Научная статья на тему 'Teaching Russian to Chinese students-philologists: grammatical aspect'

Teaching Russian to Chinese students-philologists: grammatical aspect Текст научной статьи по специальности «Языкознание и литературоведение»

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Ключевые слова
GRAMMATICAL SYSTEM / LANGUAGE / CONSCIOUSNESS / INTERFERENCE

Аннотация научной статьи по языкознанию и литературоведению, автор научной работы — Yang Fang

The acquisition of the grammatical system is a necessary precondition of forming foreign language linguistic awareness. The nature of Russian and Chinese languages is completely different, so the problem of learning Russian grammar is particularly acute for the Chinese audience. To improve the skills of grammatical processing of Russian speechit is necessary to identify functional semantic features of Russian case forms in relation to the Chinese grammatical forms in order to prevent errors caused by interference.

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Текст научной работы на тему «Teaching Russian to Chinese students-philologists: grammatical aspect»

UDC 372.881.161.1

TEACHING RUSSIAN TO CHINESE STUDENTS-PHILOLOGISTS: GRAMMATICAL ASPECT

Yang Fang

Confucius Institute of Tomsk State University (Tomsk, Russian Federation) E-mail: mashahengyu@gmail.com

Abstract. The acquisition of the grammatical system is a necessary precondition of forming foreign language linguistic awareness. The nature of Russian and Chinese languages is completely different, so the problem of learning Russian grammar is particularly acute for the Chinese audience. To improve the skills of grammatical processing of Russian speechit is necessary to identify functional semantic features of Russian case forms in relation to the Chinese grammatical forms in order to prevent errors caused by interference. Keywords: grammatical system; language; consciousness; interference.

Any methodology-making requires elaboration of principles and techniques of studying. Principles of studying are the rules and directions which, when followed, make the studying process effective [1: 132]. On the basis of the principles of studying, techniques are developed which, first and foremost, include material explanation methods and exercise complexity.

Learning foreign languages has several aspects. One of them is grammar. It plays an important role in learning how to speak a different language, being a kind of framework on which vocabulary is based. Learning grammar, as well as sentences formation and spoken and written grammar forms recognition, is performed by creating grammar skills.

Grammar has a very crucial meaning in the studying process and in forming practical skills for the use of a foreign language. Apparently, no language-learning aspect has been so controversial and discussed for many years. Grammar has played unequal role not only in studies of mother tongues and foreign languages, but also in education systems of different countries [2: 4].

In the last decades of the twentieth century, the communicative aspect of learning Russian as a foreign language was acknowledged worldwide. Correlation of grammar content and the communicative aim of study is one of the main problems in the communication-oriented Russian course. Communication skills include skilful usage of the language material in producing or receiving information. However, some courses in teaching Russian lack grammar aspect, although studies in psycholinguistics, speech acts theory, cognitive psychology established that the possibility of practical language usage in communication is based on one's ability to perform speech acts relying on speech act program knowledge, as well as language means and language material usage knowledge in realization of speech intention in differ-

ent situations. Here, grammar rules have a great significance in realization of speech creation ability of a person.

Russian language teaching experience of the Russian language faculty at Shenyang LigongUniversity shows that first-course students have major difficulties in acquisition of grammar. This is due to the fact that almost 90% of university-entering students did not learn Russian inprimary school, thus, it is very hard for them to acquire Russian grammar. Nevertheless, we shall once again outline that grammar is an essential base for proper language usage as a means of communication.

Language skills are an important component of Russian as a foreign language study content, as it includes the ability to express an idea and understand a statement on the basis of knowledge and language means usage. Grammar skill is described as one of the speech skills, an automatic action or operation with grammar material.

It is well-known that grammar is a complicated multiplex object, a huge quantity of objects for a student to acquire, each of which requires a special method of presentation and processing. Moreover, grammar is closely connected with lexis and phonetics. So a grammar mistake is often a phonetic or lexical as well. Grammar, lexis and phonetics interconnection is taken into account in the aspectual-composite principle of work with grammar material.

From the middle of the twentieth century new methods of grammar presentation have been created to reflect practical aims of studying and to help overcome the formal approach. Functional-semantic principle is one of the most important. According to it, the material is organized "from the ideas seeking to be expressed" [3: 65] and is aimed at realization of speech intention (communication goal). This principle requires the material to be presented on the syntactical basis. The sentence construction, text unit structure scheme (in a dialogue or monologue) is usually used as this basis. The construction is filled with typical lexical-morphological content to form a speech pattern. Speech pattern filling variations stimulate automation of forms and constructions usage, as well as generalization of separate language patterns which makes a basis of a rule.

The practice of Russian language teaching to Chinese students and a few researches on this subject allow us to state that the largest quantity of systematic mistakes is made during the process of phonetic, grammatical and syntactical speech design in Russian due to linguistic and extralinguis-tic factors. It is mostly related to the negative influence of the mother tongue (interference), because, as it is known, Chinese and Russian languages are not genetically related and are typologically different systems. In Chinese there are no person, time, gender, number or case forms and the word order plays a significant role. The absence of a case system may act as one of the main reasons.

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The inflectional nature of the whole language system and combination of inflectional forms of word-changing with prepositional forms, the complicated aspect-time verbal system, features of word-formation connections, words and sentences combinations, the word order and rhythmical-vocal design of the sentences are known to be specific features of the Russian language. These specific features are especially topical for Chinese students learning Russian. Chinese language, apart from Russian, has nominative structure and grammatically important word order, preposition of the attribute, agglutinative structure: no gender, person, case, number categories used with inflexions, no prepositions. As Tan Aoshuang states, the Chinese grammar system is "not opened" for the direct observation due to the syllable-morpheme form of its main word unit and the absence of internal inflexion [4: 72]. Furthermore, the specific grammar connection means are used in Russian and Chinese word combinations. It is not a secret that "the knowledge of grammar connection means and grammar categories usage skills are all necessary for language proficiency" [5: 77]. All this determines the complexity of studying Russian grammar by Chinese students and requires solutions to many questions on methodology leading to perfection of Russian-teaching technique in a Chinese audience.

The work on formation and perfection of the right and stable speech grammar skills, Russian case usage in particular, is more effective if performed on the basis of the two languages comparison and particular skills learning technique.

The study process not in the language environment undoubtedly has its specific features, because the formation of speech skills is only determined by a study model. The final result mostly depends on the extent to which a model contributes to an aim and helps to use a language and communication competence in real situations of communication. However, the fact that foreign language speech activity is limited by classroom, outside of which students use their mother tongue, and a teacher is usually not a native speaker, do not provide proper conditions for language and speech skills automation, and seriously affect the formation of grammar skills [6: 46]. The striking example is grammatical structure of the sentence in Russian language produced by Chinese students.

We assume that the grammar system acquisition of a foreign language is an essential precondition for language consciousness formation, as fluent speech activity can be taught only after studying the grammar features of a language. The speech norms acquisition is possible only on the basis of study-speech situation, which implies several conditions for stimulating verbal activity on a topic that includes certain grammatical means. This is especially topical for the grown-up audience, where the rational and active comparison of language features (Chinese-Russian in our case)is used in teaching grammar system. Rational-comparative analysis is not only psychologi-

cally reasonable for teaching grown-ups a foreign language, but also extremely important in teaching Russian out of the language environment, in Chinese language dominance conditions. The process of acknowledgement requires the analysis of the forms in their usage, conscious construction of phrases and sentences, understanding of language material usage rules in speech, generalization and systematization. The language system acknowledgement is especially important in a philological audience that not only has to learn, but also to further teach a language.

Thus, the urgency of the research is based on the scientists' attention to the problem of teaching Russian as a foreign language and not sufficient amount of works concerning linguistic and methodological bases of teaching Chinese students Russian verb-noun phrases, the lack of tutorials based on this material.

For the grammatically correct speech skills perfection in Russian language, it is necessary to show functional-semantic features of Russian case forms in comparison with the Chinese grammatical forms, which will help to prevent the mistakes caused by interference and to create an exercise complex for correction and overcoming numerous wrongs appearing when Chinese students speak Russian, when they mix the meanings of different cases or meanings of one case. The exercise complex for correction is a hierarchically structured unity of definite exercise types, the amount and sequence of which is predetermined by correction's patterns of the skills mentioned, relatively to the stages of skills' components formation in different types of the speech activity [7: 127].

The methodology created in the research can be used in teaching Russian grammar to the Chinese students-philologists on the basis of verb-noun phrases in order to correct and then perfect productive and receptive skills in study-professional sphere when teaching the teachers-to-be. Nation-oriented model will be useful for teaching Chinese students-non-philologists as well.

Literature

1. MOSKOVKIN, L., 1999. Theoretical bases of optimal teaching method choice (Russian as

a foreign language, initial stage). Saint-Petersburg: SMIO-Press, 160 p.

2. KULESHOVA, N., 2003. Grammatical skills formation on initial stage in principal

school: thesis. Krasnodar, 54 p.

3. SCHERBA, L., 1974. Language system and speech activity. London, 427 p.

4. TAN, A., 1991. Grammar in Chinese traditional science. Moscow: Philological science, 5,

pp. 69-75.

5. OSTANENKO, A., 1987. Teaching Russian grammar to foreign students on initial stage.

Moscow: Russian language, 144 p.

6. DONSKAYA, T., 1999. Russian language methodology sketches. Saint-Petersburg: "Su-

darinya" Press, 160 p.

7. SCHUKIN, A., 1990. Russian as foreign language teaching methodology. Moscow: Viss-

chayashkola, 334 p.

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