A Study on Developing a Chinese Textbook Based on Consumer Demand Surveys: Focusing on the Revision of “Saenaegi Chinese” from “K” University

Understanding the demands of consumers is the foremost element in the textbook development process, and sufficient reflection of consumer demands can lead to successful learning outcomes. In this context, this paper investigated and analyzed the demands of learners and instructors for “Saenaegi Chinese”, a liberal arts Chinese textbook at “K” University, as a preliminary stage for developing a university liberal arts Chinese textbook, and discussed future textbook development and improvement directions based on this analysis.The survey of learner demands showed high satisfaction with the overall content of the textbook, including its topics, practicality, difficulty level, grammar explanation, and practice questions. However, there was a high demand for revisions of certain outdated topics and textbook design, as well as a high demand for supplementary materials such as cultural items and workbooks. In the instructors’ demand survey, instructors also responded positively to the textbook’s topics and content. They recognized the need for revisions on certain topics and the addition of cultural items. However, there was a discrepancy in perception of the learning volume between students and instructors. While many students perceived the learning volume and difficulty level of the current textbook as relatively appropriate, many instructors perceived the vocabulary volume and grammar segment difficulty as inappropriate. In addition, there were differences in demand for supplementary materials, textbook format, and design. While students showed a very high demand for workbooks, textbook format, and design, instructors showed a relatively high demand for PPT materials, and their sensitivity for textbook format and design was not as high as that of the students.