iPad Disciplines

Language-Chinese

Essential Chinese

This is a language app for people who are not native Chinese speaker to learn Chinese. There are three levels: Essential, Intermediate and Advanced.It seems the Essential Chinese is free. But when you go into the app, there are only three lessons available. More lessons cost from $3.99 to $9.99. Thankfully, I learned how to master the app by just exploring the first three lessons. When you click into each lesson,the left column shows the outline with these categories: Vocabulary, Grammar, Conversation.Each category present its content with photos to particular word or phrase, Chinese Pinyin and characters and sounds.

With the multimedia functions, teachers arouse students' interest to learn and capture their attention during the lessons.Without Chinese language environment, it makes so difficult for Chinese teachers.But photos, sounds and Chinese Pinyin and characters, students are able to get so much information out of the lessons, just as the research says,"by seeing and hearing, students can get more than 80 percent information." So that students can still know the meaning and master how to use the language without the physical language background.Teachers can use the Grammar section to help students understand why and how words put together. The Conversation section is excellent for integrating teaching that to guide students to use or speak Chinese in their daily lives. Students can practice after class too with the app.
 This app also includes Games and vocabulary list. The Games section makes teaching and learning more interesting as well as reinforces the lessons.Students tends to learn more when they are motivated and in a good mood. This app provides lesson plan for teachers so it is worthy of the price to get the complete lessons. It's good for students to do self-learning too.

ChinesePad

ChiesePad is a very practical app for Chinese teaching and learning. Inside the app's screen, a dozen of resources are provided such as: Library, Store, User Guide, Browsing,Writing, Flash Card, Pin Yin, Speaking, Dictionary, Settings, My Progress and Text to Speech. I will focus on how to use some of them to teach Chinese.

Library:
Students can save words, Chinese-English Dictionary or story books in the library so that they will be easily assessed in the future use.When I approached the app, a Chinese-English Dictionary is already stored in there.It includes countless commonly used Chinese Characters. They are clickable and animation will be displayed how to write the characters' strokes.

Store:
The Store has plenty of free bilingual resources such as Chinese folktales with photos, Chinese characters and Pin Yin, English and sound.It appeals both young and learners to learn Chinese with this app.It has Chinese Slang and cultural knowledge. To open them, you can simply click "get it free" tap on the right-hand and they will be saved in the Library.Teachers have great resources to teach students.

Browsing:
One hundred common hanzi(Chinese characters) are stored, from the simple ones to the complicated ones. Besides each hanzi, you have access to the sound, grammar or usage. To make them more organized, you can sort by popularity, strokes, or Pinyin. Teachers can use them to broaden students' vocabulary.

Writing:
Writing Chinese characters is considered the most difficult part compared to listening, speaking. But the "Writing" section offers the character's meaning and sound then requires students to write the corresponding character.Teachers can use it to test students' writing comprehension. There are 100 hanzi or more for students to practice.

Flash Card:

By clicking the hanzi on the screen, you can review and practice reading and speaking Chinese hanzi.

Pinyin:
This section shows the character's meaning, usage and sound.But it needs students to type in its correct Pinyin. It has "Check Answer" function too. So teachers can use it to test how well students know about Pinyin and assign self-study homework since students can check the answers themselves.

Speaking:
Students can't practice speaking with Chinese teachers always because of time and region limitation. But with the Speaking section, teachers can let students practice speaking the word showed on the screen. The app will record the sound and save it. It's a great way to assign speaking homework.

Dictionary:
When students come across something that they don't know, either from Chinese to English, or from English to Chinese, Dictionary will be a great help.

My Progress:
Through all the practices done from the above sections, My Progress will keep track of students' progress in four aspects: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

ChinesePad is an excellent tool both for teachers to teach Chinese and for students to learn because it has enormous resources and a thorough exploration of Chinese. Personally, I really like it.

Play2Learn Chinese

Play2Learn Chinese is a paid app on iPad. But it's an interesting multimedia tool for learners to visualize the concepts and context in Chinese. On the main screen, there are lots of topics for you to choose. It has clothes, fruit, vegetables, animals, body parts, family members, etc. When you go into a certain topic, the related items will be displayed on the screen. When you touch a certain item, it will be highlighted and pronounced in Chinese. It's so colorful and vivid, meant for young learners, but it can be used for teenagers and adults too.Its strength is the fun and interaction and able to help students concentrate on the learning. Teachers can use this app for game or activity section in class.

My anticipated certification will be Secondary Chinese Teaching. I look forward to apply all this apps into my teaching.