Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident/Assistant Name:

Agnes Fu 

Day and Date:

4/27/2021

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Chinese advanced level 

Class theme/topics discussed:

Create your own menu

Goal of the class:

  1. By the end of this class, students will be able to pronounce the nouns of fruits, vegetables, meat, and other ingredients (see Appendix A). 
  2. By the end of this class, students will be able to adapt their knowledge of Asian and American culinary cuisines to productive activities. 
  3. By the end of this class, students will be able to using the cultural knowledge they have acquired to support their ideas. 
  4. By the end of this class, students will be able to exchange information and negotiate meanings. 

How did you structure the class? (please see more details below on Page 3 and 4) 

  1. Take attendance and greet the students 
  2. Warm-up: ask students to share their thoughts on what was covered Tuesday. 
  3. Presentation: Read and explain the hypothetical scenarios (see Appendix B).  
  4. Communicative activity: customize a menu for your guests  
  5. Communicative activity: have a meeting with your colleagues
  6. Wrap-up: Comment on their performance and talk about what is going to be covered in Week 4.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

  1. I used PowerPoint to create the slides (4 in total) 
  2. I used Google Doc to create handouts (see Appendix A) 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

What worked well: 

  1. Having information laid out on a slide definitely worked better than providing oral instructions on rules or procedures of a game. 
  2. When I first tried to plan the week out Sunday, I thought about making the scenarios more complicated. Or having the stories set on days that are more special than the Spring Festival and birthday. But after the class Tuesday, I had decided to keep things direct and simple to avoid having them spend too more time on analyzing the situations than on the language itself. 
  3. Students were aware of my purpose for having both Chinese and American features included in this game. They had integrated the language practice with cultural perspectives amazingly. 

What did not work: 

  1. One group had made a faster progression than the other one, it did affect the activity. But I could see that the slower students were a little disappointed on themselves. 
  2. I intentionally and purposefully apply flexible grouping to this class. But due to the small size of this class, students who are relatively introverted tend to reply on their extroverted team members, especially after the class comes back to the main session from the breakout rooms. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

  1. I have always teamed up the extroverted and talkative students with the introverted ones. In the future I may try to break the rule and have the ones who are normally quieter work together. 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Time/step Teacher focus Student focus 
Presentation  Warm-up (5 mins)-Take attendance  -Greet the students and ask them if there are wildfires near their homes; ask them to look out of their windows now and describe the sky and the weather– Connect their devices  – Greet the instructor  – Answer questions
Presentation (10 mins) -Demonstrate the slide of Scenario One  -Read the descriptions slowly  -Demonstrate the Slide of Scenario Two  -Read the descriptions slowly  -Demonstrate the slide of the game rules and explain it step by step -Demonstrate the slides of the ingredients  -Ask students take turns to read their names  -Drop the handout in the Chat  -Make student everyone is clear about the rules and gets the handout opened before getting into their breakout rooms -Watch the clip  
-Share opinions 
-Comment 




-Answer questions 



-Share opinions 
Communicative practice  Customize a menu  (20 mins) – Observe their discussions -Work with their partners on brainstorming what dishes they can make out of the ingredients provided on the handout   -Come up with a menu that they are going to show to their customers   
Communicative activities  A meeting with your colleagues  (20 mins)-Bring the class back together  -Switch participants between two breakout rooms  -Observe their discussions and negotiations   






-Bring the class together  -Ask everyone to introduce part of their own menus

-Some of them change rooms  -With the new partners, they each introduce and explain what they have come up with their initial partners -As “master chefs” who work at the same restaurants, they give suggestions to each other  -They could also borrow ideas from their colleagues and ask to exchange some items on their menus  
-Take turns to speak 
Wrap-up  (5 mins)-Comment on their performances -Talk about what is going to be covered next week 

Appendix A 

  • 西兰花 brocolli 
  • 卷心菜 cabbage  
  • 菠菜 spinach 
  • 西红柿 tamato 
  • 胡萝卜carrot  
  • 南瓜 pumpkin 
  • 芦笋 asparagus 
  • 蘑菇 mashroom  
  • 生菜 lettuce 
  • 辣椒 pepper chili 
  • 茄子 eggplant  
  • 豆腐 tofu 
  • chicken  
  • shrimp 
  • 羊排 lamb 
  • 牛肉 beef 
  • 猪肉 pork 
  • 鱼肉 fish  
  • 橘子 orange  
  • 苹果 apple 
  • 草莓 strawberry  
  • 香蕉 banana  
  • pear  
  • 坚果 nut 
  • 鸡蛋 egg 
  • 奶油 cream  
  • 黄油 butter  
  • 橄榄油 olive oil  
  • 牛奶 milk  
  • 面粉 flour  

Appendix B

  •  時間:2019年除夕之夜​
  • 地點:中國北京​
  • 人物:北京居民小王一家,他們美國的朋友James一家(James 夫婦兩人和他們10歲的女兒)​
  • 时间:2019年除夕之夜​
  • 地点:中国北京​
  • 人物:北京居民小王和他的爸爸妈妈,他们的美国朋友James一家(James夫妇两人和他们10岁的女儿)
  • 時間:2020年6月6日,Lily的8歲生日​
  • 地點:美國洛杉磯​
  • 人物:Lily,Lily13歲的哥哥,Lily的爸爸媽媽;Lily一家的房客(來自香港的留學生小李和小張)​
  • 时间:2020年6月6日,Lily的8岁生日​
  • 地点:美国洛杉矶​
  • 人物:Lily,Lily13岁的哥哥,Lily的爸爸妈妈;Lily家里的房客(来自香港的留学生小李和小张)