Basics of Chinese Language (Vocabulary) is a book in “A Series of Books on Standards for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages”. It is composed of 11 chapters, the first 5 of which introduce the basic knowledge on Chinese vocabulary, and the following six chapters introduce the principles and methods of vocabulary teaching in Chinese as a second language. This book is designed for TCFL teachers / prospective teachers, as well as students majoring in TCFL. 

Cai Shumei, an Associate Professor and Postgraduate Supervisor in the Chinese Department, College of Humanities of Xiamen University, focuses her research on Chinese syntax and semantics, especially in construction grammar, cognitive grammar, grammaticalization, second language acquisition and other areas. Ms. Cai’s works include over ten papers published on Chinese Teaching in the World, Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies, Contemporary Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and other linguistic journals. She has coauthored Basics of Chinese Language (Phonetics), Second Language Acquisition Study of Chinese Structures and Modern Chinese. Ms. Cai has taken the main responsibilities in a project supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China, a key project supported by National Language Commission, a project supported by Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities. She has also participated in a key project supported by National Social Science Foundation, and a key project supported by Humanities and Social Sciences Research Base of Ministry of Education.

Shi Chunhong is a Professor at BLCU, a Supervisor for PhD candidates, and the Chief Editor of Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies. Dr. Shi’s research interests include Chinese linguistics, applied linguistics and theoretical linguistics. In recent years, he has been engaged in the theoretical and applied exploration of construction grammar, stylistic-register 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. 

1.  Original in content. This book integrates many new findings and linguistic data while introducing lexical knowledge, and pays attention to introducing new theories and findings which are paid most attention to by academic and teaching fields. The last six chapters demonstrate these new findings, including separable words, confusable words, cultural words, prosodic words, chunks of language.

2.  Accurate in positioning. In contrast to a general lexical course, this book is designed for TCFL teachers /prospective teachers as well as students majoring in international Chinese language education. Chapters 6-11 are developed focusing on the principles and methods of vocabulary teaching in Chinese as a second language. Of them, Chapter 6 makes a general introduction to the principles and methods of vocabulary teaching, all of which aim at teaching of second language vocabulary. The principles are well-directed and the methods are practical and effective. Meanwhile, this book has five chapters to discuss several common special vocabulary types which are difficult to deal with and are error-prone. Through a number of errors made by students, it helps teachers to analyze the reasons and provide teaching strategies and suggestions.

3.  Plain in writing. Although this book teaches vocabulary, it uses easy language and has vivid and interesting content to help students easily learn knowledge and improve their skills without feeling pressure. In terms of writing, it has several characteristics. First, its language is simple and easy to understand. The author didn’t use difficult academic terms but simple language to demonstrate profound theories. Second, it uses tables and examples to make summaries and comparisons, so as to make the conclusion more intuitive. Third, the examples used are close to readers’ study and life. It uses vivid and lively data and helps readers to explore with the author.

4.  Easy to use. This book fully takes readers’ reality into considerations. On one hand, readers can read the book chapter by chapter. They can also read or use some chapters based on their interests, teaching progresses and needs. On the other hand, this book has an “Index of Terms and Concepts”, which helps readers search the terms and concepts and read and study based on themes. Finally, this book is interactive. Each chapter has a number of objective exercises, which are composed of not only objective questions to examine the knowledge, but also questions to check on students’ comprehension, and typical questions frequently seen in classroom teaching. The book also provides the author’s ideas and suggestions to many subjective questions. These exercises can not only be used as classroom tests and assessments, but also help readers to make explorations and interactions with the author.

For TCFL teachers, postgraduates majoring in Chinese, international students interested in Chinese vocabulary, students who are going to be TCFL teachers, and researchers of Chinese vocabulary.

To teach the book chapter by chapter.