Classroom teaching is a main effective method to teach Mandarin language in China. However, the teachers should know how to use the teaching language properly so that they can help students learn effectively. The following are three features and requirements of the teaching language that teachers should know in classroom teaching.
The first one is the conditionality, that is to say, the teaching language that teachers use in the classroom teaching should be understandable. Therefore, teachers should consider the ability of the students who learn Chinese language as well as the receptivity. If the students are zero-based, any sentences teachers say are meaningless to students because they don’t know even a word.
Therefore, teachers should have a better understanding about the students. In Chinese teaching as a foreign language, we propose to use the target language. For some instructions or requirements, we can use proper intermediate language or body language. However, as the improvement of students’ language level to study Chinese, it should be reduced until be replaced by the target language.
Another characteristic of teaching language is dynamism. It means the language for teaching is not permanent. It changes with the changing of the students’ ability to learn Mandarin. Generally speaking, the higher of the learners’ language level, the less limits are in teaching language. The most important thing for teachers is to adjust their teaching language in different phases of classroom teaching.
The last but not least nature of the teaching language should be appropriateness. Those learners who study in China are mostly from different countries. Therefore, there are some differences between teachers and students in cultural background, living habits and customs and so on. Teachers should make efforts to use the proper teaching language that can be accepted by students.
Teachers shouldn’t use the teaching language just according to their own habits. They should consider the acceptability of the language. If the language is not appropriate, it will affect the students’ initiative to learn Chinese in China. What’s worse, it will affect the relationship between teachers and students then they will be in opposite sides, greatly affecting the learning and teaching result.
Therefore, teachers should obey the three principles in using teaching language so that to use simple and vivid language with low speed. They should also use the short sentences to express directly and lively in classroom teaching.