The training course consists of three main parts.
The first 0part compares romanized spellings and the
Mandarin Chinese phonetic symbols. This
comparative study helps future teachers understand what exactly romanized
spelling is and at the same time helps them become proficient in its use.
The second and most important part of the course
focuses on methods for the presentation and explanation of grammatical
structures to students having no background what so ever in the Chinese
language. On completing the course which is of necessity brief, our teachers
already have a fairly solid foundation in, and understanding of, the essential
structures of their native language. From then on, for a more thorough grasp of
Mandarin, the teachers own initiative comes into play as he or she adapts and
applies what has been learned to the actual classroom situation.
The third part of the training course concerns the
special difficulties or situations likely to be encountered in the teaching of
mandarin to foreign students. This, the Director bases on her 40 years of
experience in Chinese language teaching. The teachers are made aware of the
various problems that might come up as they teach students from a particular
language group such as English or Japanese. For example, which linguistic
patterns present the greatest difficulty for this group of speakers and why this
tendency exists. With this extra background information, teachers are forewarned
and there by forearmed.
Finally, after the prospective teachers have
com0pleted the 40 hours of training, we arrange simulated teaching situations
for them, so that they may apply their theoretical knowledge to more practical,
down-to-earth situations. At the same time, this provides an excellent
opportunity for the Director to make a preliminary judgement of each person¡¦s
grasp of the basic principles and his ability of self-expression, two qualities
essential in the making of an effective language teacher.