Abstract：The notion of “international” in the field of international Chinese language education is essentially defined by the international population, which comprises two heterogeneous groups: overseas Chinese and non-Chinese. The development of international Chinese language education necessitates a detailed analytical understanding of these populations. Overseas Chinese form the core group of international Chinese language education, while non-Chinese represent the potential main group. Chinese language education tailored to these groups pertains to the inheritance of Chinese ancestral language and the dissemination of Chinese as a second language, respectively. Considering the current situation of Chinese ancestral language preservation within both established and emerging Chinese communities, the target audience for Chinese ancestral language inheritance can be categorized into three groups: those with a robust family language environment, those with a moderate family language environment, and those with minimal or no family language environment. This categorization informs the design of distinct core curricula, textbooks, and teaching methods. For the dissemination of Chinese as a second language, the target audience can be further classified based on their native languages into Chinese character cultural circle and non-Chinese character cultural circle. The latter can be further divided into “peripheral” and “non-peripheral” groups based on their geographical proximity to China. Theoretical exploration and teaching practices that consider the relative linguistic and script distances between Chinese and other languages can avoid the Chinese centrism and address the intrinsic differences between Chinese and other languages. The progressive refinement of the target population and the corresponding deepening of research represent the developmental trajectory of international Chinese language education. By enriching the composition of the target population, a more rational division of labor and allocation of academic and social resources can be achieved, thereby fulfilling the objective of providing precise and effective educational services.
王汉卫，张馨月. 论“人群特征”对国际中文教育的学科支撑[J]. 语言战略研究, 2024, 9(5): 54-63.
Wang Hanwei and Zhang Xinyue. The Disciplinary Foundations of “Population Profile” in International Chinese Language Education. , 2024, 9(5): 54-63.
