鸡年吉祥 / Jínián jíxiáng / Good luck for this Dog year! As Chinese New Year approaches, here’s a video, follow-up activity and a few ideas that we want to share. Even if you teach a different language, see how culture can instantly hook their curiosity!
This video pulls at the heart!
Chopsticks video with English Subtitles
After the video, let LEARNERS pull out what they think is interesting that they want to discuss. We like to use this “Aspects of Culture” visual. (Read “Aspects of Culture” post for all the details.) 谢谢 to Cyndy Ling for sharing the video with us and the translations on the aspects visual! You can copy and paste the image below to whatever program you want (PowerPoint, Word, Keynote, Google Slides, etc).
Other videos that captured my interest were ones about the Spring Festival Gala (Chunwan) and New Year celebrations.
Now that I know it’s going to be the year of the rooster, I’m curious about that! This China Highlights site has lots of information about the Zodiac: Luck, romance and personalities! (Change the language at the bottom.) So I’m a goat and I should avoid wearing the colors blue and black… I need a closet makeover asap. What else can bring me some good luck??
The site also has a day-by-day guide of activities and traditions (that sounds more interesting than a daily routine lesson, right?!) and touches of relevant cultural connections.
What else are you doing to teach about Chinese New Year? Have any resources to share? Add them to the comments below!
Chopsticks have always been an integral part of china and its cuisine, they don’t only provide a traditional touch to the modern cuisine but they are also a symbol of royalty.