Today some of our students presented their ppt about their selected countries. 很好！ Please finish all the ppt and homework for Lesson 3. We are going to have a short quiz on Thursday. Please pass the word out for those we missed the class today. 

zaijian

It is so good to see all of you after a long period of absence. I'm glad that you still remember most of the words and sentences that we have covered so far.

HOMEWORK : 

1. Workbook Q 3 and Q 4

2. PPT for 10 countries that you like. You can type in the Chinese for the country and then pick some symbols/pictures to represent those countries. Please email your PPT ahead of them to me at wagao@mph.net ahead of time or bring your computers to the next class.

xie xie ,

zaijian 

Today we went over vocabulary of Lesson 3. Please make sure you review them well, since we are going to play more games about them. Please also do Workbook Lesson 3, Q 1 and 2. You need to turn in the homework on Thursday.
Also, please let you parents sign the permission slip for our field trip to China Cafe.

take care,

zaijian

I will be out of school for a conference from Tuesday on. So the new Gao laoshi will teach you the new Lesson 3. Please be respectful and helpful to make her sub teaching the most rewarding to all of you.
I will be seeing you on Nov.29. Have a great Thanksgiving 感恩节 （gan en jie= thanksgiving).

zai jian!

Here is something that can help you prepare for your test:

1. Make sure that you can recognize all the vocabulary characters in Lesson 1 and Lesson 2. 

2. Make sure you know the Pinyin their Pinyin and tones as well.

3. Pay special attention to the use of 的 and 是。For example, 我的老师的名字， 你的中文名字是什么？

4. Please make sure that you view Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 homework careful. I have corrected each one of your homework. Please understand where the mistakes are.

5. Please do 2-8 and 2-9 of  Lesson 2, which are Page 21 and 22 on the text book. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me, facebook me or come to me on Monday. 

take care and good luck.  

We are going to have the test next Monday so that you all can have extra time to prepare. On Wednesday, we are going to have warm-up practice.  Please make sure finish all the homework for Lesson 2. Also, if you haven't tried lingt.com yet, please do so since people has reported that it has been very helpful.

have fun!

gao laoshi

Please write several times each new vocabulary word. Also, please set up a lingt account. Lingt here.  It will help you get the sounds and words right.

please also finish your homework for Q 3 and Q4 on workbook.

take care,

gao laoshi

Today we started Lesson 2. Please make sure you listen to Lesson 2 vocabulary and text 5 times. This will help you get the pronunciation and tones right. Remember that our Quarter test in on Nov.3 and the test will include Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 materials. I will be available during Tutorial and after school for reviewing and tutoring. Homework: workbook Lesson 2, Exercise 1 and 2.

Zaijian

Today we reviewed Lesson 1 and we are going to have dictation quiz for all the vocabulary next class. Please spend some time to study them well.  Then we shall continue on Lesson 2.  Our quarter exam will be on November 3.
Here are some wonderful web sites for you to study Chinese characters:
1. Chinesetools
 Once you are in, you can look for the left and find Chinese Order Stroke button. Click in and type in any Chinese characters and it shall display the animation for you.
2. Lingt: Lingt . This is an interesting study guide for Chinese characters. You need to create an account. And once you are signed in, you can search the List of text book and ours is Chinese Link, then you can download all the Lesson 1 vocabulary and it will track your learning.


Happy learning!

We learned numbers and played a number game. Please make sure you go over the numbers several times to get it.  We also did more practices with Lesson 1 by doing exercises on 1-6 and 1-8. 

Today's homework is Q 3 and 4 of Lesson 1, which is located on Page 9 ,10 of the workbook.

zai jian and happy learning.

Today we did more practice with vocabularies and text for Lesson 1. You all made a lot of progress with character reading and pronunciation. We also learned how to count in Chinese up to 10. Please make sure that you would bring the number sheet for next class.

Today's homework: Workbook Page 7&8.  Dictation words: 心， 目，门，

你好！

Today we continued to learn Lesson 1 textbook. We also did a dictation on five Chinese characters and most of you had all right.  We will do another dictation next time on : 月， 土， 木， 雨， 火。
You should also listen to the Language in Use several times to get yourself familiarized with all the sentences and new words. We will do lots of practice during class.

zai jian

Today we started our Lesson 1, finally!!! You guys did great with the text and new vocabulary, very impressive! For all of you who missed part of the class, please make sure you follow the Text In Use link and listen to it several times.

We also learned how to write some simple words, such as 人，口， 山， 日， 水。 Next class, we will have a dictation( I will say a word and you write out the characters without looking) on them. So, please follow the exercise papers and remember them.

If you have any questions, please feel free to come in and ask me, during tutorial, after school, or by appointment also.

take care,

zai jian !

Welcome parents. Here are some links that might help you get more information:
1. NSLI-Y Scholarship
2.Confucius Institute Summer Camp
3. STARTALK Programs
4. Particularly interesting STARTALK Programs:
    University of Hawaii : Ping Pong Chinese camp
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Ni men hao!

With only 9th graders on campus, we did calligraphy on Friday. We talked about the Chinese character structures, the order of writing as well as how to write good characters. The reason we are doing so is because I want to make sure everyone got a chance to practice calligraphy with enough space since we are scrammed together now.

For all of those who haven't turned in Pin Yin homeworks (3 of them), please do so ASAP. In the  meanwhile, I would like to you to continue to practice Pin Yin by going to this site: Pin Yin Chart
I would like you to practice daily for a week.

xie xie,

zai jian

Thank you for conducting the class orderly without me for part of the class. I took my China trip students to give a presentation on the Rotary Club meeting and it went very well. 

I assume you all finished Workbook Question 5 and 6 on PinYin. For 9th graders, please spend sometimes to catch up with the Homework Assignment No. 2, which is Question 3 and 4. 

Let me know if you have encountered any questions or problems. 

xiexie,

zai jian !

Today we went over Pin Yin consonants and did a lot of practice with tones.  Today's homework assignment:
1. Continue to practice the Tongue Twister and try to remember it.
2. Please finish reading the textbook from F-5 to F-11
3. Please finish Workbook Exercise Page 1 and 2.  Here is the link: Page 1 and 2

Please feel free to let me know if you have encountered any questions.

zai jian!

I would like to recommend you to apply for the NSLI-Y Scholarship for next year. It is a great program, immersing the students in foreign language and culture learning, and Chinese is one of the sponsored langauge. NSLI-Y Scholarship Application

ni men hao!

Today we went over the following topics: Individualized Chinese names, Chinese tones and Pin Yin pronunciations.

Homework( zuo ye):
1. Read Chinese Link textbook: Introduction to Chinese (Preface, Page 17-19)
2. Listen section 4 and 5 on Chinese link website. Here is the link  Chinese Link Preface

Also, please make sure you join our Facebook study group: Chinese 1, under my account: wgao@mph.net

Happy learning!

你好

First day

ni hao, 你们好，

Ready to learn Chinese? Let's get started right away. Here are some things you need to do first though:

1. If you prefer to use your facebook account for emails and updates, please add me as a freind: wgao@mph.net.

2. Please also request to be listed on MPH Chinese 1 facebook group.

3. Please set up Chinese IME system on your personal computer. For instruction, check below:

Installing foreign language keyboard and bringing up on-screen keyboard layout in Windows XP

a. Click Start > Control Panel

b. Open Regional and Language options

c. Click on Languages tab

d. Click Details

e. Click Add

f. Select desired language and keyboard layout

g. Click OK

h. Click Apply

i. In taskbar, click on the "EN" and select “Chinese Simplified( PRC)”. May need to have program or document open where language can be input. Keyboard will switch between languages.

j. If on-screen keyboard desired, click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Accessibility > On-screen Keyboard

Installing a Foreign Language Keyboard and bringing up on-screen keyboard layout in Windows Vista

a. From your Start menu, open the Control Panel.

b. In the Control Panel, go to Regional and Language Options (Classic View) or Clock Language and Region then Regional and Language Options.

c. Select the Keyboards and Languages Tab

d. Click the button that says Change keyboard…

e. Click Add

f. Expand “ Chinese” tree then expand Keyboard tree from the list.

g. Make a check mark beside the required keyboard(s) “Simplified Chinese(P.R.C). NOTE: You can preview any keyboard before adding it by highlighting its name then click on Preview… button

h. Click OK to add the keyboard to the Installed Services

i. Click OK to confirm and apply

j. To show the language bar if it is not there:

a. Right-click on the taskbar

b. Point to Toolbars

c. Click Language Bar

k. To activate on-screen keyboard:

a. Click Start button

b. Click All Programs

c. Click Accessories

d. Click Ease of Access

e. Click On-Screen Keyboard

Installing Chinese on Mac

a. click the Application icon on the Menu bar

b. click System Preferences in the drop down menu

c. click International ( in personal section)

d. click Input menu

e. find Simplified Chinese in list and make sure it is checked as well as

ITABC

f. exit

g. click the American flag on toolbar

h. select the Chinese flag, which is a red and yellow one with five stars.

i. turn on caps lock to stay in English