Celebration of Teaching Excellence at UBC – Qian Wang

Discover the techniques and practices of outstanding teachers at UBC

Dr. Qian Wang

Asian Studies Department
CHIN131

One-on-one Oral Practice

Learning Objective:

  • To be able to ask & answer questions and complete tasks using vocabulary and pattern from the current lesson.
  • To interact with native speakers with comfort and confidence in this lesson’s topic.
  • To identify socio-cultural similarities & differences between your partner and the Canadian or your own culture when communicating about this topic, e.g. talking about age.

Details:

  • ? Native speakers of Chinese on campus (volunteers, trained)
  • 星期点-点?(Friday, 11:20-11:50)
  • 什么?(Complete tasks in oral practice sheet, Q&A on dialogue, Q&A about your own situation, describing picture, etc.)

Evaluation: Formative

  • Complete self-evaluation checklist to reflect on your own learning.
  • Read feedback from your partner.

 

Why did you choose this slide?

It is an example of a weekly teaching activity that aims to increase students’ communication skills and intercultural competence and learning competence through a first-year language class.

What are you aiming to convey with it?

This formative assessment task is described in three parts:

  1. Learning Objectives (to explain how this learning activity is intended to help with learning). Usually more detailed than this.
  2. Details: use target language-Chinese, recently learnt question words, increased input and sense of achievement – third week of class.
  3. Evaluation: focus on fostering learning habits: self-evaluation and peer evaluation.

How do you think it contributes to student learning?

One-on-one, the advantage of a small language course. Flexible learning at one’s own pace and targeted at one’s own difficulty.

Intercultural communication for both the learners of Chinese and the native-Chinese-speaking students, usu. international students. (aligned with UBC’s strategic plan → Purpose: foster global citizenship; Values: Respect towards different people, ideas and actions):

  • For learners: to avoid a situation where students learning a foreign language for two years, only know the language without knowing the people, without the confidence to speak with a native speaker
  • For international students, to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and participate in the broader learning community of UBC. Sense of achievement with their own knowledge → to encourage their own learning and an opportunity to talk about academic integrity, copyright, etc.

Thanks to the Dean’s office and the Department, and the Work-learn office for support in hiring students to coordinate this activity for over 500 learners in our program and over 200 volunteers every term.

The activity also involved community members from near and far (UTown, Chinatown in collaboration with the UBC Learning Exchange.)


View Dr. Qian Wang’s one-minute presentation on their teaching practice.