A study to develop an appraisal checklist for the selection of elementary Chinese textbooks to be used in the United States.

摘要

Instructors of Chinese in the United States often experience difficulty in selecting an appropriate textbook because there are not generally accepted guidelines for the evaluation of textbooks to teach Chinese as a foreign language. As more instructors of Chinese try to improve on the instructional materials currently in use, the need for such guidelines increases.;The purpose of this study was to develop an appraisal checklist for evaluating elementary level Chinese textbooks to be used in the US. This checklist was based on criteria which were perceived to be important for a textbook to help students achieve basic communicative competence.;The checklist was evaluated and pilot tested by experts in the field of Chinese language teaching. The trial and evaluation results, together with the content analysis results obtained by this researcher, served as the basis for the revision of the appraisal checklist.;The research results showed that a Chinese textbook should deal with all aspects related to the use of the language, including the linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic aspects in order to help students achieve the proficiency level required of them at the beginning stage. Students should be provided with necessary linguistic knowledge of Chinese accompanied by appropriate information on the use of the language in different social settings.;The textbook should be designed so that the language is taught in as realistic a way as possible. No matter what methodology the instructor intends to use, the textbook should be capable of stimulating students' interest and creativity in learning the language and engaging them in active participation in the learning activities. This can be achieved through appropriate organization and presentation of the content. Ease of use should also be taken into consideration.;The final version of the checklist incorporates all the issues which were perceived to be important for a beginning Chinese textbook. This appraisal checklist and the scoring system attached to it can serve as a useful tool for instructors of Chinese in their selection of textbooks for their course.