This website contains a collection of links related to Chinese culture and general information about China--from history, geography, economy, and ethnic minorities, to the latest news about the Beijing Olympics in 2008. There are numerous links to Chinese learning and teaching sites, including dictionaries, authentic readings, grammar and lessons, and so forth. The website also offers practical information about studying in China and traveling in China. Overall, it is very informative and useful to English speakers who have a strong interest in learning Chinese language and culture, and it provides materials for learners from the elementary level to the advanced level.
Type of Material:
Collection
Recommended Uses:
Supplemental teaching material in class or reference material for homework
Technical Requirements:
Web browser
Identify Major Learning Goals:
To learn Chinese language and culture
Target Student Population:
Learners of Chinese at all levels
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
While Chinese is a well-known language, it is a difficult language for most learners. This website makes it attractive to learn the language and culture. It offers a variety of authentic materials for different levels of learners and in different areas. The links/titles are self-explanatory and organized into various categories mentioned above.
Concerns:
The website could be more useful and valuable if it includes a category devoted to Chinese character writing since this is very important to learners. Although there are links to external sites that teach learners how to write Chinese characters correctly, it takes time to find them. The author could also provide a brief description of the two writing systems, i.e., traditional and simplified.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The materials included in the website can be an excellent teaching tool and a rich resource for self-study. The abundant cultural background and language specifics help learners to understand the Chinese language system and socio-cultural foundation as a whole. Both teachers and students can make use of the materials flexibly based on their objectives.
Concerns:
Since this website is designed for educators and students, and provides links that can be helpful in learning Chinese, it should have a category upfront that is devoted to Chinese language learning so that users can easily access links to external sites that teach them the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. These links can be further sub-categorized (and cross listed if necessary) to make it even more useful to learners who wish to improve a specific skill, e.g., listening.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The website is colorful and is easy to navigate. It also contains attractive culture-specific pictures. No technical interface is needed in this HTML-based site although it may be required in certain external sites. Each category links to a new window so that users can always return to the main page.
Concerns:
The links can be categorized more clearly in terms of subjects/topics, and more consistently in terms of font size and style, etc. The main page is too long. It can be more user-friendly if it contains only the main categories in a menu bar on the top or on the side, with topics under each category embedded at a deeper level.
Other Issues and Comments:
None
Creative Commons:
Search by ISBN?
It looks like you have entered an ISBN number. Would you like to search using what you have
entered as an ISBN number?
Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
Searching for Members?
You entered an email address. Would you like to search for members? Click Yes to continue. If no, materials will be displayed first. You can refine your search with the options on the left of the results page.
