John DeFrancis at Seton Hall

--In memory of the Renowned Chinese Studies Scholar

Edwin Pak-Wah Leung, Ph.D. Seton Hall University, Chair of Panel, Professor and Chair

Dongdong Chen, Seton Hall University, Assistant Prof.

Wendy Sue Williams, Seton Hall University, Director, Language Resource Center

John S. Montonaro, Ph.D., Professor, Yale University

This panel commemorates John DeFrancis’ (1911-2009) outstanding contributions to the teaching and learning of Chinese with a focus on his 12-volume Chinese textbooks. Known as the DeFancis series, these books have been claimed as “the most widely used resources in Chinese language classroom” in the 1970s and 80s in the western world. By commemorating John DeFrancis, this special panel will provide implications and inspirations for those interested in developing textbooks for learners of Chinese. It will also shed lights on teaching and learning of Chinese in America.

A Look at the Masterpiece
Dongdong Chen

In her presentation, Dongdong Chen will discuss the unique pedagogical approaches that John DeFrancis took when designing and developing the textbooks for English-speaking learners of Chinese. Interesting features of the books that have made this series different from any others will be examined and commented.

A Brief History of the Audio Material for the DeFrancis Chinese Textbook Series

Wendy Sue Williams

Wendy Sue Williams will showcase the audio recordings that complement the textbook series. She will give a brief overview of the audio material, including the establishment of the recording studio in Seton Hall, the narrators, the re-recordings, the digitization and current state and availability of the audio files.

An Attempt to Revive the DeFrancis Series

John S. Montonaro

John S. Montonaro will talk about the project that he has been working on with John DeFrancis until Prof. DeFrancis fell ill. The project is to revise Beginning Chinese Reader, Parts I and II, and Beginning Chinese, keys volumes in the DeFrancis series.