley Harbon, Robyn Moloney, 2017-06-23 Language Teachers’ Professional Knowledge Landscapes is a collection of fourteen narratives from teachers of different languages, at different school levels, in different contexts across Australia. This volume brings together not simply language teacher stories, but also more political stories of the problems associated with school programs and contexts. Highlighted through these stories are some of the major political issues in schools that impact language teachers’ work, and their students’ success in sustained language study. The book is conceptually framed by the work of Clandinin and Connelly (1996) and their notion of ‘levels’ of stories told by teachers about their classrooms: the secret, the sacred and the cover stories. The term ‘professional knowledge landscape’ is used to indicate how teachers can critically situate their work, and thereby understand it better. The collection includes the stories of two outstanding primary language educators, and a story of mixed success in a rural program in teaching the local Aboriginal language (Ngarrabul). There are stories of frustration with policy failures, particularly in supporting the learning of Asian languages. Many of the teacher narrators ask the confronting question: ‘What blocks language learning in Australia?’ They offer the strategies which they have developed, that they see making a difference. Other narratives offer autoethnographic tracking of careers, for example, as a teacher of Latin and Classics, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, and of teachers’ ongoing vigour and creativity in advocacy. A number of teachers examine their own identity story for the intercultural learning, which they then offer and extend in student learning. Consistently expressed, there is the need for teachers to take up individual responsibility, while still being strongly supported by their professional community: ‘It is us’ who make the difference, one teacher concludes. Supported by a strong Foreword by Canadian scholar F. Michael Connelly, this ground-breaking collection of narratives represents a form of social research in providing critical illustrations of the issues needing attention for national language education enhancement. It is the only extended inquiry into language teaching in the context of an active policy initiative environment, and the first volume to address the language education landscape through the voices of active language teachers. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The Rough Guide to China (Travel Guide eBook) Rough Guides, 2017-06-01 The new, fully updated The Rough Guide to China is the definitive guide to this enchanting country, one of the world's oldest civilisations. From the high-tech cities of Hong Kong and Shanghai to minority villages in Yunnan and Buddhist temples of Tibet, China's mixture of modernity and ancient traditions never fails to impress. With stunning new photography and all the best places to eat, sleep, party and shop, The Rough Guide to China has everything need to ensure you don't miss a thing in this fast-changing nation. Detailed, full-colour maps help you find the best spot for Peking duck or navigate Beijing's backstreets. Itineraries make planning easy, and a Contexts section gives in-depth background on China's history and culture, as well language tips, with handy words and phrases to ease your journey. All this, combined with detailed coverage of the country's best attractions, from voyages down the Yangzi River to hiking the infamous Great Wall, makes The Rough Guide to China the essential companion to delve into China's greatest treasures. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit Kathleen Stein-Smith, 2016-08-24 This volume explores why Americans are among the least likely in the world to speak another language and how this U.S. foreign language deficit negatively impacts national and economic security, business and career prospects. Stein-Smith exposes how individuals are disadvantaged through their inability to effectively navigate the global workplace and multicultural communities, how their career options are limited by the foreign language deficit, and even how their ability to enjoy travel abroad and cultural pursuits is diminished. Through exploring the impact of the U.S. foreign language deficit, the author speaks to the stakeholders and partners in the campaign for foreign languages, offering guidance on what can and should be done to address it. She examines the next steps needed to develop specific career pathways that will meet the current and future needs of government, business, and industry, and empower foreign language learners through curriculum and career preparation. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Introduction to International and Global Studies Shawn C. Smallman, Kimberley Brown, 2020 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Motivational development in current educational contexts Manuel Castro-Sánchez, Ramón Chacón-Cuberos, Lucia Herrera, Guillermo Felipe López Sánchez, 2023-06-06 |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Two Futures Clare O'Neil, Tim Watts, 2015-08-07 Beset by spin and the battle to win each news cycle, contemporary politics is mired in short-term thinking. Too little time is given to considering creative ways in which we could tackle key issues—a lagging education system, the destruction of our coastlines, Asia’s economic ascendancy—in the decades ahead. In this agenda-setting book, new federal parliamentarians Clare O’Neil and Tim Watts present a vision for six vital areas of public policy that will determine what life in Australia is like in 2040. They provide fresh insights into the role of government and individuals alike in shaping the future. Optimistic and impassioned, analytical and ideas-driven, Two Futures starts the conversation that, at this critical juncture, the nation needs to have. Clare O'Neil is the federal Labor member for the seat of Hotham, in Melbourne's south-east. She was Australia's youngest female mayor and has been a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. She studied public policy as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Tim Watts is the federal Labor member for the seat of Gellibrand, in Melbourne's west. Prior to entering parliament he was a senior manager at Telstra. He has been a lawyer at Mallesons Stephen Jaques and studied at the London School of Economics. ‘A must-read publication from two talented federal members concerned about a better and fairer future for Australia.’ Steve Bracks ‘A refreshing look at the big issues in the decades ahead.’ Laura Tingle, Political Editor, Australian Financial Review ‘An insightful contribution to the policy debate about the future of our country.’ Catherine Livingstone, President, Business Council of Australia ‘Provocative, clear-sighted and jargon-free.’ Age/Sydney Morning Herald ‘This book is a must-read for thinking Australians.’ ANZ LitLovers ‘A welcome, often ambitious and sobering book.’ Daily Review |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Language Education in the School Curriculum Ken Cruickshank, Stephen Black, Honglin Chen, Linda Tsung, Jan Wright, 2020-05-14 There is widespread concern in all English speaking countries at the rapid decline in study of languages. The promise of 'languages for all' in the UK and North America in the 1970s marked a shift from languages as élite subjects for the privileged few, but this promise has not been fulfilled. This book explores the reasons for and solutions to this decline. More importantly, it looks at how these trends have been reversed in successful school programs and the implications of this for language education policy makers. The study draws on an analysis of data from 600 primary, secondary and community languages schools over six years and from detailed case studies in a representative sample of 45 successful schools. The book proposes a range of strategies to address the decline: from engaging classroom learning, assessment outcomes and embedding languages as central in school curriculum on the one level, to a mix of incentives and mandation for language study, especially at upper secondary school level. The authors explore the impact of learning languages on the thinking, educational experiences and outcomes of young people across a range of ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. They show the importance of having equal access to languages study in a world where young people will have increasingly more diverse working lives and argue that the gap in languages between policy and uptake is really a gap in the thinking of policy makers and government. |
| why fewer students are studying mandarin: Remembering the Kanji 2 James W. Heisig, 2012-04-30 Following the first volume of Remembering the Kanji, the present work provides students with helpful tools for learning the pronunciation of the kanji. Behind the notorious inconsistencies in the way the Japanese language has come to pronounce the characters it received from China lie several coherent patterns. Identifying these patterns and arranging them in logical order can reduce dramatically the amount of time spent in the brute memorization of sounds unrelated to written forms. Many of the “primitive elements,” or building blocks, used in the drawing of the characters also serve to indicate the “Chinese reading” that particular kanji use, chiefly in compound terms. By learning one of the kanji that uses such a “signal primitive,” one can learn the entire group at the same time. In this way, Remembering the Kanji 2 lays out the varieties of phonetic pattern and offers helpful hints for learning readings, that might otherwise appear completely random, in an efficient and rational way. Individual frames cross-reference the kanji to alternate readings and to the frame in volume 1 in which the meaning and writing of the kanji was first introduced. A parallel system of pronouncing the kanji, their “Japanese readings,” uses native Japanese words assigned to particular Chinese characters. Although these are more easily learned because of the association of the meaning to a single word, the author creates a kind of phonetic alphabet of single syllable words, each connected to a simple Japanese word, and shows how they can be combined to help memorize particularly troublesome vocabulary. The 4th edition has been updated to include the 196 new kanji approved by the government in 2010 as “general-use” kanji. |
"Why it is" vs "Why is it" - English Language & Usage Stack …
Nov 7, 2013 · The question: "Why is [etc.]" is a question form in English: Why is the sky blue? Why is it that children require so much attention? Why is it [or some thing] like that? When that …
How did the letter Z come to be associated with sleeping/snoring?
May 26, 2011 · See also Why Does ZZZ mean sleep? for another theory: The reason zzz came into being is that the comic strip artists just couldn’t represent sleeping with much. ... As the …
What's the proper way to handwrite a lowercase letter A?
Oct 31, 2017 · But why are there two different As? Back in ye olde days there were many ways to write a lower-case A. (The same went for other letters, for example þ was later written "y", …
Why is "pineapple" in English but "ananas" in all other languages?
Nov 7, 2013 · I don't think we are discussing whether "ananas" or "pineapple" was used first, but where it came from and why the English language does not use "ananas" today. I would say …
Reason for different pronunciations of "lieutenant"
Dec 6, 2014 · As to why present day usage is as it is: People can be contrary. It's possible the US adopted "Loo" because and only because the Brits said "Lef" -- or vice-versa. But it seems the …
The whys and the hows - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Apr 13, 2017 · The rule on apostrophes on plurals applies if the word in question is a bona fide word as a plural. My dictionary shows the plural of "why" with a simple "s." Ditto other words …
terminology - Why use BCE/CE instead of BC/AD? - English …
Why do people use the latter terminology? For one thing, I find it confusing. It doesn't help that BCE is similar to BC. But moreover, there is only one letter of difference between the two …
etymology - Why "shrink" (of a psychiatrist)? - English Language ...
I'm afraid I have to disagree here. From my understanding, and a recent article in the Atlantic, derived from the new text Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern …
Using hundreds to express thousands: why, where, when?
May 30, 2017 · Why change register half way through? [¶ Of course, even in the middle ages, educated professionals such as architects, military engineers and accountants would work to …
How did the word "beaver" come to be associated with vagina?
From "Why King George of England May Have to Lose His Beard: How the Game of 'Beaver' Which All England Is Playing Is So Threatening the Proper Reverence for the Throne That …
"Why it is" vs "Why is it" - English Language & Usage Stack …
Nov 7, 2013 · The question: "Why is [etc.]" is a question form in English: Why is the sky blue? Why is it that children require so much attention? Why is it [or some thing] like that? When that …
How did the letter Z come to be associated with sleeping/snoring?
May 26, 2011 · See also Why Does ZZZ mean sleep? for another theory: The reason zzz came into being is that the comic strip artists just couldn’t represent sleeping with much. ... As the …
What's the proper way to handwrite a lowercase letter A?
Oct 31, 2017 · But why are there two different As? Back in ye olde days there were many ways to write a lower-case A. (The same went for other letters, for example þ was later written "y", …
Why is "pineapple" in English but "ananas" in all other languages?
Nov 7, 2013 · I don't think we are discussing whether "ananas" or "pineapple" was used first, but where it came from and why the English language does not use "ananas" today. I would say …
Reason for different pronunciations of "lieutenant"
Dec 6, 2014 · As to why present day usage is as it is: People can be contrary. It's possible the US adopted "Loo" because and only because the Brits said "Lef" -- or vice-versa. But it seems the …
The whys and the hows - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Apr 13, 2017 · The rule on apostrophes on plurals applies if the word in question is a bona fide word as a plural. My dictionary shows the plural of "why" with a simple "s." Ditto other words …
terminology - Why use BCE/CE instead of BC/AD? - English …
Why do people use the latter terminology? For one thing, I find it confusing. It doesn't help that BCE is similar to BC. But moreover, there is only one letter of difference between the two …
etymology - Why "shrink" (of a psychiatrist)? - English Language ...
I'm afraid I have to disagree here. From my understanding, and a recent article in the Atlantic, derived from the new text Marketplace of the Marvelous: The Strange Origins of Modern …
Using hundreds to express thousands: why, where, when?
May 30, 2017 · Why change register half way through? [¶ Of course, even in the middle ages, educated professionals such as architects, military engineers and accountants would work to …
How did the word "beaver" come to be associated with vagina?
From "Why King George of England May Have to Lose His Beard: How the Game of 'Beaver' Which All England Is Playing Is So Threatening the Proper Reverence for the Throne That …
