This article discusses recent changes in Chinese as a second/foreign language
(CSL/FL) teaching and research with particular attention to the following: the
diversification of contexts for CSL/FL learning in terms of the linguistic,
cultural, educational, professional, and social needs of learners; the advances in
language learning research over the past 25 years that can provide a principled
rather than an ad hoc basis for informing choices teachers make in their
classrooms, specific areas include interlanguage, developmental sequences,
pedagogical grammar, conversation, and culture. Implications of these changes are
considered in relation to the beliefs of CSL/FL teachers. The article is intended as
a synthesis and evaluation of language teaching research that can contribute to the
neglected field of CSL/FL. It begins with a brief overview of the current status of
CSL/FL both inside and outside Greater China.
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