Reading instruction in China

This paper describes and analyzes the school reading and language arts curr iculum and significant features of classroom instruction in Chinese primary schools. Reading instruction across China tends to be uniform, because of the national curriculum guide, national textbook series, and common traditi ons of schooling. Curriculum goals for the primary school include learning approximately 3000 Chinese characters. The load of new characters is greate st in the lower grades. Drill-and-practice predominates in the teaching of characters. Chinese reading instruction emphasizes intensive reading, but n eglects extensive reading. According to this analysis, there are at least t hree promising directions for improving reading instruction in China: (1) e xplaining the internal structure of Chinese characters and words; (2) incre asing the volume of reading; and (3) teaching reading in a manner that lead s more children to understand that problem solving is essential in reading.