The Enlightenment of the Comparative Pedagogic View of “Sino-Foreign Bilinguals” to International Chinese Language Education A Case Study on the Textbooks Complied by Chao and Jou

Abstract

Modern Chinese linguists Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and Jou Bienming (1891–1984), both are the pioneers of the Mandarin Romanization movement with their similar educational backgrounds. Their Chinese introductory textbooks, Mandarin Primer and Halgur Lessons for Beginners, compiled for learners of English as the base language, embody the comparative pedagogic view of Sino-foreign bilinguals. In the two textbooks, not only the direct comparison between Chinese and English, but also the internal comparison of Chinese-Han dialects, including the comparison of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar can be found, furthermore, the texts anthologised are also taught in the form of comparison. From the perspective of the history of international Chinese language education, the concise, friendly and understandable explanation ideas for learners in the early Chinese Mandarin and dialect textbooks fully reflect the learner-centered teaching methodology of the two "Sino-foreign bilinguals". Many processing methods of language elements are still applicable to learners with English background, which also has a certain guiding significance for the compilation of current international Chinese textbooks.