Challenges and Countermeasures of Teaching and Learning Chinese Characters in Sudan

Abstract

The shapes of Chinese characters are complicated, this is a big shortcoming but it is also the biggest advantage which can benefit learners in a multi-lingual education context. The paper is an investigation into the practice of teaching and learning Chinese at Khartoum University. The study focuses on the shapes of Chinese characters by analyzing the shapes created by the learners in their homework after they have learnt the methods by which the Chinese create pictographic characters, self-explanatory characters and so on, then compare them first with “Xiaozhuan” (an ancient style of calligraphy, adopted in the Qin Dynasty for the purpose of standardizing the script) and secondly with the regular script in Chinese calligraphy. After doing the comparison, I will know the points which are similar to the standard Chinese characters and the ones which are not. I will use the correct shapes of Chinese characters and symbols to show the meanings and the cultures they contain. If the characters written by the learners are different from the standard Chinese characters, I will point out to them that it is as a result of their different cultural and linguistic background, since they have been used to Arabic. The purpose of this study is to develop an effective methodology for teaching and learning Chinese characters and cultures in Sudan.