Research on the Teaching Status and Semantic Transparency of Cultural Vocabulary in International Chinese Education

International Chinese education is entering a transitional stage of deep integration of language and culture. Cultural vocabulary is the core carrier of Chinese cultural connotations and national values, and its teaching quality is directly related to the overall effectiveness of international Chinese teaching, as well as profoundly affecting the actual effectiveness of cross-cultural communication of Chinese culture. This article adopts the literature research method and data analysis method to comprehensively analyze the empirical research results of Yang Lijiao's research group at the School of Chinese Culture, Beijing Normal University. In combination with the 2024 global Chinese education development data of the China National Center for Language Education and Cooperation of the Ministry of Education, it systematically sorts out the teaching status of cultural vocabulary, focuses on analyzing the specific impact and prominent problems of semantic transparency on cultural vocabulary teaching, and then proposes targeted optimization strategies. Research has found that current cultural vocabulary teaching has problems such as outdated textbook content, lack of cultural literacy among teachers, and rigid teaching methods. Differences in semantic transparency have a significant impact on learners' acquisition effectiveness; the acquisition accuracy of high-transparency cultural vocabulary is 31.2 percentage points higher than that of low-transparency ones. This study can provide practical reference for the standardized development of cultural vocabulary teaching in international Chinese education, and assist in the efficient dissemination of Chinese culture overseas.