Native speakers of Mandarin Chinese who wish to deepen their English conversation and discussion skills are invited to join a book club offered through the Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley.
[Here is the book club meeting format.]
What? A book club, conducted in English, for adult speakers of Mandarin Chinese
For whom?
Adult speakers of Mandarin Chinese who have an upper elementary or above level of proficiency in English and wish to improve their English pronunciation, conversation, and discussion skills.
When? Two meeting times, each 30 minutes
- 6:30 AM U.S. Eastern, Thursdays (for all)
- 2:30 PM U.S. Eastern, third Sunday of the month (for residents of the Blacksburg and New River Valley areas of Virginia, U.S.A.).
- Remaining Sunday meetings in 2023: September 17, October 15, November 19, December 17
Where? Zoom
What book?
Shanghai Immortal, by A. Y. Chao, released June 1, 2023
Why Shanghai Immortal?
As a learner of Mandarin Chinese, the beauty and power of A. Y. Chao’s sentences and her blending of English and Chinese language and western and eastern cultures, gave me the boldness to suggest we read her novel together to grow as people deepening our abilities to speak about ideas and life in English and Chinese.
We need a novel that uses excellent, contemporary English vocabulary, has many opportunities for gathering personally meaningful words to add to a core vocabulary, and offers a bridge between Chinese and English language and culture. The novel needs a compelling story and a heroine befitting the global challenges of life in 2023. Perhaps most importantly, the novel needs to merit sustained attention to each word and each sentence over a long period of time. I believe Shanghai Immortal meets these criteria.
Here’s the Kindle version. The hardback version will be released October 31, 2023. According to the author’s site, Shanghai Immortal is the first novel in a trilogy.
Here’s the Audible version. Narrator Mei Mei Macleod is exceptional.
What will be the reading pace?
While book club members are welcome to read ahead at their own pace, for our English-focused discussions, we will work on mastering the first sentence of the novel, then proceed at the pace set by the majority of our members.
Why will we spend so much time on the first sentence?
“The steaming Shanghai night
drapes heavy over my bare shoulders.”
– A. Y. Chao, Shanghai Immortal
To “master” a word is to gain a deep, interior knowledge of it, such that the learner can, without notice or thought, regardless of context, use the word, explain the word’s meaning, pronounce it accurately as a word and within a sentence, recite the word from memory, and read the word on a printed page or screen.
From mastering a single, beautiful, well-constructed sentence, a learner can confidently build more complex sentences using frequently used, most important, and personally meaningful words to communicate more individually and fully.
Further, we are attempting to master the pronunciation of this sentence with the standard American accent of a national level media broadcaster.
After several weeks of practice, one book club member said, “This sentence is mine now.”
For assistance with mastering the first sentence of Shanghai Immortal, here’s a worksheet. The .pdf opens in a new tab.
Why are we proceeding at a slow pace?
Many enthusiastic second language learners begin reading books in their target language. Few finish. Reading in a second language can be difficult, tedious, and demoralizing. Force decreases motivation and learning. Reading a book in a second language is not the time for 努力！It’s the time for spacious kindness. We need to give ourselves time to explore and experience these words to make them our own.
In considering logistics, the book is 365 pages long. Reading one page per day for 365 days in a row would take one year. We may go more quickly; we may go more slowly. We’ll take the time we need.
“[Students] read word by word, sentence by sentence, and they ponder over an unfamiliar word choice, a fleeting gesture, the shadow of an image, and the ripple of a sentence seen in the following sentence. The collection of their thoughts, observations and questions is very touching. It’s a testament to the art of reading with not only five senses but also with memory and imagination. And I hope it’s the most important thing I can teach my students: not merely the crafts of writing but the importance of paying close attention, to the world in a book and to the world beyond a book.”
– Yiyun Li, author, interview, The New York Times,
What is the meeting format?
Here is the book club meeting format.
What materials and resources do I need?
- Zoom
- An electronic or print version of Shanghai Immortal. The Kindle version offers both English and Chinese dictionaries to help with vocabulary.
What is the cost to join?
This program is free and offered through the Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley. (Here is a 30-minute public television story about the Literacy Volunteers.)
How do I join the 6:30 AM U.S. Eastern Thursday meeting for all?
Please fill out the contact form and I will email you the Zoom link.
How do I join the 2:30 PM U.S. Eastern Sunday meeting for residents of the New River Valley?
If you are a Mandarin Chinese speaker and a resident of the New River Valley of Virginia and would like to join the Sunday meeting of the book club, registration is required. Please visit this page, then click on Student Application for English Classes.
Once you have registered, we can add you to our WeChat book club group. If you know someone who may be interested, please feel free to share this post with them.
Current book club members, thank you for your bravery and for the inspiration you give me to explore ways to learn another language as an adult. Thank you for the synergy we create together.
About the facilitator
Anne Giles, M.A., M.S., L.P.C., is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S.A., and a student of Mandarin Chinese. She has passed the pre-2021 HSK 1 and HSK 2 exams. She holds master’s degrees in curriculum and instruction and mental health counseling, and a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate. She attended the virtual National Chinese Language Conference in 2021 and 2022. She has taught English at the middle school, high school, and college levels. Her experience in working with non-native speakers of English includes serving as a support person for two visiting scholars from China to Virginia Tech, 1981-1982, tutoring non-native speakers, working with language exchange partners, and enjoying co-housing with international visiting scholars, 2020 to the present. She is a volunteer tutor with Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley, Virginia.
“[Mandarin Chinese is] one of the most geopolitically important languages in the twenty-first century.”
– Jing Tsu, Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution that Made China Modern, 2022
Other in-person opportunities to converse and discuss in English
Conversation and Communication Practice for Speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Tuesdays, 3:30 – 4:30 PM
This free, in-person class for up to six residents of the New River Valley of Virginia is for native speakers of Mandarin Chinese who speak English at an early intermediate level or above and wish to deepen their conversational skills.
The class meets in Blacksburg, Virginia and offers a variety of opportunities for working with pronunciation and vocabulary, and for practicing communicating effectively during conversations and discussions.
Registration is required to participate. To register and learn more, please visit this page, then click on Student Application for English Classes.
This class for Mandarin Chinese speakers is also listed on Meetup.
Conversation and Communication Practice for English Speakers of All Languages, Fridays, 3:15 – 4:15 PM
This free, in-person class for up to six residents of the New River Valley of Virginia is for native speakers of all languages who speak English at an elementary level or above.
The class meets in Blacksburg, Virginia and offers a variety of opportunities for working with pronunciation and vocabulary, and for practicing communicating effectively during conversations and discussions.
Registration is required to participate. To register and learn more, please visit this page, then click on Student Application for English Classes.
Questions?
If you have any questions at all, please contact me, Anne Giles.
Last updated 9/8/2023
All content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Consult a qualified professional for personalized medical, health care, and professional advice.
