In recent weeks, Chinese as an Additional Language (CAL) students at Yew Chung International School of Beijing have been taking part in Celebrations of Learning to showcase what they have learned this semester. Celebrations of Learning are interactive presentations students make in front of their teachers, classmates, parents and staff members to show what they’ve learned by the end of each learning unit.

An important aspect of the learning at our school, “Learning Celebrations are an authentic showcase of what we are learning in the class.”  according to Chinese Vice-Principal, April Peng, who also states “the purpose is to give students great opportunities to speak in public”  as these celebrations are attended not only by parents but also by other groups of people, including their peers and homeroom teachers.

Secondly, she adds “We would like for the students to feel the joy of learning Chinese because they feel that they can share the knowledge and the joy of learning”  The third reason is belonging. “I think because students have the opportunity to observe other classes , vice versa, and have parents come to observe their classes as well, it contributes to a sense of belonging.”  she added.

An array of Celebrations of Learning recently took place on our campus which encompassed a multiplicity of activities from poetry, self-introductory videos, reading, role playing, singing and dubbing. The most impressive part of these celebrations has been observing our CAL students put their best foot forward and work hard to recite words and hone their pronunciation in addition to working collaboratively in activities that required collaborative work.

When it comes to planning, no one celebration is the same. “All Learning Celebrations are really authentic. It is about what they learned in the classroom. Whether it’s dialogue, role play, song or poetry. So whatever they learned is what they present”  she said.

Now that the winter break is here, keeping up with language learning might be a challenge for some students, especially without the teachers’ daily guidance, however resources and guidelines are available for those parents who want their children to continue practising Chinese.

Below are some tips from Secondary School Language Teacher, Danielle Li to improve language skills during the holiday;

· Making Chinese part of your child’s daily life is a way to maintain a good level of speaking and writing skills. Encourage students to speak out whenever they can in real life and public situations.· Reading Chinese Books. No language learning could be improved without massive reading practice. Choosing a book according to their level is important. Our school library has lots of leveled readers that parents can borrow based on students’ level.·  Young students can draw pictures of their fun memories and explain them in Chinese. Older and higher level students could try to write simple diary entries. Once they associate words and sentences with their own life, language will fundamentally be remembered.· Encourage students to speak out more in real life and public situations. They can be your little translator and have more opportunities to apply what they learned at school.Another resource our students can make full use of is the iLearnChinese platform, which available to all YCIS Beijing students. Here, students have access to educational and interactive books, games and other resources.