Action! China A Field Guide to Using Chinese in the Community

Winner of the Chinese Language Teachers Association’s 2014 Cengage Learning Excellence and Innovation in Teaching Chinese Award. Action! China is a practical guide for intermediate to advanced students of Chinese wanting to maximize their study abroad experience and enhance their language skills. This handy guide contains over 90 Field Performance tasks which prompt real-life interactions with native speakers. By carrying out these real-life tasks students refine and solidify existing communication skills and gain a fuller understanding of and participation in the target culture. The guide also provides over 60 Performance Watch tasks which help students understand how native speakers accomplish communicative goals through guided observation and analysis of naturally occurring interactions. Action! China helps students understand and participate socially in Chinese, guiding them through skill-getting and skill-using processes and enabling them to form meaningful connections with Chinese people in the community.

Topic 1 Getting Settled Task 1.1 Getting Acquainted with a Language Partner Task 1.2 Establishing Cell Phone Service Task 1.3 Exploring the Local Neighborhood Performance Watch 1 Topic 2 Eating Task 2.1 Exploring the Campus Cafeteria Task 2.2 Learning about Chinese Food Task 2.3 Exploring Local Restaurants Performance Watch 2 Topic 3 Taking Transportation Task 3.1 Taking a Bus Task 3.2 Taking the Subway Task 3.3 Taking a Taxi Performance Watch 3 Topic 4 Shopping Task 4.1 Exploring Retail Stores Task 4.2 Shopping for Clothes Task 4.3 Interacting with Street Vendors Performance Watch 4 Topic 5 Exploring Campus Culture Task 5.1 Understanding Teacher-Student Relations Task 5.2 Apologizing and Repairing Relationships Task 5.3 Exploring Student Organizations Performance Watch 5 Topic 6 Socializing Task 6.1 Getting Together with Friends Task 6.2 Being a Good Guest Task 6.3 Being a Good Host Performance Watch 6 Topic 7 Solving Problems Task 7.1 Reporting and Recovering Lost Items Task 7.2 Communicating by Phone Task 7.3 Discussing Problems Performance Watch 7 Topic 8 Protecting Health Task 8.1 Exercising Task 8.2 Taking Medicine Task 8.3 Going to the Hospital Performance Watch 8 Topic 9 Volunteering in the Community Task 9.1 Introducing Yourself Formally Task 9.2 Comparing Volunteer Experience Task 9.3 Organizing Volunteer Activities Performance Watch 9 Topic 10 Participating in Formal Events Task 10.1 Understanding Dress Codes Task 10.2 Learning Banquet Etiquette Task 10.3 Making a Toast Performance Watch 10 Topic 11 Planning a Trip Task 11 Planning a Trip (Group Project) Performance Watch 11 Topic 12 Talking about the City Task 12.1 What People Love about a City (Group Project) Task 12.2 Creating Promotional Materials (Group Project) Performance Watch 12 Topic 13 Preparing Presentations Task 13.1 Conducting an Interview Task 13.2 Giving an Oral Presentation Task 13.3 Improving Q&A Skills Performance Watch 13 Topic 14 Taking Leave Task 14.1 Preparing a Farewell Gift Task 14.2 Preparing a Farewell Speech Task 14.3 Saying Farewell upon Departure Performance Watch 14

Donglin Chai has been teaching Chinese as a foreign language since 2006 and is currently a visiting affiliate assistant professor of Chinese at Loyola University Maryland, USA. She has directed intensive Chinese study abroad programs for the US Department of State Critical Language Scholarship program and The Ohio State University. Crista Cornelius is Director of the Xijin Chinese Language Program at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, China, a new program integrating short-term Chinese study abroad with teacher training for novice Chinese language teachers. Bing Mu is currently a PhD candidate in Chinese Language Pedagogy at The Ohio State University, USA. She has taught Chinese language courses of all levels in both regular academic and summer intensive programs at The Ohio State University. She has also served as a mentor for advanced American learners of Chinese in The Ohio State University’s Chinese Flagship Program in Qingdao, China.