John and Jared interview Terry Waltz, an expert Chinese teacher trainer and innovator, who champions the cause of comprehensible input. They discuss the importance of comprehensible input in language education and strategies for learning Chinese, including creating vocabulary lists and reading engaging materials. They also explore how to engage with Chinese culture beyond stereotypes and the future of language education.
Comprehensible input is crucial in language education, emphasizing the need for dense and repetitive input to develop reading skills and acquire language naturally.
Traditional language teaching methods focusing on memorization and character writing have limited impact, advocating for a shift towards comprehensible input and leveraging technology for audio flashcards to enhance listening comprehension.
Reading should be an enjoyable and meaningful experience, providing diverse and culturally relevant materials to foster a love for reading and promote language acquisition.
Deep dives
Importance of Comprehensible Input in Chinese Language Education
Terry Walts, an expert Chinese teacher trainer, discusses the importance of comprehensible input in language education. She emphasizes the need for dense and repetitive input to develop reading skills and acquire language naturally. Terry shares her experience with cold character reading, a method where students match known words with characters, fostering reading fluency and engagement. She highlights the traditional approach in Chinese language education and the challenges teachers face in implementing innovative methodologies. Terry encourages teachers to prioritize reading as an enjoyable experience, offering diverse and culturally relevant materials for students.
The Role of Methodology in Chinese Language Teaching
Terry emphasizes the significance of methodology in Chinese language teaching. She points out the limited impact of traditional methods that focus on memorization and character writing. She advocates for a shift towards comprehensible input and suggests that teachers leverage technology to create audio flashcards, enhancing listening comprehension. Terry highlights the need for curriculum reform, challenging the heavy reliance on vocabulary lists and textbooks, encouraging a more engaging and immersive learning experience. She emphasizes the importance of teachers using rich and repetitive input to build reading fluency in a way that aligns with the natural process of language acquisition.
The Power of Reading in Chinese Language Learning
Terry discusses the transformative power of reading in Chinese language learning. She emphasizes that reading should be an enjoyable and meaningful experience for students, matching their interests and motivation. Terry emphasizes the need for comprehensible input and encourages teachers to provide a variety of materials that resonate with students. She shares her own experience in developing graded readers, highlighting the value of accessible and culturally relevant content. Terry encourages teachers to prioritize reading skills and provide students with ample opportunities to engage with Chinese texts, fostering a love for reading and promoting language acquisition.
Importance of Comprehensible Input
The podcast discusses the importance of providing comprehensible input to language learners. The speaker emphasizes that when learners are exposed to materials that they can easily understand, their language skills improve significantly. Without any specific studies to back it up, the speaker shares their anecdotal experience of witnessing language growth when learners are given the opportunity to read interesting and accessible texts on their own.
Retaining Beginners in Chinese Education
The podcast highlights the need to focus on retaining beginners in Chinese education. The episode mentions a concerning trend of declining enrollments in Chinese classes, suggesting that the lack of emphasis on providing comprehensible input at the beginning levels is a contributing factor. The speaker argues that by embracing comprehensible input and using effective teaching methods, such as extensive reading, the dropout rate between levels can be reduced, leading to improved language acquisition and retention among students.
In this special episode, guest interview is with expert Chinese teacher trainer and innovator, Terry Waltz. She’s a renegade in the Chinese language of community, championing the cause of comprehensible input, which is the future of all language education. Like us, she’s published a host of graded readers in Chinese and shares a career full of wisdom with us in about 30 minutes.
John and Jared break down her interview and talk about the points that are critical to you as a Chinese learner. Plus, you’ll get some talk about the most recent 2020 National Chinese Language Conference.
Thanks for listening to our podcast! Please write us a review on Apple Podcasts and we’ll give you a shout out on the podcast! We are also taking questions from our listeners. If you have a question, reach us at feedback@mandarincompanion.com. Follow us on Facebook and catch our latest Chinese learning memes on Instagram
Links referenced in this EpisodeCold Character Reading – Terry WaltzSample Chinese text of 98%, 95%, and 80% ComprehensionTerry Waltz’s Graded ReadersThe Ransom of Red Chief – Level 1 Graded ReaderMandarin Companion Memes - Instagram
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