Linguistics 577 - Lesson Plans: Speaking

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Speaking Lesson Plan

Production of the Four Tones of
the Chinese Language

Teacher: Cheryl W. Myrup
Date: October 28, 1996

Objective:

Students should master the production of the four tones of the Chinese language.

Materials:

Tones chart.
Chalk and eraser.
Stop light and green light
Cards with sample words (and identifying pictures).

Time:Purpose:Activity:

:00-:02
Give a brief overview of Chinese pronunciation.Write 4 vowels on the board, and tell how they are pronounced.

:02-:04
Introduce the tones.Using the tones chart, introduce the 4 tones. Use picture/word cards as examples. Have students repeat after me.

:04-:10
Check students' ability to pronounce the tones.One student comes up to the front of the class. Other students, one at a time, pronounce the word that the teacher shows them, keeping in mind the proper tone. If the word has been pronounced correctly, the student in the front may take one "baby" step towards a teacher's helper. (The helper is holding a stop light; he/she only displays a green light when a tone is pronounced correctly.) The rest of the class is invited to repeat the word correctly.

If the word is pronounced incorrectly (the teacher's helper has displayed the red light), the student may not advance. The teacher then asks the rest of the class for a volunteer to pronounce the tone correctly. When the teacher finds a student who can pronounce the tone correctly, the rest of the class is invited to repeat the word correctly in unison. The goal of the class is to help the student reach the teacher's helper.