Written from the perspective of Loretta Liu
Edited by Loretta Liu and Matthew Yang
On 1/25/21, the Manhasset and Syosset AYLUS branches held the joint zoom session for Journey to West- Cultural Appreciation. The members who participated were Jasmine (1 hour) and Greene Xue (1 hour) from the Syosset branch and Loretta Liu (1 hour) from the Manhasset branch.
For this session, many members were unavailable so each tutor would teach their own room. I was assigned the same students as last time: 徐晓玲 (Xu Xiaoling), 虞方悟 (Yu Fangwu) and Richard. We continued from where we left on at chapter 6 and continued reading. The students read in the same order as last time with each student reading one paragraph and summarizing (in Chinese and sometimes English) what happened. Sometimes, I would ask them questions and ask them to interpret events based on the context. Throughout the reading, a student may comment on something that happened in the story which would lead to discussions and debates about the characters. These discussions made the lessons more engaging since we would share jokes while still focusing on the lesson at hand.
Since I was teaching alone during this session, I was a bit uncomfortable but as the lesson went on, I was more confident. I did not feel very confident or comfortable by myself but as the lesson went on, the atmosphere became less tense. I believe having these small lighthearted discussions and jokes made the class more engaging and fun as well as helping the students comprehend the events that took place. The students were willing to discuss their thoughts on the events and characters and to ask questions. Although I believe there could still be some improvements, it was relatively successful for my first class.
Overall, these Cultural Appreciation classes immersed students in a fun and engaging environment where they learned about one of the greatest stories in Chinese literature: the Journey to the West.
