Dàjiā hǎo (Hello everyone)
Huān yíng huí lái ( Welcome back)
Pistachio Mandarin Language Centre classes resumed two Saturdays ago at our Kohia Terrace School in Epsom, and we are so excited to welcome everyone back for Term 4!
Due to recommencing since the holidays, we did a lot of revision of the first week back.
Beginner’s Junior
In the junior’s class, we introduced new subjects on what is today’s date. Learning about dates is important as it is part of our daily conversation. Some content included:
今天是几月几日？jīn tiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ rì? – what is today’s date?
月 yuè – month
日 rì – day
今天 jīn tiān – today
To reinforce our students’ learning, we used match stick size sticks to make the character s of the month and day. This is an activity that the children love to do and it will help them to gradually learn the words, dates and characters.
Our current class numbers range is from 4 – 10 students. Having a low class number benefit students enormously with the low ratio to teacher, and the tutors are able to focus more on each of the students individually.
Beginner’s One
For the second Beginner’s class, we revised the topic of the weather. This included questions such as:
今天的天气这么样？Jīntiān de tiānqì zhème yàng? – What is the weather like today?
今天的天气是… Jīntiān de tiānqì shì… – Today’s weather is …
下雨 Xià yǔ – rainy
下雪 Xià xuě – snowy
多云 duō yún – cloudy
晴天qíng tiān – sunny
We introduced the topic of sports (yùn dòng) and hobbies (Àihào). New Zealand is a sporting nation, therefore learning about sports and being able to converse in this topic is very useful.
“What is the most popular sport in New Zealand?”
“Rugby!” – 橄榄球 gǎn lǎn qiú
The All Blacks are called 全黑队 quán hēi duì
New Zealand’s All Black team is the best rugby team. (新西兰的全黑队是最好的橄榄球队Xīnxīlán de quán hēi duì shì zuì hǎo de gǎnlǎnqiú duì).
In Mandarin, there are words to describe whether to hit the ball or to kick the ball.
To hit = 打 Dǎ
To kick = 踢 Tī
For example:
To play table tennis is 打乒乓球 Dǎ pīngpāng qiú
To play soccer is 踢足球 Tī zúqiú
Click here for a video link to the lesson on sports & hobbies
Beginner’s Adults
In the adults’ class, we introduced a current event which happened yearly in China on 1st October. This event is called the National Day (Guóqìng jié). However, this year China celebrated 70th anniversary since the People Republic of China was formed in 1949. This is a major event in China’s history. The parade was celebrated in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Here are some video links on the celebration and the fireworks display.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7395qcF2MGA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R73uSfOGna4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttwk51eCBMQ
The National Day is also referred to as the Golden Week (Huángjīn zhōu). The Chinese people take a week off to travel around the country and going home to see their families. Retail and tourism are on overdrive and consumer spending brings in lots of revenue which stimulates the domestic economy.
Here is a link on the National Day Golden Week.
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/festival/national.htm
Roads, train stations, public transports and airports are packed with traffic and people. Here is a link on National Day holiday travel forecast unveiled
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201909/18/WS5d81ed31a310cf3e3556c347.html
Interested in joining our classes? Email us at pistachiomandarin@gmail.com or click here for further enquires. We provide group classes, private one-on-one classes, and online classes to fit your needs and objectives.
Mobile: 021 1846993
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