Conversation Class Lesson Summary
Language Resident/Assistant Name:
Ruoyu (Agnes) Fu
Day and Date:
2/3/2021
Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):
Chinese Intermediate level
Class theme/topics discussed:
Hometown
Goal of the class:
- By the end of this class,will learn how to introduce a city or state in six aspects (基本信息，地圖，歷史文化，地方方言，地理位置，地方美食
- By the end of this class, students will learn basic information about Shandong.
- By the end of this class,students will understand some main differences between the Northern and Southern parts of China.
- By the end of this class, students will be able to introduce their own hometowns in different aspects.
- By the end of this class, students will be able to talk about the differences between their hometown(s) and Claremont.
How did you structure the class? (please see more details below on Page 3 and 4)
- Take attendance and greet the students
- Warm-up: asking them questions based on a Map of China
- Presentation: six aspects of Shandong
- Pair-up activity: tell your partner something about your hometown
- Discussion: what is something you like and dislike about your hometown?
- Class discussion: what is the differences between your hometown(s) and Claremont?
- Wrap-up: comment on students’ speeches, introduce the topic of the next week
What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)
- I used PowerPoint to create the slides (9 in total)
- I looked up pictures at unsplash.com and baidu.com
- I used Google Doc to create handouts
- I searched videos about Shandong and Shandong Kuaishu on bilibili.com
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
What worked well:
- Students participated actively in identifying places they knew on the Map.
- Students were excited to talk about their hometown. Compared to students at the intermediate level, these students have more living or studying abroad experiences, so they had more stuff to share when it comes to geography, climate, etc.
- I could feel that the time management in class had become easier for me.
- When students came back together as a class, I encouraged them to do critical thinking instead of just focusing on what had been demonstrated to them. I did this to prevent them from worrying too about meeting my requirements. It worked well. They shared some additional information about their hometown(s) such as the local sports and celebrities.
- At this level, students are more capable to do comparisons and contrasts. So, I added one question—- what is the difference between your hometown and Claremont. They did a good job answering it.
What did not work:
- 2.Students had not been exposed to sufficient Chinese history to understand certain terms (e.g., the four great novels)
How could this class be improved/ modified?
- Just like the intermediate class,Some students have chosen sampled characters in their Chinese learning. So, starting from Week 3, both simplified and traditional characters will be provided on the slides and handouts.
- If historical stories have to be include for some reason, I need to make sure that sufficient explanations are provided to help students understand.
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 students by asking them “How is the weather today? Is it still very hot in your hometown?” -Ask 3 students to share what the summer is like in their hometown | – Connect their devices – Greet the instructor – Answer questions -Volunteer to share |
| Presentation (5 mins) | -Demonstrate the slide of Shandong, go through each bullet point on each slide, expand it on these points: 省會簡稱；溫帶季風氣候（和洛杉磯的地中海氣候的差別）；人口大省；孔子和孟子；水滸傳；魯菜的口味特點；山東話的三種分支 -Play 好客山東 TV commercial -Ask students if they have recognized some sights -Play the video of 山東快書 -Ask them to how much they can understand -Ask them what the difference between a mandarin dialect and a cantonese dialect | -Read the questions -Watch the videp -Answer questions -Watch the video -Answer the question |
| Communicative practice (35 mins) | -Ask the students which state and city they are from -Separate students that come from the same city or area into one group -Send each group to one breakout room -Join each breakout to discuss with them -Bring the class together -Ask them to share differences between their and their partners’ hometowns -Ask them to share the similarities of their hometowns (e.g., Zach is from San Jose and Skyler is from Palm Springs) -After all groups are done sharing, ask volunteers to talk about the major differences between their hometown(s) and Claremont | -Answer the question -Join the breakout rooms -Leave the breakout rooms -Answer the question -Answer the question |
| Wrap-up (5 mins) | -Give feedback on students’ speeches -Introduce the topic of next week -Wish everyone a happy long weekend | -Listen and ask questions |