In order to further promote the deep integration of Chinese language proficiency and professional skills among learners from various countries and enhance their ability to communicate and interact in Chinese in specific industry scenarios and typical work tasks, the Center for Language Education and Cooperation under the Ministry of Education of China, in collaboration with China Nonferrous Metal Industry Talent Center, has organized experts from vocational education, international Chinese education, publishing, and related enterprises to jointly develop the “Access to Vocational Chinese” series of textbooks and supporting teaching resources. Based on the actual needs of “Chinese + Vocational Skills” teaching development in various countries and relying on Chinese vocational colleges, the series aims to continuously meet the career planning and personal development needs of Chinese learners, realize the sharing of high-quality educational resources, and promote exchanges and mutual learning among diverse civilizations.
In reference to the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education and the Chinese Proficiency Standards for Vocational Education, the “Access to Vocational Chinese” series of textbooks is divided into three levels: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. All levels follow the writing philosophy of “integrating language and skills” and “being easy to learn, teach, and use.” The textbooks are designed around typical work scenarios, work tasks, and high-frequency terms of relevant professions, with sections on texts, conversations, language points, and exercises, continuously improving learners’ Chinese application skills and key technical abilities in the vocational and technical fields, providing assistance for learners to quickly familiarize themselves with and adapt to the work environment. This series of textbooks is suitable for international employees engaged in relevant professions in Chinese companies, international students or trainees in China, as well as learners interested in Chinese language, culture, and vocational skills.
Railway Engineering Construction and Maintenance (Elementary) is one of the textbooks in the “Access to Vocational Chinese” series. It is suitable for international employees engaged in railway engineering construction and operation at international railway companies. Through studying this textbook, learners can achieve the goal of conducting simple work communication in Chinese, understanding the basic skills of railway engineering construction and maintenance, as well as comprehending and reading Chinese job descriptions.
The compilation of the textbook was based on industry standards such as the Rules for Track Maintenance of Conventional Railways and the Measures for Safety Management of Construction on Operational Railway Lines. Experts from the railway transportation field were consulted, and surveys were conducted with overseas Chinese-funded enterprises to understand their language, skills and overall quality requirements for employees. Real language materials from actual work scenarios and typical work tasks were reconstructed into texts and dialogues that meet the learners’ level. The textbook consists of 31 lessons, each of which includes eight sections: review, warming up, new vocabulary, text, grammar, comprehensive exercises (the answer key is available at sinolingua.com.cn), extension, and summary. It is richly illustrated with pictures to present real work scenarios in a visually engaging manner. In addition, audio, video and other resources have been developed to help learners acquire the ability to perform basic communication in Chinese within vocational contexts.
