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Event Details
March 12, 2008
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UC Berkeley
130 Dwinelle Hall
Berkeley, CA
United States

Public Talk - Berkeley, CA

Y.R. Chao’s Teaching Tradition and New Developments in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

It is shown that Y.R. Chao's teaching principles are solidly confirmed by recent studies of neurosciences and that Practice Effects must be taken as an ultimate criterion, by which all L2 theories and practices are examined and evaluated not only for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language but also for L2 teaching of all human languages.  More specifically, I will elaborate on some important issues in the field, including (1) the northern American tradition of Direct Method established by Professor Yuen Ren Chao, (2) the Neuroscience-based evidence for Yuenren Tradition, and (3) some empirical principles and results derived from the “structural-function approach” developed recently.  Finally, it is argued that no matter how the L2 theories are formed, drilling always goes first.