Strategies for Mandarin classroom teaching

 

Teach Vocabulary
 

• ​Use different ways to teach vocabulary to the students to increase their pronunciation accuracy and fluency. Vocabulary retention is the KEY to learning Chinese.
  
  0. Embed Radicals in Every Lesson
  
  1. Teacher: Say a word/sentence in three different tones/scenarios. 
  
  2. T: Expand one word to two, then three, all the way to a sentence. 
  
  3. Pinyin Hangman Game
  
  4. Pictionary/Charades Game
  
  5. Vocab Swatter Game
  
  6. Basketball hoop Game (trash can)
  
  7. Song (Lyrics Gap-Filling)
   

Teach Culture:
 

• Culture is magnetic, interesting, ubiquitous, dynamic, and powerful.
  
  1. Keep up with the Festivals and celebrate in different ways;
  
  2. Chinese customs and Etiquette; 
  
  3. Zodiac, Taichi, Kungfu, Mahjong, Chinese Chess, Traditional Chinese clothes, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese architecture/woodwork; 
  
  4. Chinese legends (Monkey King, Hua Mulan, etc.)

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Teach Conversation:
 

• Skit/Role Play

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• Puppet Show
  Allow Students to create a conversation/ Teacher provides a template (beginner level).
  As a class, go over the conversation script and requirements for final Presentation.
  Students submit their final version of script.
  Students get individual time to practice and memorize their lines first.
  Students get in groups to rehearse. 
  Present and Record.
  Adaptation:
  Students record themselves doing the play at home and edit into a video;
  Students take pictures of themselves and add subtitles to each picture, and make into a PPT.
  Students make a song using sentences/words/phrases from the skit and video-record it.

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Teach Writing:


Create authentic settings for the writings to take place in;
Journal (name, date, weather, classes, routines)