A Preliminary Look into the Profiles of Adult Learners of Chinese in German-Speaking Countries
Abstract
The European Union and many governments of its (former) membership states demand more expertise on China, including Chinese language skills. Fostering Chinese language education requires a thorough understanding of the target group. This article aims to lay the foundation for a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the profile of at least one subgroup of Chinese learners, namely adult learners at universities in German-speaking countries. It presents the results of a preliminary meta-study comprising data from 217 Chinese learners. Among the information that can be extracted from various studies are personal data (age, gender, field of study, type of educational institution, first and, where applicable, second language) and data on individual learning biographies (number and specification of languages learned to date, use of learning strategies, and degree of language awareness). Results show that these learners have, on average, a comparable number of previously learned foreign languages. There are more multilingual speakers than, for example, among learners of Spanish. Experienced learners have certain preconditions and needs according to current L3 acquisition theories, which should be paid special attention to when teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Some didactic suggestions are put forward on how to integrate the results into the teaching of Chinese
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| Titel | A Preliminary Look into the Profiles of Adult Learners of Chinese in German-Speaking Countries |
|---|---|
| Medien | Fremdsprachen und Hochschule |
| Verlag | Shaker |
| Herausgeber | Shaker Media GmBH |
| Heft | 101 |
| Band | 2025 |
| Verfasser | Dr. Christian Alexander Gebhard |
| Seiten | 1-34 |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum | 16.09.2025 |
| Zitation | Gebhard, Christian Alexander (2025): A Preliminary Look into the Profiles of Adult Learners of Chinese in German-Speaking Countries. Fremdsprachen und Hochschule 2025 (101), 1-34. DOI: 10.46586/fuh.v.101.2025.12168 |