This fabulous Chinese 1001 class, courtesy of Ying, is full of examples of how to use visual cues and props in the classroom. Take a look at the videos below:
1.
In the above video, Ying has students help her fill-in a family tree. Students supply the vocabulary, and are prompted and corrected with a variety of written, auditory, and physical prompts. Notice how Ying has a student match her hand gestures to represent the tones.
2.
Next, students answer questions and work on perfecting their pronunciation.
3.
The activity quickly transitions to a practice with Ying's own family photo, where students are told about the people in the photo and are asked follow-up questions. Notice that questions and responses are all in Chinese - including prompts, corrections, and praise.
4.
With new topic to practice, a new prop is introduced. Notice how the students are expected to already know the vocabulary - Ying is making sure that the students have it right, correcting their mistakes, and then making sure that students can use the vocabulary to answer questions and give information.
5.
Notice that all instructions are given in Chinese. Ying accompanies her instructions to the students with visual prompts, like hand motions, but does not translate. Even when a student comes into the lesson late, a potential distraction, Ying does not interrupt the flow of the lesson. Rather, she simply motions that he come in and join the other students (there will be time for English-language reminders about the importance of being in class on time after the period is over, when it does not interfere with the other students' learning and can be done one-on-one).
The use of props, realia, and visual aids are beautifully employed in Ying's class. The photograph and calendar both help students make a connection between the words and the ideas they represent, and serve as useful tools that help Ying keep the class all in Chinese and free of translations.
Ying, great work! Thank you so much for sharing!
No comments:
Post a Comment