“A Series of Books on Standards for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages” is a set of textbooks for international Chinese language teachers and prospective teachers, with Prof. Liu Xun and Prof. Cui Yonghua as the chief editors. It is based on Standards for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages and corresponds to each module, provides systematic knowledge framework focusing on the Standards for readers to help them acquire knowledge and professional skills.

     This book corresponds to the first two modules in Standards for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages, i.e., the “Chinese Characters” in “Knowledge of Chinese Language” Part. It focuses on the ontology knowledge of Chinese characters and its teaching principles and strategies in the perspective of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, aiming to help international Chinese language teachers and prospective teachers learn the ontology knowledge of Chinese characters, understanding the issues related to Chinese characters that need to pay special attention to in the teaching and acquisition process of Chinese characters, thus laying a foundation for better teaching. This book can be used for the training, tutoring, and self-study teaching material for international Chinese language teachers and prospective teachers. It is not only a reference book for the qualification test for international Chinese language teachers and entrance examination for Master’s program in international Chinese language education, but also a textbook on Chinese characters for international Chinese language education and linguistics majors.   

     Shi Chunhong, a PhD from Peking University and a Postdoctoral Fellow from Harvard University, is a professor at BLCU and the chief editor of Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies. Dr. Shi’s research areas include syntax, semantics, lexicology, applied linguistics and theoretical linguistics. In recent years, he has been engaged in the theoretical and applied exploration of construction grammar, and studies on teaching and acquisition of Chinese as a second language. Shi has published nearly ten books and has participated in the compilation of several dictionaries and textbooks. His other works include more than 100 academic papers (coauthored ones included), over 70 linguistic articles and several translations. 

     Wang Weichao, a teacher at the School of Arts, Inner Mongolia Normal University, got his Bachelor’s Degree from Fudan University and both Master’s and Doctor’s degrees from Beijing Language and Culture University. He focuses his research on Chinese linguistics and has published papers in journals such as Chinese Teaching in the World, Contemporary Research in Modern Chinese, Studies in Prosodic Grammar, etc.

1. Practicality

This book introduces the ontology knowledge of Chinese characters from the perspective of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in classrooms, pays attention to the comparison between Chinese and foreign languages, analyses the causes of errors in Chinese characters made by students with various language backgrounds, so as to illustrate the teaching principles and methods of Chinese characters.

2.  Systematization

It systematically introduces the ontology knowledge of Chinese characters, and explains the basic concepts of Chinese characters.

3.  Scientificity

When introducing the ontology knowledge of Chinese characters, it pays close attention to studies on Chinese characters and the latest findings on teaching and acquisition of Chinese characters, attaches importance to absorbing the new theories and ideas in the related fields, but without neglecting the scienficity and forwardness of its content.

4.  Operability

When explaining the knowledge on Chinese characters, it sets many examples in teaching and exercises. Exercises are provided after each chapter, to help users consolidate what they learned in time.

For international Chinese language teachers and prospective teachers, as well as undergraduates and graduates majoring in International Chinese language education and linguistics