This course is designed to combine communicative and interactive ways of learning of Mandarin Chinese. Creative ideas are incorporated into the overall planning of this program in that students will use not only text book materials, but also learn Chinese in a hands-on way. Encouraging children to think Chinese as if it were their original language will be done from the very beginning. Textbooks will be combined with storytelling and show-and-tell activities. English-Chinese bilingual cultural activities will be introduced to engage students to actively participate in classroom activities. Chinese calligraphy will be introduced as a means of both hand writing exercise and a form of art. Chinese food will be prepared as a hands-on practice to learn both linguistic and cultural contents.
