Pedagogical issues related to the adverb dou [都] in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

Abstract The semantic and syntactic properties of the adverb dou ‘both/all’ in Mandarin Chinese have been extensively discussed. However, due to the increasing number of Chinese as a Second (CSL) learners, many researchers have recently begun conducting studies that address language learners’ acquisition of this adverb. In this study, I more widely investigate the usages of dou. More specifically, I examine how dou is presented in a CSL textbook and conduct a corpus study on the use of dou in various types of discourses. The main goal is to investigate whether or not there is a gap between the textbook and the corpus data. The overall results suggest that the focus of the textbook is dissimilar to the results of the data. To fill the gap, I provide several class materials and classroom activities involving the morphosyntax, semantics, and pragmatics of dou that can facilitate CSL learners’ acquisition.