About This Writing Platform
Writing is a highly complex task that integrates cognitive processing, deployment of linguistic skills, and an awareness of the social context in which written communication unfolds. Writing instruction in the context of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language is particularly challenging since students are learning at the same time lexical and grammatical constructions as well as generic conventions. In response to these challenges, we adopted the genre-text-grammar model of language teaching to design this writing platform for developing the writing proficiency of Chinese language learners in their transition from the intermediate to the advanced level.
This writing platform—Thinking on Paper 思想的草稿——was specially tailored for Princeton University students enrolled in intermediate-advanced level Chinese (CHI 303-304; CHI305-306), and used texts from Chih-p’ing Chou, Jincheng Liu and Xin Zou, Eyes on China: An Intermediate-Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese (Princeton University Press, 2019). For each text selected, this writing platform maps out its three layers—structure, grammar, and cohesion—and helps students to recognize and use these codes of writing effectively and efficiently.
For more information about the methodological implications of this writing platform, please view this document here. To learn more about how to use this website, please click here.
Project Members
Xin Zou
Dr. Xin Zou earned her B.A. from Peking University (China), and thereafter an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Chinese Literature, and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She focuses on classical Chinese literature and cultural history and has published multiple journal articles and annotated translations in this area. Zou’s research interests further include language reforms in modern China and Chinese language pedagogy. She co-authored Eyes on China: An Intermediate-Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese (Princeton University Press, 2019). In 2021, she was awarded a Junior Method Course Initiative Grant from the 250th Anniversary Fund to develop a “bridge course” in East Asian studies. In the summer of 2022, with the support of Princeton’s Center for Language Study and McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, she created this writing platform, together with Mr. Ben Johnston, to develop the writing proficiency of Chinese language learners. Contact: xinzou@princeton.edu
Ben Johnston
Ben Johnston, Educational Technologist in the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, works with faculty and students across the University to facilitate the integration of digital platforms and the implementation of technology tools into coursework. Ben has played an instrumental role in shaping this writing platform and provided unfailing support in its design and redesign. Contact: benj@princeton.edu
Acknowledgements
My deepest gratitude goes to those who inspired me to put our ideas into practice:
Prof. Anna M. Shields (Chair, Department of East Asian Studies)
Prof. Chih-p‘ing Chou (Director, Chinese Language Program, 1987-2022)
Dr. Jing Wang (Associate Director (Acting Director), Chinese Language Program, 2021-)
Ms. Luanfeng Huang (Lecturer in East Asian Studies, Princeton University)
The teaching team of the Chinese Language Program
Special thanks go to the Princeton Center for Language Study for awarding me the 2022 Summer Fellowship. I thank Prof. Jamie Rankin (Director, Princeton Center for Language Study) and Dr. Vandana Bajaj (Assistant Director, Princeton Center for Language Study) for providing me with this excellent opportunity to work at PCLS, together with Dr. Susie Kim (Lecturer in East Asian Studies) and share our final products with colleagues within and beyond the Princeton community.
I am indebted to the Department of East Asian Studies and its Chinese language program for constant trust and continuous support over the years.