On the Monday evening of 10/02/23, Syosset AYLUS volunteers taught Chinese from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to many students wishing to learn the language. Quite a few students joined to listen in to the lectures provided. Due to the large number of students, the teachers divided the students into distinct groups based on language proficiency. Different subjects in everyday life were covered, regarding colors, fruits, directions (i.e. up, down, back, forward, left, and right), and numbers. With all taken into consideration, by the end of the lesson, the students were able to identify the colors of the rainbow (plus brown, black, white, and grey), speak out numbers and specify the directions, translating across English and Chinese. Many students– especially in the younger group– showed great enthusiasm and joy in participating.
Near the end of class, everyone gathered together to play a small yet exciting game. It was a game similar to the popular game, “red-light-green-light”: the person at the front of the room would face away from the players, and the players would try their best to reach this person without getting caught. However, despite these similarities, there are many differences in this rendition as well, making it a unique game that allows the participants to practice their Chinese while having fun.
Set up: one person would stand facing the wall while the players stood at the opposite end.
Procedure: a member of the participants would call out: “what time is it?” in Chinese. Then, the person facing the wall would tell them a number from 1 to 12. Depending on this number, this will be the number of steps the participants can take towards the person in the front. However, once the person calls 12 o’clock, the person turns around and chases the participants, hoping to tag one of them before they reach the starting line where they came from. If the player is tagged, they become the next person, and if no one is tagged, the same person is chosen to face the wall again. The cycle continues for as long as desired.
Overall, the class was a success, and the children were happy to learn new material. They were enthusiastic in class, and the volunteers made learning Chinese a wonderful experience.
Volunteers– Everyone (1h): Thea Chen, Xinyong Zhang, Xuanyu Liu, Suiwai Li
