Daily Communication in Chinese for Beginners
For this week’s blog, I will take you on an exploration of Daily Communication in Chinese for Beginners. I found an example about restaurant reservations and ordering food. This video is about how to make a restaurant reservation and order food in Chinese.
What activity could you suggest that they do after they have watched the video (designed)? What type of knowledge or skill would that activity help develop? What medium or technology would students use to do the activity?
After watching the instructional video “How to Order Food & Make a Reservation in Mandarin Chinese,” a role-playing exercise is a practical activity for consolidating and applying the newly acquired knowledge. This engaging task facilitates the development of conversational skills in Mandarin Chinese and offers valuable experience within a simulated real-life context. To implement this activity, students can form pairs and alternate between the roles of a customer and a waiter/waitress. They can then order food, inquire about the menu, and make reservations using the Mandarin Chinese phrases and vocabulary they learned from the video.
Language learning apps and websites can also be valuable resources to support the activity further. Students can explore platforms like HelloChinese, Duolingo, or FluentU, which provide specifically designed role-playing scenarios focused on practicing language skills. These interactive platforms offer dialogues and prompts tailored to ordering food and making reservations in Mandarin Chinese. Using these resources, students can reinforce their language proficiency, gain additional exposure to real-life language usage, and enhance their learning experience.
How would students get feedback on the activity that you set? What medium or technology would they and/or you use for getting and giving feedback on their activity?
After each role-play session, students can engage in peer feedback, which promotes a collaborative learning environment. They can provide constructive feedback to their partner, evaluating their performance based on predetermined criteria such as pronunciation, vocabulary usage, fluency, and overall communication effectiveness. To facilitate this process, students can utilize a structured feedback form or checklist, ensuring a systematic and focused approach to the assessment. The feedback can be shared orally during a discussion or in written form, allowing students to reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement and fostering their ability to provide constructive criticism and support to their peers.
How could the video have been designed to generate more or better activity from viewers or students?
After the video, offer interactive follow-up exercises like worksheets, online quizzes, or activities to apply the learned content. These tasks assess comprehension, vocabulary usage, and conversational skills related to ordering food and making reservations in Mandarin Chinese.
How will you address any potential barriers for your learners in the use of this video to ensure an inclusive design?
To ensure inclusivity, provide clear and concise explanations in the video, avoiding jargon and complex language that may hinder learners with different proficiency levels or language skills. Use straightforward language that is accessible to a wide range of learners, promoting understanding and engagement.
Hi Junwei,
Thanks for adding the idea that we should also teach about how to make a reservation in Chinese, which is also a really important subtopic. All the platforms you mentioned in the post are quite useful as well because they could be great supplements to Chinses language learning. In terms of addressing any potential barrier for learners in the use of this video, I think it is also important for us to explain the difficult parts of the video or highlight key parts of the video, which could help learners comprehend more clearly.