From Redundancy to Emphasis: Teaching Pragmatic Stacking Frames in Chinese as a Foreign Language

Abstract: In modern Chinese, the widely used stacking frames composed of semantically overlapping components are pragmatically employed to emphasize and highlight information. Traditionally regarded as redundant and nonstandard, stacking frames are now increasingly recognized as standard expressions, presenting new challenges for teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL). This study examines the distribution of stacking frames in HSK textbooks and explores their acquisition and use by learners of Chinese as a foreign language. Through corpus analysis and a questionnaire-based survey, this study identified the stacking frames in HSK textbooks and analyzed the acceptance, semantic function, and practical application of stacking frames by CFL learners. The study reveals that stacking frames appear primarily at intermediate and advanced levels, are rarely treated as explicit grammatical topics, and are infrequent in textbook content. The survey findings show that while learners demonstrate partial intuitive understanding of stacking frames, their overall pragmatic awareness and usage remain limited. The study proposes pedagogical strategies such as distinguishing stacking frames from redundancy errors, incorporating context-rich pragmatic instruction, and adopting comparative and conversation-based teaching methods to enhance learners’ pragmatic competence in TCFL.