Ria Riski Marsuki, Dian Yuni Pamuji, Almira Agwinanda

Content Analysis of Wenzi Material in Xiandai Hanyu Shang Learning as a Reference for Teaching Materials

Introduction

Content analysis of wenzi material in xiandai hanyu shang learning as a reference for teaching materials . Content analysis of Wenzi (Chinese characters) material in Modern Mandarin I to develop teaching materials, covering character origins, formation, and course alignment.

Abstract

In learning Mandarin, there are four fundamental skills that students must master: writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Writing skills are taught from the first semester to the sixth semester through courses such as 初级汉语写作上 chūjí hànyǔ xiězuò shàng (Basic Mandarin Writing I) to 高级汉语写作下 gāojí hànyǔ xiězuò xià (Advanced Mandarin Writing II), which focus on writing practice. Additionally, 汉字 hànzì material is also taught in the course 现代汉语上xiàndài hànyǔ shàng (Modern Mandarin I), but the emphasis is more on theoretical aspects. In this course, students learn about the origins and development of Hanzi characters currently in use, including the methods of character formation. The course 现代汉语上xiàndài hànyǔ shàng focuses on three main topics: 语音yǔyīn (Phonology), 文字 wénzì (Characters), and 词汇cíhuì (Vocabulary). The reference book used, 现代汉语 xiàndài hànyǔ (Modern Mandarin), is written entirely in Mandarin without translations. This is one of the reasons why the researcher aims to develop teaching materials on 汉字 hànzì (Hanzi) for the 现代汉语上 xiàndài hànyǔ shàng course, aligning them with the intended learning outcomes and the course duration. These three main topics must be covered within one semester.

Review

This paper addresses a pertinent pedagogical challenge within Mandarin language education, specifically concerning the teaching of Chinese characters (Wenzi) in the *Xiandai Hanyu Shang* (Modern Mandarin I) course. The abstract clearly articulates the problem: while writing skills are developed through dedicated courses, the foundational *Wenzi* component in Modern Mandarin I primarily focuses on theoretical aspects like origins and formation, using an entirely Mandarin reference book that can be daunting for students. The aim to conduct a content analysis of existing Wenzi material to inform the development of new teaching materials is therefore highly relevant and promises to fill a critical gap in supporting student learning outcomes, particularly given the broad scope of topics (phonology, characters, vocabulary) that must be covered within a single semester. The methodological approach, as indicated by the title's "Content Analysis," suggests a systematic investigation into the current instructional content, which is an appropriate first step towards developing improved teaching resources. While the abstract effectively outlines the motivation and the intended outcome – the creation of aligned teaching materials for the *Xiandai Hanyu Shang* course – it provides limited detail on the specifics of this analysis. A full paper would need to elaborate on the precise criteria for content evaluation, the scope of materials to be analyzed beyond the primary textbook, and how the findings of this analysis will directly translate into the design principles for the new materials. Nevertheless, the premise of developing materials that bridge theoretical understanding with practical accessibility is a commendable and necessary endeavor. Ultimately, the proposed work has the potential to significantly enhance the effectiveness of Chinese character instruction in foundational Mandarin courses. By addressing the identified difficulties with current materials and aligning new resources with learning objectives and course constraints, the project offers a valuable contribution to language pedagogy. The resulting teaching materials could serve as a practical reference for instructors and a more accessible resource for students, improving their mastery of *Wenzi*. Future research building upon this work could explore the efficacy of the developed materials in real classroom settings and consider broader implications for character instruction across various stages of Mandarin acquisition.

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