This is a web site that provides students with reading materials of Chinese idioms. The text of each idiom was rewritten by instructors and Chinese words are separated by spaces which is very convenient for learners to detect the word boundary.
This site contains 106 Chinese idioms arranged in alphabetical order by pinyin. The author provides the history and the usage of each idiom, followed by a question about the idiom.
Type of Material:
Reading materials for Chinese learners at intermediate and advanced levels.
Recommended Uses:
Very suitable for Chinese literature and history courses. The texts can be used for supplementary reading.
Technical Requirements:
No special technical skills required. Use of browsers only.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
The goals of this site are to help students learn the historical events on which the idioms are based, and to help them think critically through questions about the idioms.
Target Student Population:
Students who have studied Chinese for two years or more than two years.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Intermediate reading proficiency of Chinese
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Since the story of each idiom was rewritten by instructors, the content is more appropriate to learners. Words are separated by spaces, so the students find it easier to understand. Each story has a question at the end of the text to facilitate students' thinking. The idioms are well organized in a table format, and students can click on individual buttons to access the particular idiom they choose.
Concerns:
Students may find it difficult to understand some words. There are no notes or glossary for possible unfamiliar words. Students have to use dictionaries if they encounter new words.There should be a statement about the goals of this site. It will also help to include instructions for users.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is a collection of Chinese idioms from various sources. Students can easily read about any particular idiom by a simple click of a button. Students will also have more opportunities to read historical stories. There are very few reading materials available for intermediate learners of Chinese. This web site provides very good materials for learning.
Concerns:
There should be English translations of the idioms and examples of how the idioms can be used in context. This will help learners to improve their writing skill.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Navigating is easy. All stories are in on page. It is easy to scroll up and down. Click on a certain idiom in the table on the top of the page will direct readers to the specific reading text.The table of contents is user friendly with the idioms arranged in a logical order. The buttons (links to the idioms) are large enough so that the Chinese characters inside are clearly legible. The fonts used for the idioms are also large and clearly legible.
Concerns:
There is no [back] button at the end of each story. Students have to scroll up to the top of the page. If one reads the last story, the only way to move back to the table content is to scroll up to the top.
Overall, the site needs more colors and images/graphics related to the idioms.
Other Issues and Comments:
None.
Creative Commons:
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