Learning Chinese: Linguistic, Sociocultural, and Narrative Perspectives

Trends in Applied Linguistics [TAL] #5

by Patricia A. Duff, Timothy Anderson, Roma Ilnyckyj

The volume is an innovative examination of the acquisition of Mandarin Chinese, one of the most important and widely spoken languages in the world today. It describes the rise of Chinese as a global language and the many challenges and opportunities associated with learning it. The collaborative, multiple-case study and cross-case analysis is presented from three distinct but complementary theoretical and analytic linguistic, sociocultural, and narrative. The book reveals fascinating dimensions of Chinese language learning based on vivid first-person accounts (with autobiographical narratives included in the book) of adults negotiating not only their own and others' language and literacy learning, but also their identities, communities, and trajectories as users of Chinese.

Genres: Canada

322 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2012