Chinese Fun

This semester starts with a fun project for the Chinese learning students. They are going to write a song in Chinese! Yes, they are going to write their own song, but sing it to the tune of a popular song they are familiar with. I don’t want students to translate a song from English to Chinese. I want them to express their own ideas and feelings with the Chinese they have learned. Students all seem very excited because they are going to star in their own music videos.

My students in 2011 did this project. I was amazed how well they did. The amount of work students were willing to put in such a project just made teaching Chinese so easy and fun. Students nowadays are just so talented. The most important thing for teachers to do is to provide opportunities to the students: give them a stage so that they shine and surprise even themselves. I am very glad some students have agreed to share their vidoes. I will post them here as examples for new students and for all who are interested in learning Chinese.