Covid-19: A Chinese Lesson Recap
Last Thursday, we held a free online Chinese class called ‘COVID-19: A Chinese Lesson’. Run in collaboration with the British Chamber of Commerce in China Young Professionals Forum, the event saw Hutong School’s Sang lǎoshī teach over 50 students some of the key words and phrases surrounding the pandemic.
The class was targeted towards learners with a Chinese level of around HSK 3/4. However, we saw many students with higher and lower levels than this attend, who were also able to learn a lot from the lesson.
The Class
Sang lǎoshī, our VP of Education, began by explaining some of the main measures she has seen being taken in China to prevent the spread of the virus and important sentences anyone who has been in the country during this period is sure to have heard once or twice:
你(nǐ)带(dài)口(kǒu)罩(zhào)了(le)吗(ma)？- did you wear a mask?
你(nǐ)带(dài)手(shǒu)套(tào)了(le)吗(ma)？- did you wear gloves?
量(liàng)体(tǐ)温(wēn)了(le)吗(ma)？did you take your temperature?
吸(xī)收(shōu)了(le)吗(ma)？did you wash your hands?
隔(gé)离(lí)了(le)吗(ma)？did you quarantine?
Following this entertaining introduction, Sang went on to teach students the words for virus and epidemic, and how these characters can be used to form other relevant terms. She also touched on some interesting cultural points, such as the use of Mao-era propaganda posters to encourage older generations to take the virus seriously.
Sang lǎoshī had 3 volunteer students who she could call upon to answer questions and demonstrate to the rest of the class. BritCham’s Policy Analyst and YP Forum Chair Will and Nathan and Hutong School’s Marketing Director Lauren were put to the test throughout the hour-long class with character reading and comprehension exercises.
We received great feedback from the students, many of whom praised Sang lǎoshī’s interactive teaching method and clear explanations. In response to this feedback, we are planning to organize more classes like this in the future to help Chinese learners around the world the chance to get a taste of the language or learn more about a particular topic.
We want to give a huge thanks to the British Chamber Young Professionals Forum for helping us arrange this successful event, as well as all who attended. Keep an eye on our social media updates to make sure you don’t miss the next one!
