Planning a Trip to China, Mandarin Chinese, Novice High

Please Note: Many of the activities on the Pathways Project OER Repository were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner.  — The Pathways Project

About the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) Language Activity Repository

The activities provided by the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) serve as foundational activities which can be adapted by any language and scaled up or down on the proficiency scale. Many of these activities offer an English Version that is “language-agnostic” to provide language instructors from around the country a platform to remix these instructional materials, infusing them with their target language and culture! The activities within the Pathways Project OER Repository seek to help students solidify their interpersonal speaking and interpretive skills through task-based situations or communicative activities. These activities should be facilitated in the target language for approximately 90% (or more), per the recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

How to use the WLRC Repository’s Activities:

1. Use the Activity as is:

Before you begin:

• Most activities are 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise specified.
• Be sure to read through the activity description, and review the list of required materials. You will notice that the activity materials are also highlighted in yellow throughout the activity instructions.

If you have any suggestions about grammar, syntax, and content, please kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu.

2. Remix for Your Language Classroom:

When you are ready to begin remixing the activity, in order to adapt it for the needs of your language classroom, simply click the blue “Remix This Resource” button at the top of your screen. This will then take you to a screen with a NEW, editable version of this activity. The text provided in purple is a suggestion of what you might say to your students in the target language, and may be altered for different levels and age groups. All activities have “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do” statements, a warm-up, a main activity, and a wrap-up.

Many of the activities include printable cards and other instructional materials such as Google Slideshows. If you would like to make changes to these materials for your classroom, follow the instructions below:

• Google Slideshows:
  
• To begin, go to File -> Copy to create an editable version of the slideshow.
• Once finished with your changes, please complete the following steps to share:
• Click on Share
• Who Has Access
• Ensure link sharing is on and allow external access.
• Materials Saved as PDF: Please email pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu and we will provide you with an editable copy. Please allow up to two business days for a response. For YouTube videos and other websites, hyperlinks are provided. 
  

3. Adapt for Another Language:

• See the linked English Version at the top of the activity (English Version may not be available for all activities)

Planning a Trip to China (Novice-Mid/High)

Description:

In this activity students will look through a series of brochures for tour trips to different cities in China. As a group, they will chose which cities they would like to go to which tours, and decide what modes of transportation they will take. They will then create a travel itinerary for their entire group.

Proficiency Level:

Novice High

Keywords:

China, real-world practice, travel, culture, planning a trip, planing travel, transportation, group activities,  Chinese 

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

• I can plan an itinerary for a vacation
  
• I can interpret information about different travel options in the target language
  
• I can work with others to achieve a goal using the target language
  

NCSSFL World-Readiness Standards:

• Standard 1.1 - Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions in Chinese
• Standard 2.1 - Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures of the Chinese-speaking world
• Standard 4.1 - Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the Chinese language with their own
  

Idaho State World Language Standards:

• COMM 1.1 - Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions
• COMM 2.1 - Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
  
• COMM 3.1 - Present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media in the target language.
  
• CLTR 1.1 - Analyze the cultural practices/patterns of behavior accepted as the societal norm in the target culture. 
  
• CONN 2.1 - Access authentic materials prepared in the target language by or for native speakers.

Materials Needed:

Google Slideshow

Travel Brochures

Warm-up

Main Activity

1. Set Google slide show to the slide 10 and briefly introduce the lab to students
   
   
2. Split students into groups of 3-4, or no more than 5 if the class size is small. Make sure each group has a set of Travel Brochures. Spread out the Travel Brochures on the table in front of the group
   
   
3. In each group, give students about 5 minutes to grab a card, read out as much information as they can to the group, and then set the card back down.  
     
   
4. Working together as a group, students will use the cards and the flight/train information to plan a trip to China together
   
   
5. Using the Travel Brochures and the Google Slide with the flight and train information, students will pick 3 tours that they are most interested in and they think is the best value, and plan where they will start and end their journey. In between each stop, students will have to decide how they want to travel from city to city, and what city they will leave/return to the US from
   
   
6. Students should express to the group why they think the option they are suggesting is good, i.e “it is cheap, taking the train is quicker, I am afraid of flying...etc.”
   
   
7. At the end of the lab, each student group will present to the other small groups and explain the trip they planned, giving reasons why they chose the locations and modes of transportation. For each location, students should list 2 reasons why they decided on that location. 

End of lab:

• Read Can-Do statements once more and have students evaluate their confidence. 
(Use thumbs up/thumbs down or download our student cards.) 
• Encourage students to be honest in their self-evaluation.
• Pay attention, and try to use feedback for future labs!

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

• I can plan an itinerary for a vacation
  
• I can interpret information about different travel options in the target language
  
• I can work with others to achieve a goal using the target language
  

Where are we? Rate yourself on the weekly Can-Do Statements using this scale: I get it!, I got it!, I kind of get it..., I don't get it...