As we all know, the Four Classical Works are the classic works in the history of Chinese literature and are the world’s precious cultural heritage. The status of these four masterpieces in the history of Chinese literature is very important. They all have a very high literary level and artistic achievement. It has deeply influenced the Chinese people’s ideology and value orientation. It can be described as the four great monuments in the history of Chinese literature.
One of these four classical works is “Journey to the West “(Chinese: 西遊記; pinyin: Xī Yóu Jì), Journey to the West has strong roots in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology, Confucianist, Taoist, and Buddhist philosophy, and the tales of Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas are still reflective of some Chinese religious attitudes today. Enduringly popular, the novel is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a source of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory.
AYLUS Syosset and AYLUS-Manhasset jointly held four collaborative Chinese Literature Appreciation classes during the month of March, tutoring 5th-grade Chinese-school students to appreciate a Chinese Classic– ”Journey to the West”–through reading, analysis, and discussion.
Each class session was held in three breakout rooms, with a tutor working independently in each room to teach one to two students. The Ponddy Reader application was utilized as the educational tool through which tutors taught students. Each class and breakout room are targeted toward students’ skill levels and will go at a slower or faster pace to accommodate students’ needs. Intensive learning, with non-stop reading, paraphrasing, discussion, and pronunciation correction, happened in all breakout rooms. The students enjoyed the challenges and the steep learning curve. Tutors also prepared short vocabulary word presentations and quick videos. The lesson breakout rooms lasted one hour and were followed by a short discussion.
The following students volunteered in this tutoring program: Tommy Haotian Tang (6 hours), Jessica Albrecht (4 hours) from the Syosset branch, and Joanna Yang(4 hours), Matthew Yang(2 hours) from the Manhasset branch.
