Rewriting the Textbook for Effective Teaching

Rewriting the Textbook for
Effective Teaching
A presentation at Binghamton University’s 2nd
Annual Conference on Foreign Language
Teaching
Yumei Leventhal, Ph.D.
Humanities Department
SUNY Maritime College
[email protected]
Some (audacious) assumptions:
•  You have the freedom to make
modifications to the order of what must be
taught.
•  You find it boring to follow the textbook,
but daunting to start a new book.
•  You are willing to experiment.
and …
•  You believe, as I do, that most of our
students are not taking Chinese language
class to become scholars of Chinese.
•  Instead, they want to use the language –
for business, travel/leisure, making friends,
pleasing in-laws …
So while you wish to teach them as much as
you can within a limited time frame
•  You want to help keep their interest high
(or, at a minimum, not dampen it or kill it
with monotony).
•  So you want to get them quickly to a point
where they can begin to converse – about
things that are meaningful to them.
•  And you want to fit some basic grammar
into your lessons, unobtrusively.
But what do you do when your
textbook looks like this:
L1-1
•  How do you do?
(In Chinese, literally: “You good?”)
•  How do you do?
L1-2
•  How are you?
•  I am very well. And you?
•  Also very well.
L2-1
•  How are you?
•  I am very well. How are your mom and dad?
•  They are both very well. Are you busy?
•  I am not busy. And your boyfriend?
•  He is very busy.
L2-2
•  Brother, do you want coffee?
•  I want coffee.
•  I also want coffee.
•  OK. We all drink coffee.
L3-1
•  Who is that?
•  That’s our teacher.
•  Which country is she from?
•  She is Chinese. All our teachers are Chinese.
L3-2
A. Teacher, how do you do? This is my older brother.
He is a foreign language teacher.
B. How do you do?
A. This is my friend.
B. How do you do? Are you a teacher too?
C. How do you do? I am not a teacher. I am a doctor.
B. Is this your paternal grandma?
A. No, she is my maternal grandma.
B. Grandma: How do you do?
L4-1
A. May I come in?
B. Teacher, How do you do? This is my friend.
He is a reporter.
A. May I ask what your name is?
C. I am Yuping. My full name is Lu Yuping.
A. How do you do, Mr. Lu! Pleased to meet you.
C. Teacher, I am also pleased to meet you.
L4-2
•  I am a student in the Foreign Language Institute. My
name is Lin Na. I am from England. What is your
name?
•  My full name is Ma Dawei.
•  Are you Canadian?
•  I am not Canadian. I am an American. I am also a
student in the Foreign Language Institute. I study
Chinese.
L5-1
A. May I ask: Is this Wang’s dorm?
B. Yes. Please come in. Please sit.
A.  Thank you! Is Wang here?
B.  No she isn’t.
A. Where is she?
B. Sorry. I don’t know.
A. No matter. OK. Bye!
B. Bye!
L5-2
A. Miss: Where is the dining hall?
B. Second floor, # 204.
A. Thank you!
B. You are welcome!
C. Dawei: We are here!
A.  Sorry I am late.
D. That’s all right.
L1
L2-1
L2-2
L3-1
L3-2
you
busy
brother
she
You (polite)
Good/well
dad
want
be
this
? (marker)
mom
coffee
which
he
I
they
we
country
Foreign language
very
all
drink
person
Doctor
no
that
Grandma
(maternal)
Boy
who
Grandma
(paternal)
Friend
Teacher
also
China
L4-1
L4-2
L5-1
L5-2
To know
language
Dining hall
know
Miss
happy
institute
Be located at
No matter
2
may
‘s
where
OK
enter
student
this
Bye
please
what
dorm
0 (zero)
friend
study
female
4
reporter
Chinese
(lg)
enter
number
May I ask
England
sit
No need
your name
Canada
Thank you
here
Mr.
USA
Sorry
late
Floor (level)
Here’s what I do
•  Re-organize the materials
•  Weave in additional materials liberally, but
try to use the textbook vocab from later
lessons
•  Start with easy stuff
•  Follow students’ interest and bring in more
and more advance.
Example 1
⼀一⼆二三四五
六七⼋八九⼗十
Then bring in other words
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Student
Teacher
Coffee
Brother
Friend
Dog
Cat
Then bring in other words
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Student
Teacher
Coffee
Brother
Friend
Dog
Cat
One student two students
One teacher two teachers
One coffee two coffees
Why teach these words in isolation (in
separate lessons):
•  Canadian
•  American
•  English
When …
Canadian
American
English
Chinese
French
German
加拿⼤大⼈人
美国⼈人
英国⼈人
中国⼈人
法国⼈人
德国⼈人
While we are at it, why not:
Canadian
American
English
Chinese
French
German
加拿⼤大⼈人
美国⼈人
英国⼈人
中国⼈人
法国⼈人
德国⼈人
English
Chinese
French
German
英语
汉语
法语
德语
Such opportunities exist
everywhere:
外婆
外语
maternal grandma
foreign language

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