Chinese language teacher Yihong Wei, who teaches at the George Westinghouse College Prep High School in Illinois, used pictures and gestures to make the input comprehensible for the students.

For guidance on how to use these materials, please see How to Use the TEQ Series: Instructional Videos for Chinese Language Teachers.

Classroom Video

In this Chinese class, Yihong Wei’s 9th graders from the George Westinghouse College Prep High School, Illinois, are learning the unit "Our Team Mascot". One of the secrets of engaging students is to teach students the things that they are familiar with and excited about. Discussing the team mascot is an appealing topic to many high school students. 

In this Chinese 1 class, the teacher used pictures and gestures to make the input comprehensible for the students. She also asked questions and used riddles to reinforce learning, which are effective strategies for beginning learners.

In the end of the class, the teacher prepared the students for an innovative task--the team mascot presentation, which gives the students the opportunity to apply the language to a purpose they can relate to and makes the learning fun.

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