A Comparative Analysis of the Form and Content in Thai Textbooks for Chinese Learners

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the form and content of fifteen Thai textbooks for Chinese learners, as well as to make some recommendations about writing textbooks for Chinese learners in terms of both form and content. 

Findings show that all the selected textbooks were suitable for Chinese learners both in form and content.

The textbooks could be divided into two categories: 1) eight textbooks whose content could be divided into two parts, namely grammar and conversation/reading passages and 2) seven textbooks which mainly presented conversations/reading passages. Grammar points or language rules were explained further in other sections such as sentence structure, word/expressions usage, remarks from the texts, and content or text and grammatical points from the texts.

The grammatical content in the fifteen Thai textbooks consists of four topics: types of words based on their functions, phrases, types of sentences based on content and simple sentence based on communicative intent. The most commonly found topics in the conversations and reading texts mainly included food, recommending and ordering food, ingredients, and taste of food. The second type was greeting, introducing oneself and others, and getting to know each other. The third type was expressions in a daily routine, shopping or bargaining and places.

The most common types of exercises in the Thai textbooks are reading, reading and writing, and speaking respectively.

In addition, the researcher made some recommendations about how to create materials with forms and contents suitable for teaching Thai to Chinese learners.