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Article published In: From Theory to Practice: Adopting the Chinese proficiency grading standards for international Chinese language education in North America
Edited by Jie Zhang and Ye Tian
[Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報) 58:2] 2023
► pp. 146–168

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Standards-based character recognition test

An initial investigation

 | Williams College
Published online: 12 September 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.00041.hou
Abstract
The present study developed and implemented a character recognition test based on the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education. Using a stratified systematic sampling approach, we selected 15 characters from each level, ranging from levels 1 to 6, and 45 characters from the advanced level. This test was administered to 32 L2 Chinese learners from two universities. The results, on one hand, present an estimation of learners’ character size and revealed variations at multiple levels, including school, course, and individual levels. On the other hand, they serve as a valuable link between the Standards and teaching/learning practice, enabling a necessary reflection on the efficacy of the Standards, particularly in terms of the character component.
提要
本文基于《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准·汉字等级大纲》，采用分层等距抽样方法，选取了大纲中的135个汉字，编制出基于标准的识字量测试。我们对32名来自美国两所大学一、二年级的中文学习者的识字量进行了考察。一方面，研究结果发现学生之间的识字量差异较大。我们从学校、年级、学习者三个方面对此差异性进行了分析；另一方面，研究结果在《等级标准》与教学实践之间扮演了桥梁的角色，使得我们对《等级标准·汉字等级大纲》的有效性进行了必要的反思。
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Character recognition abilities in L2 Chinese learning
    • 2.1Character recognition tests
    • 2.2Character size of L2 learners in character recognition
  • 3.The present study
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Instrument
    • 3.3Procedure and coding
    • 3.4Data analysis
  • 4.Results
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1The profile of the character size for our participants
    • 5.2Participants’ character sizes through the lens of the Standards
  • 6.Limitation and future direction
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
References (47)
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