This edited volume focuses on writing Chinese as a second language (L2). It provides readers with cutting-edge empirical research and insightful teaching methods and strategies for effectively developing L2 writing competence in L2 Chinese classroom contexts. The themes encompass heritage versus foreign language writers, individual versus collaborative writing, writing as process versus writing as product, writing-focused intervention and written corrective feedback in L2 Chinese classrooms, as well as online writing instruction during and beyond the pandemic. In addition to providing meaningful and innovative contributions for graduate students and researchers who wish to further explore learners’ writing development in L2 Chinese, each chapter offers practical, detailed and insightful pedagogical recommendations to assist language teachers and educators, graduate students and research scholars in making well-informed decisions on writing instruction in L2 Chinese and to facilitate the implementation of writing-focused activities within classrooms.

Written by experienced teachers and thoroughly trialled with non-native students of Chinese, this much-needed text helps students to write coherently, clearly and appropriately in a variety of contexts.

This work investigates the development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ generic competence in reading, writing and translation within the particular Chinese classroom context. It provides a new perspective for the current teaching and research in reading, writing, translation within the EFL contexts and offers an insightful framework for pedagogical applications in language learning and teaching. Its findings will be extremely valuable not only in local situations, but also more generally in a wider regional and global context as well. The book employs a series of research tools, including pre-research and post-research questionnaires, pre-test and post-test of reading/writing/translation, multi-faceted writing portfolios (including reflection reports), textual analysis and in-depth interviews. It involves 209 participants from a primary university in Wuhan, among whom 171 are undergraduates and 38 are postgraduates. ​And it draws on the analysis of such varied multi-sourced data both qualitatively and quantitatively. Genre-based teaching is playing a critical role in initiating EFL learners into the discourse community of the target language. Developing EFL learners’ generic competence is viewed as the ultimate goal in the process of teaching and learning. This monograph effectively demonstrates that like genre-based English for Specific Purposes (ESP) pedagogies, it is also possible to take advantage of already acquired genre knowledge for use in EFL learning contexts. It offers an impressive view of the direction in which genre-based applications are likely to take in the coming years.

One of the most civilized nations in history, China has a long-standing writing tradition and many Chinese texts have become world treasures. However, the way the Chinese teach writing in various countries in contemporary times is little known to the outside world, especially in Western countries. Undoubtedly, the Chinese have had an established traditional method of writing instruction. However, recent social and political developments have created the perception amongst both practitioners and researchers of a need for change. Whilst certain socio-political changes, both in Mainland China and in the territories, acted as agents for reform of the teaching of composition, the shape these reforms are taking has been due to many different influences, coming both from inside the countries themselves and from foreign sources. Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore have each developed their own approach to the teaching of composition.

This collection brings together a series of empirical studies on topics surrounding classrooms of Chinese as a second language (L2) by drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks, methodological strategies, and pedagogical perspectives. Over the past two decades, research on classroom-based second language acquisition (SLA) has emerged and expanded as one of the most important sub-domains in the general field of SLA. In Chinese SLA, however, scarce attention has been devoted to this line of research. With chapters written by scholars in the field of SLA—many of whom are experienced in classroom teaching, teacher education, or program administration in Chinese as a second language—this book helps disentangle the complicated relationships among linguistic targets, pedagogical conditions, assessment tools, learner individual differences, and teacher variables that exist in the so-called "black-box" classrooms of L2 Chinese.

Grounded in analysis of Chinese and international educational concepts and classroom techniques currently used to teach Chinese as a Second Language, and a thorough review of recent research in the field, this volume identifies the learning challenges of the language for native English speakers. Orton and Scrimgeour assess the gap in knowledge and skills between learners’ initial and future proficiency levels as L2 Chinese speakers, map their needs as learners towards achieving a high language proficiency, and set out an informed, integrated teaching orientation and practice for the Chinese classroom that responds to those needs. Chapters in the volume address curriculum design, teaching diverse learners and levels, the learning challenges of Chinese oral and literacy skills, grammar and vocabulary, discourse development, cultural understanding, and the affordances of a visit to China. Filled with original and engaging teaching and learning tools and techniques, this book is an essential and rich content resource for primary and secondary teachers, and teacher candidates and educators in Chinese as a Second Language education.

This book investigates inherent, structural differences in the Chinese and English writing systems which predispose learners from childhood to develop specific literacy-learning strategies, which can impair later efforts at learning foreign language literacy if the foreign language script varies significantly from the native language script. It compares educational practices and philosophies in Chinese and English-speaking classrooms, and examines the psychological underpinnings of these literacy learning strategies. This book presents psychometric testing of adult reading strategy defaults and examines case study data, revealing that Chinese students are susceptible to misapplying Chinese character-level processing strategies to English word identification tasks, which decreases reading efficiency, and ultimately can lead to learning failure. Finally, a new educational framework is proposed for teaching beginning language-specific word identification and literacy-learning skills to learners whose first language script varies significantly from that of the target language.

This volume explores the instructional use of creative writing in secondary and post-secondary contexts to enhance students’ language proficiency and expression in English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Offering a diverse range of perspectives from scholars and practitioners involved in English language teaching (ELT) globally, International Perspectives on Creative Writing in Second Language Education tackles foundational questions around why fiction and creative writing have been traditionally omitted from ESL and EFL curricula. By drawing on empirical research and first-hand experience, contributors showcase a range of creative genres including autobiography, scriptwriting, poetry, and e-Portfolios, and provide new insight into the benefits of second language creative writing for learners’ language proficiency, emotional expression, and identity development. The volume makes a unique contribution to the field of second language writing by highlighting the breadth of second language users throughout the world, and foregrounding links between identity, learning, and ESL/EFL writing. This insightful volume will be of particular interest to postgraduate students, researchers, and academics in the fields of ESL/EFL learning, composition studies, and second language acquisition (SLA). Those with a focus on the use of creative writing in classrooms more broadly, will also find the book of interest.

Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education deals with the current issues and challenges faced by teachers and learners of Chinese. Written by leading professionals and academics, the book is the first collection of research articles based on data collected in higher education institutions in the UK. The studies focus on concerns related to learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) and aim to establish studies on teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) as part of the mainstream of applied linguistics The contributors have applied their theoretical backgrounds in applied linguistics and education to tackle issues such as how to benchmark the Chinese written language with CEFR, how to integrate standardised Chinese proficiency tests with institutional assessments and teaching methodologies. Teaching and Learning Chinese in Higher Education will be invaluable to professionals, academics and students seeking theoretical frameworks in applied linguistics for TCFL.

This book addresses the transfer of rhetorical knowledge from a first language (L1) to a second language (L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer), a common cognitive phenomenon in the L2 writing of students in foreign language learning environments. It investigates L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer from a cognitive perspective and examines a specific component of L2 writers’ agency in this transfer, namely metacognition. The book’s ultimate goal is to enhance our understanding of the cognitive mechanism of rhetorical transfer across languages. This goal is in turn connected to the need to determine how L1 rhetorical knowledge can be steered and oriented toward successful L2 writing. To this end, this book proposes a theoretical framework for transfer studies, encompassing the dimensions of text, transfer agency, and L2 essay raters. It facilitates an in-depth exploration of the intricacies involved in L1-to-L2 rhetorical transfer. It then presents empirical studies on this transfer. Embracing a dynamic perspective, this book furthers our understanding of interlingual rhetorical transfer as a conscious or intuitive process for making meaning, one that can be monitored and steered. Moreover, it discusses the pedagogical implications for L2 writing instruction that guides students to use metacognition to transfer L1 rhetorical knowledge during L2 writing.