Orthographic, Orthoepic and Lexical Competence in Chinese According to the CEFR

• Main Authors: Hsu, Tung-lin, 徐東玲
• Other Authors: 謝林德
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/63765106598701367279

碩士 === 開南大學 === 華語文教學研究所 === 98 === The aim of the present paper is to apply the ideas and theories regarding language learning and language acquisition proposed by the Common European Framework of References (CEFR) to the practice of teaching and testing Chinese as a second language. Due to its innovative theoretical foundation, the CEFR has become the standard interpretation for assessment of foreign language acquisition in Europe. According to this framework, degrees of language acquisition are conceptualized and described by various “competences” the learner of a foreign language has to master. Since the Chinese writing system greatly varies from the European languages, the answer of the question “How to apply the standard of the European Language Framework to teaching Chinese as a second language” lies in an apt description of specific competences the learner has to acquire when faced with the Chinese script. Therefore, the present paper focuses on competences which are closely related to the mastery of reading and writing a foreign language. Using the expressions of the CEFR, these competences are defined as “orthographic, orthoepic and lexical competence” in the present paper. In order to apply the ideas of the European framework to the acquisition of Chinese, all of these competences will be carefully analyzed in the present paper and their description according to the CEFR will be discussed in detail. If necessary, additional descriptions of abilities which are crucial for reading and writing Chinese will be provided. Moreover, the CEFR explains orthographic competence, orthoepic competence and lexical competence in relation to the learner’s overall linguistic competence. Therefore, the description of a specific competence includes various issues of language pedagogy, for example, the promotion of learning abilities, criteria in choosing learning materials, and scales of evaluation. Defining language ability and evaluation criteria, the European framework claims that its ideas and concepts are based on universal human language competences. Therefore, applying the framework’s content and its criteria to non-European language should be possible in theory. However, the CEFR is designed for teaching and testing Indo-European languages. Focusing on European languages, its definitions of orthographic, orthoepic and lexical competence can only be partially applied to Chinese, due to the uniqueness of Chinese writing system and to the different morphological structures of the Chinese language. Therefore, a detailed re-interpretation of the framework’s descriptions is needed before one can apply the guidelines of the CEFR as a new standard for teaching and testing proficiency in Chinese. Based on the intention and conception of the CEFR, the present paper aims to define crucial abilities in acquiring various competences in reading and writing Chinese. These abilities include the correct pronunciation of a Chinese character, the correct writing of Chinese characters, and basic knowledge in the morphological rules of Chinese word formation. Moreover, the present paper explores all relevant studies regarding lexical selection and vocabulary acquisition of Chinese in order to provide the CEFR as a new standard for assessment of proficiency in Chinese and as an indispensable reference tool for designing Chinese teaching and learning materials.