chinese language

Chinese Basics for VIPKID Teachers: Pinyin, Consonant Pronunciation

November 06, 2017

For the most part, it's easy. There's no real tricks or absurdity like there are when trying to read English! However, you do need to learn how each letter is pronounced, as some of them are not quite as a native North American English speaker would read them.

Pronounced the same as in English: 👍

  • f
  • k
  • l
  • m
  • n
  • p
  • s
  • t

Pronounced *almost* the same as in English: ☝

  • b (voiceless, may sound like a 'p' to beginners)
  • d (voiceless, may sound like a 't' to beginners)
  • g (voiceless, may sound like a 'k' to beginners)
  • h (sometimes pronounced further back in the throat, making it sound 'raspy')

NOT Pronounced as in English!~!!!: ✋

  • c (pronounced "ts" as in cats)
  • z (pronounced "dz" as in kids, with the d unvoiced)
  • x (pronounced like "sh" but with the tip of your tongue below your lower front teeth and the middle of your tongue should rise up to the roof of your mouth. It's not a sound we have in English, so it takes some practice to get used to!)
  • q (basically like the "x" sound above, but with a slight "t" sound in front, like txi)
  • j (pronounced like the English "j" but with the tip of your tongue below your lower front teeth again)
Unvoiced (aka voiceless) consonants are those that don't use your vocal cords to make sound, it's only your tongue, lips and teeth, like the English sounds "s", "sh", and "th" (for example).

Retroflex sounds: 👅

In addition to that last batch of letters, there are some others that are exceptionally different from their English equivalents, and that's because they are retroflex.

Mandarin Chinese has several retroflex sounds. That means you'll need to point the tip of your tongue up to the center of the top of your mouth (see image below)

Here are the sounds that are retroflex in Mandarin:
  • r 
    • It sounds similar to a "j" or the 's' in 'pleasure' to English speakers-- but the tip of your tongue should point a little further back.
    • Many native Chinese speakers can't hear a difference between a "r" and "j" sound when pronounced retroflex like this, though native English speakers can! 
  • ch
    • Similar to the English "ch", but with your tongue in retroflex position! 
  • sh
    • Similar to the English "sh", but with your tongue in retroflex position!
  • zh
    • Similar to the English "j", but with your tongue in retroflex position!


And there you have it! Consonant pronunciation in Pinyin. In the next part of this series we'll learn vowel pronunciation and start putting them together! :)

Pt. 2: Pinyin, Consonant Pronunciation
Pt. 3: Vowel Pronunciation



🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎,








chinese language

Chinese Basics for VIPKID Teachers: Pinyin [Chinese words, Roman alphabet], Pt. 1

November 06, 2017


Image by http://klarititemplateshop.com via flickr

What is pinyin?

Pinyin is the official romanization/transliteration system for Chinese characters in Mainland China. Children in China even learn pinyin before they begin to learn the characters!

(Notice that's Chinese characters. Not symbols!)

To learn even the smallest bit of Chinese, you must first understand how to read pinyin! 

What are those strange lines over some of the vowels?

Those, my friends, are the tone markings! As you may or may not know already, Chinese is a tonal language. That means that the intonation of your voice is an integral part of the word. The tone markings in pinyin show you what tone each syllable is, so it can be read properly. 

To a native Chinese speaker, the same roman letters with different tone markings will sound like completely different words! 

For example: 

1st tone
2nd tone
3rd tone
4th tone
neutral
ma
mom
hemp
horse
to scold
question marker
We'll talk about tones in an upcoming series, but don't worry, tones aren't as scary or hard as they seem at first!


Pronouncing pinyin letters

While many letters are pronounced the same in English & pinyin, many aren't quite (or aren't really at all)! So, before we go any further, let's learn how to pronounce the individual pinyin consonants:

Pt. 1: Pinyin [Chinese Words, Roman Alphabet]
Pt. 3: Vowel Pronunciation


🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎,













fast finisher activities

My VIPKID Halloween Classroom!

November 05, 2017

This Halloween was right around my 2 months teaching mark, and I was super excited to change up my first classroom background with all manner of spooky things!


Halloween Background

I didn't spend much money on this background at all, either! I was able to just pick up a few things from King Soopers (Kroger's Colorado grocery chain) for quite cheap:

  • Purple spiderweb plastic table cloth (~$2)
  • Pack of hanging Halloween creature & chandelier silhouettes (~$10)

At first I had the table cloth doubled up so you couldn't see my still-hanging world map behind it, but I could NOT get the tape to hold. Eventually I just un-doubled it, used a clamp and clothes pins to clamp either end to the bookshelves that my background sits between, and LOTS of tape.

Many kids seemed to love it! I got a few "AHHH, SPIDERS!!" and "Oooh, Halloween!" reactions. :D I also switched from the orange shirt, which, although also Halloween color, I was just so sick of seeing on myself at this point, I switched to a plain black shirt to ~match the creatures behind me. :3

Halloween Reward Systems

As you can see above, my first Halloween reward system was a "Build a Jack-o-Lantern Face" I made from foam magnets. The kids didn't enjoy it as much as the other rewards, but it got plenty of smiles!

The second one I ended up using was a Trick or Treat Bucket, which was another King Soopers find: A jack-o-lantern trick or treat bucket with a light-up handle. I wanted to get some real american candy to throw in there, but the mixed bags were too expensive, so I actually ended up buying a pack of Halloween kids erasers for a few bucks, and used those as the treats instead. There were candies, witch's hats, black and orange owl, and an eyeball. Several of the kids LOVED this one!


Though I hadn't been actively looking for more Halloween rewards, I did end up with a third one, which was a "Make Your Own Haunted House", which was a small booklet with the glossy inside cover (font and back of the book) was a haunted house, and the pages were reusable stickers. Almost everyone seemed to LOVE this one! It was also a good learning tool because the students got to practice reading unfamiliar words (though next time I'll write more legibly!) and got to practice directionoal and house-related vocabulary when they told me where I should place each sticker!

(I also bought two more of the same kinds of sticker booklets, but I'll share more about those in a future, non-Halloween post.)




Here you can see my background in action and what the haunted house & stickers looked like.

Halloween Fast Finisher Activity

I was browsing a small locally owned bookshop while waiting for a table to open up next door for breakfast one day, and that's where I found the sticker booklets, and this adorable Halloween board book by Leslie Patricelli. I teach intermediate so I was worried about my students being annoyed by it's little-kid-ness, but the few times I did use it, they seemed to really enjoy it, even my 11 year olds!

 The words were simple, but not necessarily words they have learned formally yet, which was good, and they liked following the little baby character as he carved pumpkins, chose a costume, and went trick or treating for the first time. Students love glimpses into American culture like this. :)


So, that's my Halloween classroom! I miss it already! If you're already a teacher, did you decorate or change up your rewards systems for the holiday? Let me know in the comments! :)

🍏🍎🍏🍎




video

Work from home with VIPKID! [VIDEO]

November 05, 2017




I've been talking up VIPKID so much on my personal social media feeds, I've had a number of friends who have looking for work from home opportunities ask me for more information about VIPKID. So, I made an explainer video! 

In it, I cover:
  • Hiring requirements
  • What is a class like?
  • Is the curriculum and lessons material provided? (Yes!)
  • What software is used to teach the classes?
  • The VIPKID teacher's app & why it's so great and helpful
  • How to choose the number and time of your hours by opening your time slots
  • Teacher profiles & teacher reviews
  • Base pay, incentives & bonuses
  • Using props & having an educational background (behind you)
  • Why you should totes use my (or someone else you know's!) referral link to sign up! ;) 

So, yeah! If you or someone you know is considering applying to VIPKID  and wants to learn more about what it's like to work for them, check out my video! And please let me know if you have any other questions! :)

🍎🍏🍎🍏

chinese culture

Mid Autumn // Moon (Cake) Festival!

October 02, 2017

Have you heard that the first week of October (in 2017, anyway) is a holiday week? Because it is!

Oct. 1-7 is the National Day holiday in China and this year, right in the middle (Oct. 4) is also the Mid-Autumn Festival! (aka the Moon Festival, aka the Harvest Moon Festival, aka the Moon Cake Festival, and occasionally the Reunion Festival!)

Artist unknown (to me), please LMK if you know who I should credit!
Mid-Autumn Festival中秋节 (Zhōngqiū Jié)

By any of it's many names, the Mid-Autumn/Moon (Cake) Festival is an important harvest festival celebrated by Chinese & Vietnamese people. It always takes place on the 15th day of the 8 month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is full.

But here, the adorable Miss Chu explains the legend of the Moon Festival much better than I can!:



Or, if you prefer, in non-video form:

(Click to make larger!)


More legends about the origins of this festival can be seen in this video by the Singaporean comedy Youtube Channel Night Owl Cinematics:



If you're interested in learning more about this holiday, check out some of these links:



Thanks for reading! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 💓🍎🍏


Chinese Basics for VIPKID Teachers: Pinyin, Consonant Pronunciation

For the most part, it's easy. There's no real tricks or absurdity like there are when trying to read English! However, you do need t...

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