WSU's Confucius Institute launches 100th Chinese phrase video
October 10 will mark the launching of the WSU Confucius Institute's 100th Learn a Chinese Phrase video, part of a series that introduces Chinese idioms to students of Mandarin. The center's YouTube channel counts over 104,000 views with more than 1400 subscribers after four years of production.
"We started the Learn a Chinese Phrase series as a way to help Mandarin students improve their Chinese language skills with amusing idioms they're not likely to find in textbooks," explained John Brender, director of Wayne State's Confucius Institute. Brender based the idea on his own experiences learning Spanish in Seville, Spain, during his senior year of college. "I used to carry a pocket-sized notebook with me wherever I went. Whenever I heard a new word or expression, I'd jot it down and then periodically review my notebook. It was fun and motivating and it amused my Spanish friends to hear a norteamericano using authentic Spanish expressions!"
Each video in the series adheres to a basic format: they are all about two minutes long, use a patterned, Wayne State backdrop, and involve a conversation between a Chinese speaker and a curious learner who, together, introduce and model a select phrase. To reinforce learning, the phrase appears on the screen at appropriate times in both Chinese characters and in a Romanized writing system known as pinyin. The viewers are always invited to repeat the phrase to further reinforce learning.
"I think it's a very effective learning tool for students who have had a semester or more of Chinese under their belts," said Brender. "Although I co-wrote almost all of the skits with my former vice director, Li Liang, I find it helpful to review them myself on our playlists. They're all good learning pieces, and I'd like to think most of them add an element of entertainment or humor. Many viewers who are not necessarily interested in learning Chinese have told me they're fun to watch!"
Most of the actors have been Wayne State students, with occasional guests that include local teachers and professors from nearby institutions. "They have all volunteered their time and subjected themselves to my writing and direction," mused Brender. "In most cases, we have chosen phrases and written skits with individual actors in mind. Sometimes we exaggerate their personalities and have them poke a little gentle fun at each other. Everyone has enjoyed the experience and everyone has been a really good sport about it!"
Brender himself has appeared in a few videos, generally at the behest of the people he works with. Submitting to his staff's ribbing, he has been the subject of Chinese phrases such as diu san la si (lose three forget four) for his forgetfulness; lao gudong (old antique) for his relatively advancing age; and san tian da yu liang tian shai wang (3 days fishing and two days drying the net), for his sometimes sporadic and half-hearted attempts to improve his Chinese.
"For the 100th video," Brender added, "we decided to be a bit 'meta' and write a skit about a phrase that included the Chinese word for '100'. Some of our former visiting scholars recorded bit parts for it that they sent from China!"
The series has spawned supplementary learning guides (PDF), where vocabulary introduced in the video is further explained and expanded. There is even a free mobile application available for iPhone and Android devices. The app will be upgraded within the next month to include 20 videos with related games and exercises.
The "Learn a Chinese Phrase" video series was listed by App2Brain as being among the top ten free videos and playlists for learning Chinese (along with major productions from Sesame Street and China's CCTV). Based in part on his work with the Learn a Chinese Phrase series, Brender received an international Individual Performance Excellence Award at the 10th Annual World Confucius Institute Conference in Shanghai, in December 2015.
