A Discussion of the Problems in and solution for the Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language for tourist guides

Abstract

In the last five years, the tourism industry in Sri Lanka has been developing rapidly. With the increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting Sri Lanka, the Chinese speaking tourist guides are a strongly felt need. However, Chinese language training courses and materials for such tourist guides are still limited. When teaching Chinese as a Foreign or Second Language (TCFL, TCSL), the specific knowledge relevant to tourist guides is required both for the teachers and students, for which a humanistic approach, also called person-centered education, should be utilized. Competency based education, or CBE has also been discussed and recommended. This paper comprises an analysis of the current situation of Chinese language teaching for the tourist guides in Sri Lanka, several proposals are put forward for reference in this paper.