Whenever I embark on creating a new product, I consistently find myself pondering the question: What kind of assistance would I have desired during my teaching days?
Reflecting on my years as an educator, I encountered a persistent challenge: how to guide students in enhancing their writing skills, progressing from a novice to an advanced level. In the realm of language, every journey begins with a set of fundamental words and basic sentence structures. With a strong foundation in place, additional components can be incorporated into sentences, including connecting words, ultimately culminating in the creation of paragraphs. This thought process underpins the origin of my current endeavor.
Consider the following illustrative example:
“Make a list of the drinks you like in Chinese.”
In this particular lesson, students acquaint themselves with various Chinese beverages:
水 (shuǐ) – water
咖啡 (kāfēi) – coffee
茶 (chá) – tea
Subsequently, they progress to expanding their lists into full sentences:
我喜欢喝水。 (Wǒ xǐhuān hē shuǐ.) – I like to drink water.
我喜欢喝咖啡。 (Wǒ xǐhuān hē kāfēi.) – I like to drink coffee.
我喜欢喝茶。 (Wǒ xǐhuān hē chá.) – I like to drink tea.
This stage aids students in comprehending that the verb “喝” (hē) is the appropriate term when referring to drinking. Moreover, they grasp the grammatical correctness of combining two verbs in Chinese. This phase also reinforces their grasp of basic sentence structure.
Lastly, learners are encouraged to interconnect these sentences:
我喜欢喝水，也喜欢喝咖啡。 (Wǒ xǐhuān hē shuǐ, yě xǐhuān hē kāfēi.) – I like to drink water, and I also like to drink coffee.
The potential applications of these prompts are extensive. They not only streamline your preparation efforts but also ensure that class time is dedicated to meaningful practice, rather than mere busywork. The value of these exercises lies in their substantive nature.
For those intrigued by the concept, these resources are available here.
The downloadable materials encompass:
– Detailed instructions
– Chinese writing sheets featuring pinyin
– Chinese writing sheets without pinyin
– Two sets of Google Slides (one covering lessons L1-L10, the other for lessons L11-L20)
– 20 JPG files (one per lesson, comprising 4 cards each)