This video of BBC IDEAS gives you a brief overview of the benefits of learning a foreign language based on scientific research and studies.

学习外语、掌握外语和运用外语的好处。

Too many tools are NOT helpful with learning. New Apps and tech tools are exciting, but they can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and purposeless. Furthermore, students get confused and unproductive. I recommend focusing on simple, familiar, and easy tools that help students learn the best. This is the study tool handout.

太多的工具对学习没有帮助。 新的应用程序和学习工具令人兴奋，但也会过分复杂、耗时且失去目的。 还会使学生感到困惑和降低他们的学习效果。 我建议专注于熟悉的、简单易用的工具，会最有效地帮助学生学习。 这是我的学生常用的学习工具。

This colorful poster sets the tone at the beginning when teaching or learning Mandarin. All the native like awesome Chinese learners start their journey at no mercy for accurate pronunciation. 90% is not good enough. The fact is that everyone can pronounce correctly, but must be serious about practicing pronunciation, especially the accurate tones, from the first words. The rest will be more relaxing and more fruitful. I hope this Youtube playlist  will be helpful.

这张彩色海报从一开始就为教授或学习中文奠定了基调。 所有近似母语发音的、优秀的汉语学习者都严格地从发音开始他们的旅程。 90%还不够好。 事实证明每个人都可以做到完全正确的发音，但必须从一开始学习中文就认真对待发音，尤其是正确的声调，这样日后的学习才会比较轻松，而且有成效。希望这个Youtube 教学和学习拼音和发音的视频精选会对大家有所帮助。

Chinese Radicals (部首）是一个很强大，很有效果的汉字教学工具。学生们从初级开始学中文，第一周就可以学10个部首。部首不难。学生们很有兴趣。我的学生们第一周就会说 “部首是什么？” 中文一级可以学习掌握70个部首，第二级100个。部首表达汉字的意思，是一个工具。e.g. 外：I use "Sunset 夕" ， for  sunsets are outside. "ruler" 尸 for 尺子 （not corps or dead body, because it doesn't make sense), same as 尾：ruler to measure the length of the animal tail. 教部首的目的是帮助学生学汉字更轻松。越多重复越好。

练习和作业：复习单元或学期，学年生词，分工合作或者独立完成，把生词填入部首表格。这个表格是我中文二学生的作业，还没有包含所有有部首的汉字。“working progress" .

除了打字以外，发给学生空白的表格，随时填入生字, 手写。每3-5周全班一起做5-10分钟，一边找，一边说，一边手写。是一个很好的课堂活动。这个表格也适用去测验考试。初级只填写部首，不填汉字，中级难度填写部首和一个新单元的汉字或自选汉字。

老师们可以以这个表格为基础，根据所用教材，删掉一些，改编成中文一的，加入一些，改编成中文三的练习材料。request editable worksheet （3 pages) online. Viewer Version of the worksheet is here.

Starting from the first class of the beginning class, you want your students to learn Mandarin, walk away with a few useful words, and build simple sentences every class. This packet may be a little overwhelming, it covers, however, pinyin, numbers, greetings, an intro to characters and character structures, the importance of the stroke orders, Chinese culture like China's National Day, Chinese calligraphy, geography, and an intro to ancient philosophy and philosophers. Sing the first Chinese song and dance. Students also develop skills in taking class notes and making physical flashcards, as well as using online tools like Archchinese.com, Pleco, lingt.com for homework, and Quizlet. They can speak simple sentences, yes and no questions, and a few useful adjectives and negations. They can naturally say up to 30 words with correct pronunciation, write 20 characters by memory, and understand how basic sentence structures work, and classroom expressions. The order of the slides and repetitions vary. I try to finish it in 3-4 weeks. Assessments are frequent, either oral or written. A Jamboard activity is colorful and engaging.  Again, speaking in Chinese from DAY 1 is possible, and very much crucial.  Editable slides of the first few weeks of level one instruction, with videos and slide show animations are available by request. Editable Reading and test by request. Two Kahoot games and handouts are linked on the left. 

This video clip may be useful for learners to understand the structure and the key elements of Chinese characters. 

There is a collection of Chinese Character learning short videos in this 汉字 playlist.

The additional unique skill for Mandarin learners is Typing, in addition to the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing (handwriting). Typing is not as intuitive as other Western languages. It is fortunately based on the English keyboard but takes a bit of practice to get used to and type fast. 

The slide with video and instructions teaches how to type in Mac, PCs, and cell phones. with carefully selected YouTube videos, tips and tricks, and a student typing project when students studied Chinese for about 6 weeks. Download the editable slides with embedded videos by request.

In this set of slides "ku ci, cool words"  I have students learn to speak first, but not to write or read if they haven't formally learned the words yet. These are very practical and high-frequency words for everyday speaking and communication. A youtube playlist "hot words" may also be helpful. Students love to learn those and love to initiate learning new ones that are relevant and meaningful to them, therefore they can use them right away!

The slide is available to view and play. The editable slide with playable videos is available by request.

This set of slides helps teachers to introduce everyday expressions from day one. CI methods suggest using those high-frequency classroom expressions in Chinese (the target language) to reinforce input, input, and more input, as well as approach ACTFL's goal of using the target language in teaching 90%.  

The slide is always evolving, new words will be added. The most updated editable version is available to edit and play by request. (50+ slides, with fun pictures and videos)

This set of slides is for teaching the important part of the Chinese language, history, and cultural heritage "成语“ Chengyu. View the Chengyu Gushi YouTube channel that contains selected videos from other YouTube contributors. Being able to use Chengyu in speaking and writing immediately elevates learners' language and literacy levels. It is both a fun and intellectual part of learning the Chinese language. 

This set is growing and improving all the time. Classic poems, quotes, and more chengyu content will be added from time to time. The updated editable slides are available by request. (40+ slides of most useful idioms with videos and pictures).