Research on the Application of Picture Books by Ethnic Chinese Writers in Reading Instruction for the Affective Mechanisms of Ethnic Chinese Children in the Context of International Chinese Education

Abstract

From the perspective of affective mechanism-based reading teaching, enabling teachers to strategically leverage the synergy between language teaching and the affective mechanism constitutes a new growth point in international Chinese education research. Picture books by Ethnic Chinese writers not only incorporate abundant Chinese cultural elements but also adopt an empathetic narrative perspective, making the theme of Chinese cultural identity more accessible to Ethnic Chinese children readers. These features provide a strong foundation for implementing affective mechanism-based reading instruction. The picture book Watercress can be effectively applied in reading instruction for Ethnic Chinese children. On the one hand, it allows for the in-depth exploration of text’s “empathy” elements to establish a reading connection grounded in affective mechanisms; on the other hand, it helps construct an affective reading path for children based on the visual-textual isomorphism of the narrative; Furthermore, by aligning with the language teaching objectives of international Chinese education, this approach allows for pedagogical adaptation from picture book to reading text, making picture books by Ethnic Chinese writers a unique educational resource for fostering both linguistic and emotional development in heritage children.