Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language Through The Strategic Use Of Visualization

In an exploration of bringing concepts from other disciplines to Chinese as a foreign language, a comparison between individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and foreign language learners help us analyze and better understand how foreign language learners can successfully be socialized into a target language and culture. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders V (2013), a diagnosis of ASD includes persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts; furthermore, individuals with ASD are often described as visual leaners and are claimed to exhibit relative strength in visual processing. ASD is both a linguistic and social disorder. Ochs et al. (2004) declare that the struggles and successes of those individuals who are diagnosed with autism make apparent what is most essential to participation in human society. Exploring the struggles of individuals diagnosed with ASD can shed light on the parallels of learning to comprehend social signals in a foreign culture. Through this comparison, foreign language pedagogues can better understand what foreign language learners struggle with to communicate in Chinese culture. This in turn better informs all Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) curriculum.