Name tag:

At CLCC, each student has a Chinese name. Making Chinese name tag is a tradition we do each term in the first class. It is proven to be one of students’ favorite activities. Many students decorated their name tags with art works they did throughout the term.

 

 

 

Character writing:

Many students expressed interest in writing Chinese characters. We integrate character writing in every lesson in our curriculum. It is always exciting to see students being able to write quite a bit of Chinese by the end of each term.

 

 

 

 

Sharing community:

We keep the classroom a safe and friendly learning environment. Students are encouraged to share their stories and thoughts. They are also expected to be respectful and helpful to others. In the past, students have brought in things from home that are related to China and shared their stories in class.

CLCC does not follow any existing Chinese textbook. With the funding support from CAPS and guidance from Dr. Keli Yerian, CLCC teachers put together a curriculum over the last two terms that contains balanced amount of language and culture content. The teaching content is delivered in interactive and interesting multimedia forms with games and craft activities that are appropriate for elementary school students.

Each term, we try to design the curriculum around topics that could be connected into larger themes. In the first term, CLCC took a trip around China. We visited major Chinese cities and areas such as, Beijing, Xi’an, Tibet and many more. Each place we visited has its unique culture and historical sites.

One of the spotlights is the Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin. Harbin is one of the largest and most popular cities in the northeast China. Known as the Ice City, Harbin is popular for its well-known winter tourism and recreations. Corresponding to this culture content, CLCC students learned how to say and write the four seasons in Chinese “春,夏,秋,冬”.

 

In collaboration with Edison Elementary, the Language Teaching Specialization (LTS) MA Program in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Oregon has started an after-school Chinese Language and Culture Club (CLCC). It began in January, 2015, and is continuing throughout the 2015-2016 school year (not including Winter and Spring breaks).

The club is on Fridays after school, 2:55-4:00. Participation in the club is free of charge, but students must register. Please contact Keli Yerian at yerian@uoregon.edu if you would like to register your child.

Chinese Language and Culture Club features:

– Enthusiastic teachers: Each term, two or three LTS students will sign up to participate in the club. They are Native or near native proficiency Mandarin speakers. Their teaching is supervised and observed by the Director of the LTS program, Keli Yerian.

– Rich teaching content: Each session includes Chinese language and culture-related content and activities. During Chinese holidays, Chinese food and traditions are brought into the classroom such as making lanterns and paper cuts.  Lessons are taught in a bilingual format (i.e. this is not an immersion course).

– Club schedules: Following the University quarter system, there is a total of seven-nine sessions every term, depending on school day out. Sessions are 60 minutes long and are held once a week.

– Diverse students: This club is open to up to 15 children each term from grades 3-5 (ages 8-11). Students who are interested learning Chinese or Chinese culture as well as native and heritage speakers of Chinese are all welcome.

Chinese Language and Culture Club Goals:

– To help stimulate a positive interest in second language learning and culture among Edison elementary students.

– To provide an opportunity for Chinese-speaking LTS students to obtain additional classroom experience in language teaching at the primary school level.