Methodological typology of chinese lexis for teaching listening comprehension
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2663-0303.2025.1.05Keywords:
listening instruction, Chinese language vocabulary, lexeme, methodological typology, lexical competence in listening comprehension, Chinese philology majorsAbstract
Background. The increasing global relevance of the Chinese language and the growing demand for specialists proficient in Chinese communication have made the development of effective teaching methodologies a priority. As Chinese continues to play a crucial role in international relations, business, and cultural exchange, the ability to comprehend spoken Chinese becomes essential for future professionals. However, one of the primary challenges faced by Ukrainian learners of Chinese is the complexity of auditory comprehension. This complexity arises from fundamental linguistic differences between Chinese and Ukrainian, including tonal variations, distinct phonetic structures, lexical homonymy, and semantic nuances. These features significantly hinder the accurate perception and understanding of Chinese lexis during listening exercises. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a methodological typology of the Chinese language lexis that categorises lexical items according to their difficulty level in auditory comprehension. Such a typology should consider factors like phonetic similarity, semantic specificity, and context dependence, thereby offering a structured approach to teaching and learning Chinese vocabulary effectively.
The purpose of the article is to develop a methodological typology of Chinese lexis that categorises lexical items according to their auditory perception complexity.
Results and discussion. The article addresses the challenges of auditory comprehension in Chinese language learning among Ukrainian students by proposing a methodological typology of Chinese lexis. The study aimed to develop a structured approach to categorising lexical items based on auditory complexity. A research experiment conducted among first- and second-year Chinese philology majors revealed key insights: terminal tones do not significantly impact auditory perception, while lexical items with phonetic similarities to Ukrainian are more easily perceived. Intralingual interference often occurs, leading students to mistake single sounds for diphthongs or triphthongs. Additionally, morphemic compounds in context are more difficult to distinguish than when isolated, highlighting the need to teach vocabulary progressively from morphemes to composites. The study also found that words with a narrower semantic range and distinctive features are more comprehensible, and non-homonymous composites are perceived better than syntactically free lexemes. Crucially, word familiarity remains the most significant factor in auditory comprehension. In conclusion, future research should focus on developing methodologies to enhance lexical competence in listening, based on the proposed typology, and experimentally validate the effectiveness of these approaches.
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