Chinese Teaching Stories by a Chinese Teacher

Being a Chinese teacher, I have met a lot of Chinese learners. Some of them are really interested in Chinese learning and some other ones may be not that concentrated and usually make some jokes. That is fine when you make mistakes. What kind of Chinese teachers do you prefer to? Actually, I usually teach them Chinese by telling a story or playing a game. I would rather learn something over having fun.

So today, I want to share some interesting things with you during my Chinese teaching.

First of all, let me ask you a brain twist that is “脑筋急转弯(nao3 jin1 ji2 zhuan3 wan1)”. Pay attention please. “为什么狼群里有一只羊？(wei4 shen2 me5 lang2 qun2 li3 you3 yi4 zhi1 yang2)”. The general meaning of it is that “why is there a sheep in the wolf pack?” On hearing the question, many students were thinking it over. And someone said that the sheep lost its way home and got sucked into the wolfs. And others said because the sheep was already dead. However, those are not the answers I wanted. Now, you the wise, tell me what are you thinking about. I can give you a hint. Try to focus on the characters structure, and you will find the answer.

Mike is a Chinese tutor whose Chinese family name is “单”. His student Tom called him Mr. Dan. Actually, “单” should be pronounced as “shan4”. “单(dan1)” is without question the right pronunciation, but some characters’ pronunciation need to be changed when applied into one’s name. However, Tom is still puzzled about it. It is hard for him to understand the transferring of the pronunciation of the same characters.

As a Mandarin teacher, I feel it honored to teach other people to speak Chinese. I want to tell you the efficient way to learn it. I want you can gain something by learning it. Thank you. 

source: http://smile1xia.jigsy.com/entries/education/chinese-teaching-stories-by-a-chinese-teacher-2