The teaching objectives in Chinese teaching as a foreign language are very important for the improvement of learners’ language ability. There are two types of teaching objectives, namely, horizontal teaching objectives and vertical teaching objectives. Each has its different classifications and levels. This article aims to help teachers to teach Mandarin Chinese by realizing the different classifications and levels of teaching goals.
According to Bloom’s theories and the characteristics of Chinese language, there are four types of teaching objectives in horizontal. The first one is the cognitive domain which includes language knowledge, pragmatic principles as well as culture and history knowledge. The learners who study in China should master Chinese from the levels of perception, understanding, master and application. The second one is the skill domain including language skill and communicative skill. There are five levels: imitation, practice, proficiency, automation and creation.
Another one is emotion domain mainly aims to the study of geography, customs and cultural knowledge of China. To master this knowledge, students should learn from the five levels: notice, moved, accept, react and value. The last but not least is the learning strategy for students to study Chinese. The traditional teaching objectives attach less attention to learning strategy and habit. The realization of this object has five levels, namely, comparison, recitation, summarization, transference, participation and cooperation.
The teaching objective is not only an overall conception that is made up of various components, but also relative concept. It is a large system consisting of several teaching goals of different levels. In this system, teachers in Mandarin learning courses should know that any teaching goals of lower level should be made according to the higher level teaching objectives.
In addition, in this large system, the one in the highest level is the overall objectives of the subject teaching while the one in the lowest level is goals of teaching periods. In the intermediate level, there are various levels according to different standards. Teachers in Chinese language school should know there are five levels according to the subject characteristics, structures and teaching process. The other three are courses objectives, terms teaching goals and units teaching goals.
The overall objectives of the subject teaching means the final goal we should achieve in Chinese teaching as a foreign language. Generally speaking, it makes the rules in teaching contents and process as well as the quality standards. As a subject, Chinese teaching as a foreign language aims to train learners’ communicative ability when they learn Mandarin. As teachers, they should know the final goals in every stage of teaching.
When we have the overall objectives of the subject teaching, they should be realized by organizing courses. However, each course has its own specific demands. For example, the courses objectives of comprehensive courses, listening courses and reading courses in the elementary stage are totally different. The courses objectives of learning Mandarin Chinese are formulated by the relevant curriculum specialists.
After setting courses teaching goals, we should also know how much time is needed to reach those goals. Then it is related to the terms teaching goals. In our teaching, the teaching time is usually one year or half a year. If you want to finish the course in one year or half a year, you should set the term teaching goals under the guide of the overall teaching objectives. Teachers should also set the goals according to the characteristics of the students who study Mandarin Chinese.
Of course, the term teaching objectives should be achieved by dividing the contents into units and then set relevant units teaching goals. In Chinese teaching, some courses have no specific unit contents, especially in the primary phase. However, teachers can help students to learn Chinese language by classifying the contents have the similar function as the units like pronunciation units, sentences patterns units and so on.
Last but not least, the periods teaching objectives are the practice of the term teaching goals. It means the goals that one class should achieve. Therefore, the contents are specific, the goals are operable and the design of the goals is flexible. Teachers often set the periods goals themselves to help learners who learn to speak Chinese. Any periods teaching goals should be set according to the whole teaching goals.
There are so many teaching goals with different classification and levels in Chinese teaching as a foreign language. In order to improve the teaching and learning goals, teachers should set the goals according to the overall teaching objectives.