Listening to stories, learning Chinese, and acting in dramas – Teacher Yu Hua’s preschool class Chinese sitcom performance

Listening to stories, learning Chinese, and acting in dramas – Teacher Yu Hua’s preschool class Chinese sitcom performance in Phoenix City Jiang Huiqing May 10, 2014 in Asia…

Listening to stories, learning Chinese, and acting in dramas – Teacher Yu Hua’s preschool class Chinese sitcom performance in Phoenix City Jiang Huiqing At the graduation ceremony of the Alberta Modern Chinese School held at Arizona State University on May 10, 2014, the children of the Chinese preschool class taught by Teacher Yu Hua performed the Chinese sitcom "Gudong is Coming". This program is very unique and has been loved by many teachers and students. The entire sitcom lasts about five minutes, with twenty-eight children playing a variety of different animals. "Gudong Is Coming" was originally an animation work, but teacher Yu Hua adapted it into a small children's sitcom. The story tells the story of several small animals playing by the lake. They were frightened by the sound of "gudong" coming from the lake. They ran all the way and met other animals one after another. They were all frightened and ran together shouting "here comes the gudong". It wasn’t until I met a frog and went back to the lake to observe carefully that I realized the sound of a ripe papaya falling into the lake. Before the performance, Teacher Yu Hua asked the children to watch the cartoon twice to understand the content of the story. Then print out the lines divided into roles and send them to parents, so that parents can help their children tell the story themselves. Finally, I used 20 minutes to rehearse this sitcom for the children in several Chinese classes. After returning home, the children drew their own stage background according to the storyline, and made their own animal headdresses with the help of their parents. The forest, lakeside, grassland and papaya trees in the background of the stage are lifelike under the children's paintbrushes; the small animal headdresses also look lifelike when worn on the children's heads. Children don't just remember their lines, they have to remember the entire storyline and dialogue so they don't forget their role and dialogue. During the performance, each child had his or her own lines, and the children who usually least liked speaking Chinese spoke their lines. Although the Chinese that the children speak cannot be spoken with perfect pronunciation, their pronunciation is basically standard and their articulation is clear. Many children do not like to speak Chinese after attending kindergartens in the United States. However, after the rehearsal of this small show, many children who usually do not speak a word of Chinese actually spoke complete Chinese sentences during the performance, which also surprised some parents. Not only that, some children also told this little story to their parents when they returned home, which was very interesting. As a parent, I also participated in the rehearsal of this small children's sitcom. From this incident, I feel that interest is very important for children to learn Chinese. This kind of animated short story has a simple plot, is easy to learn and remember, and can easily arouse children's interest. Children are immersed in story situations and can easily speak. We all know that language learning always begins with listening and speaking, especially for younger children. In the rehearsal of this small sitcom, the children learned Chinese stories, practiced listening and speaking and situational dialogue, which was very effective. Teacher Yu Hua suggested that parents help their children summarize short stories from cartoons they have watched. She said that children like to watch cartoons. In order for their children to learn Chinese, parents will watch some Chinese cartoons for their children. However, if they stop watching them after watching them, the help for their children's language learning will be very limited. If parents can help their children tell the story after reading it, it will be of great help to their children's learning. This is where Teacher Yu Hua’s Chinese sitcom teaching comes from, creating more opportunities for children to listen and speak Chinese. This kind of opportunity should also be created by parents for their children at any time and carried out at home with their children. With long-term persistence, our children will definitely be able to learn Chinese well. The children hid behind the stage background they drew and prepared for the performance. The children dressed as elephants were saying their lines.