Methodology of Teaching Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese - Language of the 21st Century

Today China is the second largest economy in the world, and the connections between China and UK (and the whole world) are now stronger than ever. Mandarin Chinese (standard Chinese) learning is booming in British society. Proficiency in Mandarin Chinese will be of great advantage for both business aspirants in the Chinese market and pursuers of Chinese culture which is one of the oldest and most complex worldwide.

Since 2014 the UK government has proposed 'new curriculum' to make languages compulsory from age seven. Under the plans the primary schools could offer lessons in Mandarin, Latin and Greek, as well as French, German and Spanish. It notes that Mandarin is the only recommended Asian language. Mandarin teaching is in huge demand in UK, and the goverment has established a partnership with China to train 1,000 Mandarin teachers for schools in England. This will increase the quality and quantity of Mandarin teaching in schools and allow more young people than ever before the chance to study this important language.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports that there is a 'rapid rise in British students doing work experience in China' - Thousands of British students are heading to China to take up internships to gain valuable China work experience. The British Council has recently launched a 'campaign' to send at least 15,000 British students per year to China to take courses in China as part of a Government-backed drive to boost British business. Students will be given subsidised places at universities and internships with major Chinese companies in an attempt to give Britain more of a foothold in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. Speaking Mandarin Chinese is becoming one of the most important skills of the 21st century.

Mandarin Chinese - My Teaching Practice

• Language Study (语言学习)

In my teaching practice, besides delivering the knowledge and skills to use Mandarin, it is my aim to inspire and motivate my students to learn the language. I believe the most efficient language learning happens through students’ own engagement and self-effort. My years of teaching experience have shown that this is vital, especially in England where students have few opportunities to learn and practice Mandarin.

In practice I utilise interactive teaching methods and activities to motivate students to learn and communicate in Mandarin Chinese. I believe that language development happens through social interaction and guided assistance, so that teacher and students have to work together to co-construct meaning in context. I often use visual aids, such as software tools or videos and make students feel that learning Mandarin is interesting. I also make a lot of effort to interact with my students throughout the learning process, e.g. to design conversation on various topics of daily life and the rotation of the roles of reading, composition writing, feedback and so on. One of most important principles of my teaching philosophy is to cultivate my students' communicative abilities and to teach them to use the Chinese language in real life.

• Culture Experience (文化感触)

Language is the carrier of culture and, at the same time, an indispensable part of culture: culture and language cannot be separated from each other. I believe culture is a crucial concept in language teaching, so that the integration of cultural awareness and understanding into language teaching is therefore very essential. In a certain sense language learning is culture learning. Exposure to culture will in turn inspire students' interest in learning the language as well.

The Chinese culture has 5,000 years of history and is one of the world's oldest cultures. Traditional Chinese culture is very broad, rich, extensive and profound, and these include categories of literature, music, visual arts, martial arts, and so on. In my teaching, I often introduce aspects of Chinese culture to my students, e.g. Chinese paper-cuts (剪纸, Chinese calligraphy（书法), Beijing opera（京剧), Chinese painting (国画), traditional Chinese medicine (中医), Tai Chi （太极), Gu Zheng (古筝)，Chinese carving (雕刻)，Chinese architecture (建筑)，Chinese chess (象棋)， Wei Qi （围棋)，the Chinese Zodiac (生肖)，the Lunar calendar（农历), and lots more! My observations show that students are often very interested in particular aspects of Chinese culture, and this motivates their language learning.

• Literature Immersion (文学浸濡)

As the student’s knowledge of Mandarin develops, I introduce the reading of extracts of famous Chinese literature. This helps to develop the skill of reading, as well as giving some exposure to the works of Chinese writers. Reading is an very important method for improving pronunciation, vocabulary and meaning in context.

I have a good collection of Chinese books and other media, such as newspapers, movies, TV dramas, cartoons, etc, which students are welcome to borrow. These will also help to expose them to Chinese history, culture and life, as well as developing their language skills at the same time.

• China Flavor (中国风情)

Some students want to learn Chinese because they will work and live in China. In the lessons, I will introduce aspects of daily life in China, for example daily shopping, polite (formal) and friendly interactions, using public transport, order dishes in restaurant, etc., as well as a brief introduction to history, geography, travel & tourism in China. Through these topics, which would be tailored to the student’s needs, giving a relevance to the subject matter, the student can stimulate his or her interest and motivation to continue with the learning processes.

• Delicacy Enjoyment (美食享用)

With a long history, unique features, numerous styles and exquisite cooking, Chinese cuisine is an important part of Chinese culture. Chinese dishes are famous for colour, aroma, taste, meaning and appearance. Experiencing Chinese cooking is another good way of learning China language and culture. Sometimes I arrange special kitchen sessions in which both tutor and student cook Chinese food together (e.g. Chinese dumpling 饺子， steamed stuffed bun 包子, Peking duck 北京烤鸭, fried rice 炒饭，noodle 面条). The purpose of the session goes beyond cooking itself - we can practice themes of daily life and topics through intensive Mandarin conversation at the same time as cooking. In such a happy and relaxed atmosphere, we cook, chat, and taste delicious food - and learn at the same time!

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