This blog is giving feedback on “Chinese Language Basics.”Thank you for your effort in introducing Chinese culture to us. As a native Chinese speaker, I can still learn something from your work. And I think more pictures can make the reader more interested in the theme.

       Over view:

         I think breaking Chinese learning into three parts is an effective way to help readers understand the language. And pod8 use students’ point of view to explain why Chinese is hard to learn; for instance, they mention that Chinese culture and history could help students understand the language. However, Chinese culture and history could be complex for a beginner to this language, and the reader is not familiar with the language at first. So I suggest you use some stories that are easy to read to make students understand how Chinese grammar works.

       A description and rationale for the learning theory:

        This is my favourite part of your pod’s work; I think you guys analyze the interactive learning resources and form the learner’s point of view to design the learning theory. However, I believe one learning theory can be mainstream; for example, if the whole essay can use constructivist learning theory, students can easily choose the suitable method to learn and know which part is their disadvantage.

    The learning context:

     The title of this part is wrong, but I trust your guys can make it right. And I believe your teaching method would be perfect for beginners because speaking, writing and listening are essential to learning no matter what language. And I suggest that group discussion and competition would be helpful for the student to memorize the tone and grammar.

    A description of your learning context

     I can quickly know which group is your pod designed for, and students can choose your lesson wisely. 

        Learning outcomes

    I think the first outcome is not necessary, but the rest outcomes are clear. However, if your pod introduces the essential part of the cultural background of Chinese, it would be great to add “Know some culture and history of China” into this part.

      Brief commentary and one interactive activity for each learning topic:

    For topic 1, I don’t think introducing ancient Chinese is a good idea. Because there are huge differences between ancient Chinese and modern Chinese which is mandarin. Furthermore, four tones are the most crucial part of PinYing, and your pod can introduce it. It would be great if your group introduce similarities and differences between phonetic symbols and pinyin. Topic 3 is excellent; teaching Chinese grammar start from the difference between English and Chinese. For topic 4, I suggest numbers and names of animals would be helpful for students and easy to learn.  

    Assessment

     Communication is important in learning a language. So I suggest that your group let the students comprehensively judge how well they know, such as giving a speech in groups. This allows students to practice speaking and writing.   

   An overview of your plans to design for the inclusion of diverse learners.

    I think your pod miss the important part of this topic, and you guys should invent two different methods to teach children and adult. For example, writing is more important to children, so letting the children write the short story would be great. 

Overall, I enjoy reading the work of your pod. And it is clear and interesting in interactive learning resources. But there is still something that needs to be improved.

Reference:

1.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-dgmADh7S9fGJuLm-OP2w_r8ybyar7WKB-xAY4f8EoA/edit