Welcome to the Chinese online resources
The Chinese resources consist of:
Scenarios: The six Scenarios use culturally relevant stories to engage students with language used in context. They also incorporate a number of computer-based activities and context specific information on culture and language. For detailed language notes, please refer to the Teachers’ notes section of this website.
To launch or download, go to the Scenarios home page. | |
| Language | For details of required prior knowledge and a comprehensive list of the language used, please refer to the Teachers’ notes section of this website. |
| Summary | |
| 1 Swap a Family: | This Scenario focuses on the ways in which urban and rural people and communities interact, live and work, and reflects the diversity of lifestyles in China. Two Chinese teenagers, Daniu, a boy from a rural village and Shasha, a girl from Shanghai, decide to swap families for a week. After Daniu and Shasha introduce themselves, students can choose whether to visit Daniu’s family in the country with Shasha or to visit Shasha’s family in Shanghai with Daniu. Students must visit both families before they can proceed to the final shot in Zone 4. |
| 2 Room for Change: | The focus of this Scenario is on the ways in which Chinese-speaking communities interact and live in Australia. Lingling’s family decide to renovate their home. We see two alternative futures as Lingling dreams about how the renovations may turn out. |
| 3 Gongfu Star: | This Scenario is set in a television studio. A Chinese television presenter interviews a Hong Kong gongfu star, Zi Xiang, who usually responds in rap style to his questions. |
| 4 Children’s Palace: | Students explore the use of Chinese language in the context of a ‘Children’s Palace’. Students look at 12 after-school activities offered at the palace and focus on the ways in which school children in China interact, live and play after school. |
| 5 Wanted (To Catch a Thief): | This Scenario focuses on culturally significant places in Beijing. Students follow two Chinese teenagers as they track down the thief who stole a jade dragon from the Palace Museum. |
| 6 A Sporting Chance: | Students explore the use of Chinese language in the context of the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics where characters decide to visit the different events: aquatic events, badminton, gymnastics and the Paralympics. |
Explorers: The four Explorers aim to develop students’ awareness of Chinese society and culture.
Texts are short and based on familiar vocabulary and structures. For detailed language notes, please refer to the Teachers’ notes section of this website.
To launch or download, go to the Explorers home page. | ||
| 1 Chinatown: | This learning object will provide students with the opportunity to visit seven locations in Sydney’s Chinatown. These include a Chinese pharmacy, a yumcha restaurant, Chinese garden, Signs and shrines, Internet cafe, Chinese gift shop and a Chinese book. | Tour 1: In Tour 1, a Chinese boy and an Australian girl visit a Chinese garden, a Chinese gift shop and a Daniang dumpling outlet. Tour 2: In Tour 2, they visit an Internet cafe and a Chinese herbalist and enjoy yumcha. |
| 2 Beijing Zoo: | The aim of this learning object is to develop students’ awareness of China’s environmental conservation work by investigating some of the country’s indigenous animals. | Tour 1: In Tour 1, a Chinese guide and an Australian visitor discuss the different animals in Chinese. Tour 2: In Tour 2, a Chinese guide and an Australian visitor discuss the Hanzi for some Chinese and Australian animals. This tour is in English. |
| 3 Food and Drink: | The aim of this learning object is to develop students’ awareness of the different types of food and drink available in China, from fruit and vegetables to meat, seafood and staple foods. | Tour 1: In Tour 1, two Chinese teenagers talk about the different food and drink while preparing for a surprise birthday celebration. Tour 2: In Tour 2, the Chinese host and the Australian birthday girl are enjoying the meal that has been prepared. |
| 4 Minority Groups (in China): | The aim of this learning object is to develop students’ awareness of China’s multicultural and multilingual diversity by exploring some of the country’s minority groups. Approximately 92 per cent of China’s total population of 1.2 billion belongs to the Han ethnic group. In the Chinese context the term ‘minority groups’ refers to the 8 per cent of the population who belong to more than 50 other ethnic groups. | Tour 1: In Tour 1, a Han Chinese is the visitor and the guide is from a minority group. Tour 2: In Tour 2, a westerner is the visitor and the guide is a Han Chinese. |
Space voyage games: In these innovative games the student plays the part of an Australian astronaut visiting a Chinese space station. The student must engage in dialogue with the inhabitants of the space station to solve a range of problems. Each game is limited to 30 minutes. Students must review the available dialogue, then construct correct language (questions and responses) in order to make things happen. Initially most students will be unable to complete the game in 30 minutes, but each time they play they will use knowledge they have acquired in earlier rounds to help them move more quickly through the game. For detailed language notes, please refer to the Teachers’ notes section of this website.
To launch or download, go to the Space voyage games home page. | ||
| 1 SOS: Solve the problems and collect the supplies to save the crew. | This interactive resource explores language in the following rooms:
|
|
| 2 Computer virus: Solve the problems and collect the parts of the key to reset the space station’s main computer. | This interactive resource explores language in the following rooms:
|
|
Teachers’ resources Go to Chinese Teachers’ notes