Adopting the theories and methods in cognitive psychological research of language, the author presents in this book her achievements in the systematic study of the process and rules of foreigners’ learning of Chinese characters, words and reading.
At present most of the linguistic works take the perspective of the language itself, probing into the problems using the linguistic methods; while works of psychological perspective lay emphasis on the cognitive process of linguistic activities of native Chinese speakers. This book offers a combination of the two perspectives by integrating cognitive psychology research with research of Chinese characters, words and reading.
Besides the systematic theoretical discussion and experimental research on the foreigners’ cognitive process of learning Chinese characters, words and reading, suggestions for teaching Chinese as a foreign language concerning the three aspects are also provided. The book is of great value for research and practice of teaching Chinese characters, words and reading to foreign learners.
Jiang Xin, PhD in Psychology, is currently a professor and graduate advisor in the Center for Studies of Chinese, Beijing Language and Culture University. In 2006, she was selected as a participant of the “Post-graduate Project of Harvard University” and went to US for one year’s further education and cooperative research. Her main research interests lie in cognitive processing of language and language acquisition. She has taken on six projects at state and provincial levels, including “Research on Foreign Learners’ Acquisition of Chinese Reading” of National Social Science Fund, “Cognitive Psychology and Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language” of Hanban, “Problems and Solutions in Education of Teachers Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language in International Popularization of Chinese” of Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project of Beijing. She has published Psychological Exploration into Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and more than 30 academic papers.