Abstract

Classifiers (or measure words) are an essential element of Chinese grammar

and are a point of particular confusion for the majority of students of Chinese from
Kyrgyzstan. As the study and correct usage of classifiers causes great trouble to
such international students, they have become a pedagogical difficulty in Chinese
Language Teaching (CLT) and any related research will have a great practical value.
Not only are there not as many classifiers in Kyrgyz as there are in Chinese, but
their grammatical usage are also rather different. For this reason, students from
Kyrgyzstan find it difficult, when studying Chinese, to fully master and correctly use
classifiers. It is precisely this which has inspired the author to write a thesis about
the pedagogical problem of classifiers.
This thesis is comprised of four sections. Chapter One provides an overview on
the current state of the research and teaching of classifiers in both China and
abroad, focusing on Chinese and non-Chinese theoretical research, the pedagogy of
Chinese classifiers in Kyrgyz schools and the practical teaching of classifiers in
China and abroad. Chapter Two states the differences between nominal and verbal
classifiers in both Kyrgyz and Chinese and then compares them from three different
aspects quantity, meaning and usage. Chapter Three describes and investigates
Kyrgyz students understanding of classifiers, from the aspects of structure,
semantics and usage. Chapter Four researches and summarises the main
characteristics of how Kyrgyz students learn each kind of classifier: nominal,
verbal and mass. Chapter Five provides a series of suggestions on how Kyrgyz
students should tackle classifiers and how language instructors should teach them.
These suggestions include undertaking Kyrgyz-Chinese linguistic comparison,
allowing learners to understand the usage and special meaning of classifiers, giving
learners a sense of Chinese speakers linguistic mentality and providing a fixed
amount of Chinese classifiers for Kyrgyz students to remember.
The methodology used in this thesis includes literary research, combination of
theory and practice, observation and the summary of experience. These methods
have all been used in combination to aid the research and writing of this thesis.
The author hopes that this thesis can not only act as a reference and theoretical
base for those undertaking the teaching of Chinese classifiers, but can also act as
an aid for international students of Chinese and future Chinese language teachers.

Key Words:
Kyrgyz Students
Suggestions

Classifiers

Understanding of Classifiers

Pedagogical