Sunday, February 17, 2008

  • Let us shine!

    Hello...how are you guys doing on this long weekend so far?! Believe it or not, I am still working to design field trip handouts and do lesson planning...(and grade your videos!!)

    I have a very interesting assignment for you guys here: to create a flyer for our class! The new issue of 2008 PHS Today magazine is collecting course descriptions and sharing to be published. This magazine will be given to over 4,000 people! We definitely need to do some teamwork and let Chinese 1 shine!

    Please work on a 2-3 paragraphs to highlight Chinese 1 course. Be creative and use some marketing strategies. You can refer to my flyer and see how I did it. If you didn't get a copy of my flyer, here is how I introduced Chinese 1 to 7th and 8th graders:

    Why Chinese?
    because China is emerging!
    because exploring SF’s Chinatown is fun!
    because we want you to visit Taiwan with us in summer 2009!
    because it’s cool to have a Chinese penpal!
    because writing Chinese characters is not as hard as you think!

    Each idea above can be expanded to a paragraph. You have a lot to write about. I know you guys are all very smart and are very good writers. Just remember: BE CREATIVE. Think of things that can absolutely get people's attention.

    Hopefully, we can vote for the best one and submit it. If not, I'll put your guys' ideas together and recreate a flyer. :)

    Posting deadline: Thursday, 2/21 10 P.M.

Comments (2)

  • palmachinese

    I got some of your flyers. Great job to those of you but just let me clarify here: we are not creating flyers to convert Palma students to take Chinese 1 here, but to highlight what we do in class. Sorry if I didn't make it clear in my post. Think about parents' and the whole Palma community's standpoints, what do others want to know from our class? What do we do in class? What have we learnt? Is there anything interesting to tell others about our course?

    If you have sent me your work, you don't have to redo it, but if you haven't, please refocus your main point.

    Good night...
  • Mark_Donangelo
    Ms. Chang, I hope this is ok.  If you want any changes, please let me know.  I feel it gives a background information about China, as well as information about what we do in class.        There is a land across the Pacific.  A land rich in history and tradition, teeming with mysterious culture and hidden secrets.  It is a land 1.3 billion strong, with each member striving for success for themselves and for the good of the nation.  This land is brimming with economic opportunity through international business and the growing influence of capitalism.  This is the land that with define the future of our world.  This is China.            The country of China is a growing and emerging as economic superpower.  Everyday, China grows in terms of economic possibility.  How else can we enter this growing metropolis of business opportunity than by knowing the Chinese language?  By studying Chinese, one entertains the possibility of immersing oneself in a culture so hidden in the West.  In the Western world, we are not exposed to such wonders as Chinese cuisine and Chinese traditional medicine.  Without the knowledge of the Chinese language, we forfeit any possibility of experiencing first hand these wonders. Not only this, but an extremely large percentage of the world’s population resides in China.  Without knowing Chinese, we are unable to communicate with these people and discover the values that they can add to our lives.  The knowledge of Chinese will not be “convenient” in the future.  It will be essential.            What Chinese 1 offers is the possibility to achieve all of these things.  In Chinese 1, we have learned to write, speak, listen, and read Chinese.  These are the key components of knowing this language.  As part of the class, students are required to learn how to write in characters, including the proper stroke order.  This does not become a simple writing task, but an art form.  Each stroke is important to the whole of the character.  Learning how to write gives students the appreciation for the Chinese characters that they read as well.  Not only this, there is also the speaking and listening aspect of the class.  The class is conducted in both Chinese and English, causing students to become more and more comfortable in their Chinese learning abilities.  Questions are asked and answered in Chinese in order to give students the most practice possible.            Of course, learning cannot take place entirely from a text book.  We watch videos about the evolution of Chinese writing, so that students can see the changes and similarities between Simplified Chinese characters and the ancient characters.  Cultural experience is also an important aspect of the class, as demonstrated by a class field trip to Chinatown during the Chinese New Year celebrations and parade.  Without a doubt, Chinese 1 is one of the most in depth first year language courses, offering so much in terms of education inside and outside of the classroom.

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