Happy Chinese new year
Teacher : Kucahii Mariia
China : The girl in the red dress
Level: Pre-intermediate Class : 5th
Duration: Approx. 60 minutes
Aims: In this lesson the students will:
Materials: one copy of the worksheet per student; Track 1 (introduction); Track 2 (remaining audio) and Track 3 (full audio)
Summary: Join time traveller Amber Adams as she is transported to a village in China for New Year. Will Amber and travelling merchant Hongjun be able to save the villagers from Nian, the evil monster who steals children?
Procedure
Warmer
Aim: to introduce students to the character of Amber, the secret watch and the context of the episode
1. Play Track 1 (introduction). At this stage students simply listen for enjoyment. They don’t need to write anything down.
2. After listening to the introduction, whole discussion class:
Chinese New Year task
Aim: to introduce students to the theme of the Chinese New Year
1. Write Chinese New Year on the board and find out what students already know about it. They may know about the traditional lion/dragon dance or the giving of money in red envelopes.
2. Put students into pairs or small groups and hand out the worksheet. Ask students to read the excerpt taken from China and answer the questions below it.
Reading task
Read the following excerpt about the Chinese New Year and answer the questions below it.
Spring Festival (Chun Jie) – Chinese New Year
This is the most important Chinese festival and celebrates the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The exact day depends on the date of the new moon, but it is always between 21st January and 19th February. The festival lasts fifteen days and tens of millions of Chinese people travel to their hometowns to be with their families.
In the days before New Year, people clean their homes. Duilian – long pieces of red paper with short poems in beautiful calligraphy on them – are put on both sides of the door and everyone buys new clothes. On the evening before New Year’s Day, the family gets together in the evening for a big meal.
Jiaozi dumplings, noodles, chicken and fish are all traditional New Year foods. After dinner, hongbao, red envelopes containing money, are given to children. At midnight the bells ring and the celebrations start with fireworks.
A traditional lion dance, which is thought to bring good luck, is often performed at New Year. Two dancers – one for the lion’s head and the other for the body – dance through the streets to
loud music.
1. When is the Chinese New Year?
2. How long does the celebration last?
3. What do people do in the days before New Year?
4. What foods are traditional?
5. What dance is performed and why?
Vocabulary task
Aim: to pre-teach a range of more complex language taken from the listening passage
Direct your students to the vocabulary task on the worksheet and ask them to match the words to their definitions. Key: 1. ghost; 2. shiver; 3. merchant; 4. barn; 5. shadow; 6. crunch; 7. roar; 8. monster;
9. legend; 10. hero
Language Task
Match the words to the definitions.
. shadow monster hero ghost barn shiver (v) merchant legend roar (n) crunch (v)
Listening task
Aim: to practise listening for gist
1. Direct students to the listening task on the worksheet and explain that they need to listen for the answers to the questions. 2. Play Track 2 (remaining audio).
Listening task
Listen to the story and answer the questions below.
Key: 1. because a child called Yang has been taken by Nian; 2. the colour red
Memory task
Aim: to allow students to fully consolidate what they have heard
Put students into small groups and ask them to work together to see how much of the story they can remember.
Memory task
In small groups, discuss the questions below. How much can you remember?
Key:
Speaking task
Review and closing