Problems of Reading Comprehension In Learning Chinese As A Second Language Among Undergraduates of Chinese Studies in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

摘要

Several Chinese language teaching and learning centres are beingestablished in Nigeria and around the world. There are Chinesegovernment-funded institutions such as the Confucius Institutes in additionto Chinese language courses being taught through universities, colleges,private institutions as well as individual tutoring services. Learning asecond language involves physical, intellectual and emotional commitmentin order to successfully understand and interpret linguistic messages.However, certain problems could hinder understanding while learning asecond language like Mandarin (Chinese Language). This studyinvestigated the problems of reading comprehension in learning Chineseas a second language in Nigeria among students of Chinese StudiesDepartment in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Schemata theory ofreading comprehension was employed as the theoretical framework of thisresearch. The study surveyed fifty (50) Chinese Studies students byadministering copies of questionnaire on them. Findings of this studyrevealed that the major problems students face in the study of Chineselanguage as foreign language are lack of adequate knowledge of Chinesevocabularies, reading stress and anxiety, wrong reading habits and lack ofadequate infrastructures for reading. This study suggests that thegovernment, the university authorities and language schools shouldprovide adequate reading facilities to aid proper reading comprehension.Also, the language students should be counselled in order to diagnose theirreading problems for appropriate solution.