In teaching Chinese as FL, the layering method suggests that the functions or usage of any grammatical elements should be divided into three categories: basic function, commonly used function, and special function. The purpose of this categorization is to meet the requirement of developmental appropriateness in teaching PGC as discussed earlier in this chapter. The categorization should
progress coincidentally with the students’ language competence. We may define the three functions of a grammatical element in the following way (Table 3.2):
Table 3.2 Definitions of the three functions of grammatical elements:
FUNCTION DEFINITION The basic function This function is closely related to the
original meaning or function of a grammatical element.
The commonly used function This function is the most commonly used function of a grammatical element in discourse.
The special function This function is often used in special situations or phrases, such as idioms or fixed expressions.
Taking the bèi construction as an example, we may illustrate the three functions in the following ways:
(I) THEBASICFUNCTION:
This function is used when something undesirable happens to somebody who is the focus of conversation or communication. For instance:
i. 说谎话的人常被人看不起。
shuō huănghuà de rén cháng bèi rén kàn bù qĭ.
“Liars are often looked down upon by others.”
ii. 下面的人不是要被压坏了吗? (“Integrated Chinese,” p. 141) xiàmiàn de rén bú shì yào bèi yāhuài le ma?
“Wouldn’t those people underneath be crushed?”
Notes: “Look down upon” and “crush” are used to describe something undesirable. Students should also know that only a certain type of action (e.g.
projecting a certain effect on somebody or something) can be expressed by the bèi construction).
(II) THECOMMONLYUSEDFUNCTION:
This function is used when the performer/perpetrator of an action is unknown or is not meant to be mentioned in discourse, or the receiver of an action is more important than the performer/perpetrator in discourse. For instance:
我的学生证被人拿走了。 (“Integrated Chinese,” p. 148) wŏ de xuéshēng zhèng bèi rén ná zŏu le.
“My student ID was taken away by someone.”
Notes: The performer (“somebody”) of the action “to take” is less important than the receiver (“my student ID”) of the same action. In addition, the receiver, not the performer, is the focus of the discourse. This is close to the passive construction in English both syntactically and semantically wherein the object rather than the subject is the focus of the sentence.
(III) THESPECIALFUNCTION:
This function is used in idiomatic or fixed expressions, as shown below:
这话被你打了折扣了吧? (Lǚ, p. 56) zhèi huà bèi nĭ dă le zhékòu le ba?
“These words have been adjusted by you, haven’t they?”
Notes: This is not a typical bèi construction, so students should learn this usage or memorize the whole sentence at the advanced level.
It should be pointed out when explaining the three layers of function of the bèi construction, that simple descriptive language, not linguistic jargon (cf. Teng 1997, 2002), should be used to make sure that students fully understand when and why the bèi construction is used in discourse. As soon as students comprehend the function, they should make an effort to use the bèi construction in communication.
They will go through various stages of practice: effort making, error making, receiving guidance and encouragement, making corrections, producing correct examples, and finally, becoming proficient. Teachers should be able to provide appropriate guidance for students to move forward from the low levels to the more advanced stages of practice. When students complete the whole practice process, that is, when they can apply the bèi construction successfully in communication, one ultimate goal of PGC has been achieved.
Let us now examine another grammatical element and its pedagogical process: spatial and temporal expressions. Based on their communicative function and the criteria suggested in Chapter 2 for evaluating grammatical elements, namely importance, commonality, and uniqueness, spatial and temporal expressions should be considered primary elements of PGC. If one looks at their frequency account (GYWGWH 1989), shàng (上) is listed as the ninth most frequently used word and xià (下) as the thirty-first most frequently used. This means they should be introduced to students early. In the following, I will use shàng (上) and xià (下), one pair of temporal and spatial expressions in Chinese, as examples to illustrate the layering method in teaching (also see Xing 2000).
(I) THEBASICFUNCTIONS:
(A) Temporal meaning: shàng 上 expresses a point of time already passed;
while xià 下 expresses a time concept in the future.
上个月我没有去学校, 但是下个月我得去了。
shàng ge yuè wŏ méiyŏu qù xuéxiào, dànshì xià ge yuè wŏ dĕi qù le.
“Last month I did not go to school, but next month I have to go.”
Note: The temporal meaning of shàng/xià cannot be applied across the board. One cannot say 上天/年 shàng tiān/nián or 下天/年 xiàtiān/nián. Instead, one has to say 昨天/去年/上一年 zuótiān/qùnián/shàng yi nián “yesterday/last year/the year before last” or 明 天 / 明 年 / 下 一 年 míngtiān/míngnián/xià yi nián
“tomorrow/next year/the year after next.”
(B) Spatial meaning: shàng 上 expresses a point or surface above the reference point in space; xià 下 expresses a point/surface below/under the reference point.
i. 桌子上没有什么书， 但是桌子下却放满了书。
zhuōzi shàng méiyŏu shénme shū, dànshì zhuōzi xià què fàngmăn le shū.
“There are no books on the table, but there are many under the table.”
ii. 上山容易, 下山难。
shàng shān róngyì, xià shān nán
“It is easier to climb a mountain than to walk down a mountain.”
(II) THECOMMONLYUSEDFUNCTIONS:
(A) Shàng 上 is used to express higher status or more favorable situation, while xià 下 expresses lower status or less favorable situation. For instance:
i. 这个人十七岁就考上了北京大学， 毕业后当上了公司的老板， 不久爱上
了一个漂亮的女孩子，很快又抱上了一个大胖小子， 每天都能吃上大鱼 大肉。人们都说这人算是过上好日子了。
zhèi ge rén shíqī suì jiù kăoshàng le Bĕijīng dàxué, bìyuè hòu dāngshàng le gōngsī de lăobăn, bùjiǔ àishàng le yige piàoliàng de nǚháizi, hĕn kuài yòu bàoshàng le yige dà pàng xiăozi, mĕitiān dōu néng chīshàng dà yú dà ròu.
rénmen dōu shuō zhèi rén suàn shì guò shàng hăo rìzi le.
“This guy was admitted to Peking University when he was only seventeen.
After graduation, he became the boss of a company. Not long after, he fell in love with a beautiful girl. Soon after that, he had a boy. Now every day he can
eat good food like fish and meat. People say that this guy is really living a great life.”
ii. 这个人三十出头才娶下个老婆， 两年后生下个小丫头， 不久老婆生了病, 吃不下饭， 说是生孩子时落下的病根子。后来日子就过不下去了。有人 说： 他这样的下场是命中注定的。
zhèi ge rén sānshí chūtóu cái qǔxià ge lăopo, liăng nián hòu shēngxià ge xiăo yātou, bùjiǔ lăopo shēng le bìng, chī bú xià fàn, shuōshì shēng háizi shí luò xià de bìnggēnzi. hòulái rìzi jiù guò bú xiàqù le. yŏurén shuō: tā zhèiyàng de xiàchăng shì mìng zhōng zhùdìng de.
“This guy did not get married until he was thirty-something. Two years later, he had a little girl. Not long after that his wife became sick and could not keep food down. It was said that she became ill from the birth of their child. Soon she was unable to go on living. People say that he was fated to have this kind of life.”
(B) Shàng 上 is associated with the meaning of “more,” xià 下 is associated with “less.”
十人以上的班有两个老师教, 十人以下的班只有一个老师。
shí rén yĭshàng de bān yŏu liăngge lăoshī jiāo, shí rén yĭxià de bān zhĭ yŏu yíge lăoshī.
“If a class has more than ten people, there will be two teachers teaching it ; If there are fewer than ten people, only one teacher.”
(C) Shàng 上 is associated with the meaning of “beginning,” while xià 下 is associated with the meaning of “ending.”3
i. 听说这个人现在很不好， 不但染上了性病， 而且还吸上了白面儿。
tīngshuō zhèi ge rén xiànzài hĕn bùhăo, búdàn rănshàng le xìngbìng, érqiĕ hái xīshàng le báimiànr.
“It is said that this person’s current situation is not very good. He has not only contracted a sexually transmitted disease, but also started snorting cocaine.”
ii. 警察在后面闪红灯，他只好把车停下了。
jĭngchá zài hòumiàn shăn hóngdēng, tā zhĭhăo bă chē tíng xià le.
“The police officer was flashing red lights behind her, so she had to bring her car to a stop.”
(III) SPECIALFUNCTIONS：
Shàng (上) has extended its function to include the abstract meaning of a point/surface as it relates to space, but xià (下) has no such function.
i. 他在给父母的信上说， 美国各大报纸上的文章都说用民航飞机撞炸世贸中心的 恐怖分子来自中东国家。
tā zài gĕi fùmù de xìn shàng shuō, Mĕiguó gè dà bàozhĭ shàng de wénzhāng dōu shuō yòng mínháng fēijī zhuàngzhà Shìmào Zhōngxīn de kŏngbù fènzĭ dōu láizì Zhōngdōng guójiā.
“In the letter to his parents, he said that many major US newspapers all agreed that the terrorists who used civilian airplanes to crash into the World Trade Center came from Middle East countries.”
ii. 为什么党员在思想上和作风上得起带头作用？
wèi shénme dăngyuán zài sīxiăng shàng hé zuòfēng shàng dĕi qĭ dàitóu zuòyòng?
“Why do Party members have to play a leadership role both intellectually and morally?”
From the illustrations given above, we see that shàng (上) and xià (下) have a number of functions in discourse and communication, both literal and figurative.
Clearly, language students cannot absorb all functions at one time or even in a short time. They have to start from the most basic functions, then move on to more commonly used functions, and finally reach the most complicated abstract functions. Teachers may even divide one category of functions, for instance, the commonly used functions, into several phases of teaching and learning to make sure that students understand those functions and can use them successfully in communication before moving on. In addition to classifying these functions, teachers may also explain dos and don’ts using simple descriptive language. As far as cultural and psychological factors relevant to students’ success in acquisition are concerned, they may vary from one grammatical element to another. In learning shàng (上) and xià (下), students should be informed of an interesting and revealing Chinese cultural bias connected with these two words:
giving birth to a boy is shàng (上) whereas giving birth to a girl is xià (下), as illustrated above under the commonly used function. Once students understand the reason behind the contrast or grammatical usage, it should be easier for them to learn, retain, and eventually use those functions in communication.
Psychological factors may be hard to pin down in this case. However, if teachers can artfully use shàng (上) and xià (下) in natural language within the context of students’ every day activities, they may raise students’ spirits and thus motivate them to study hard and make good progress which brings to mind an idiomatic expression: 好好学习, 天天向上 hăo hăo xuéxí, tiāntiān xiàngshàng (“A good student studies hard and makes progress day by day”).
From the two cases illustrated above, it should be clear that any grammatical element, be it a sentence or a word, can be categorized into three functions of progressively complicated and more abstract usage and taught in a pedagogically layered manner. In the following, I will introduce another method that may be used hand in hand with the layering method in teaching different levels of Chinese.