Using Picture Books in Teaching Chinese as the Second Language to Pre-school Aged Children

Ying Song

China Institute

As a Chinese teacher for pre-school children, I have always been researching and practicing new teaching approaches that are appropriate for students’ psychological developments and can promote their motivations for learning.

Picture books are powerful in helping young learners get the support they need to comprehend the stories, especially when they are not familiar with the language. The vivid illustrations offer context clues, and the rhyming or repetitive patterns can be used to facilitate oral language development.

In this presentation, I will share my teaching experience of using various picture books in a creative way to teach Chinese to very young children. Sample picture books grouped in different subjects and themes will be presented. More interestingly, for each picture book, I will share with the audience many fun and interactive activities I designed and used in my classes to reinforce the vocabularies that were introduced in those picture books. Having been practicing this teaching approach for years, it becomes clear to me that using picture books along with carefully designed activities can greatly motivate young learners. It makes the learning much more engaging and effective, and immersed in the activities, the students take great fun in their learning of Chinese, which can put a profound influence in the students in their continuation of the language learning.

ATTENDEE'S INFORMATION FORM

Please return the following form together with your paper proposal.

E-mail to                                  clta.gny@gmail.com

Or mail to:                                Chinese Language Teachers Association of Greater New York

125 East 65th Street

New York, NY 10021

Family name: Song

First name: Ying

Names in Chinese characters: 宋颖

Gender: Female

Highest degree: M.A. in Bilingual Education from NYU

Job title: Children’s Language Teacher

Affiliation: China Institute in NY

Office address: Children’s Program, China Institute. 125 East 65^th Street, New York, NY 10021

Home address: 11 Horseshoe Lane, Great Neck, NY 11020

1st email address (check it carefully): yingsongxu@hotmail.com

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Office phone number: 917-353-1499

Home phone number: 516-773-1039

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The topic of your paper: Using Picture Books in Teaching Chinese as the Second Language to Pre-school Aged Children

Would you like your paper to be published if accepted? Yes

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