“The steaming Shanghai night drapes heavy over my bare shoulders.”
– A. Y. Chao, Shanghai Immortal
- Welcome in Mandarin Chinese:
欢迎来到我们的读书会
Huānyíng lái dào wǒmen de dúshū huì - Shift to English only.
- Individual introductions. Please say your Chinese name, and your American name if you use one, and a 1-2 sentence statement about who you are. Consider varying your introduction each meeting so you practice expressing yourself differently and we all get to learn a bit more about each other.
- Three words in the chat. Before our meeting, please select three words from the text that you would like to add to your personal vocabulary and would like help pronouncing. During introductions, please put these words in the chat.
- Word pronunciation practice. Facilitator will pronounce each word listed in the chat in a standard American accent so members can listen and attempt to replicate the sound. The cue is, “I say, you say, ready?”
- Sentence pronunciation practice. Members take turns sharing their progress speaking the first sentence of the novel as would a native speaker with a standard American accent: “The steaming Shanghai night drapes heavy over my bare shoulders.”
- Two-minute sharing. Please share your personal observations about the story, reading the story, making sense of the story, studying English, or any related subject. This gives everyone an opportunity to speak extemporaneously, without interruption or correction, about a subject we all share in common. Please use a timer on your end to monitor how long you speak.
- Questions. Facilitator asks, “Does anyone have any questions they would like to ask the group?” Members take turns asking and answering questions. If members have no questions, facilitator provides a discussion question.
- Check-out. Members take one minute each to share insights and realizations 意识 yìshí they have gained from the meeting.
这个会议是一个实验和发现仁慈和安全的地方。
Zhège huìyì shì yīgè shíyàn hé fāxiàn réncí hé ānquán de dìfāng.
This meeting is a kind, safe place for experimentation and discovery.请，不要打断，不要建议, 不要纠正，不要教.
Qǐng, bùyào dǎ duàn, bùyào jiànyì, bùyào jiūzhèng, bùyào jiào.
Please do not interrupt, advise, correct, or instruct.
The meeting format is intentionally designed to incorporate factors that maximize proficiency gains for adults learning additional languages, including immersion, target language-only content, social interaction, repetition in multiple contexts (researchers have found that language learners need 3 to 17 exposures to master a new word), and multiple opportunities for extended extemporaneous speaking in the target language to help create the dynamic, interrelated, patterned, structured network for learning a second language that optimizes use of the brain’s schematic functions and increases the efficiency of learning.
“But in certain situations, it [using a second language ] could be a useful tool to switch mindsets, allowing us to be a little more detached, objective and flexible in our thinking… [W]hen facing a personal upset, you may find that describing the situation in your second language helps to calm some of your fears or anxieties. And if you are considering a controversial new environmental policy, you might try to read about it in a foreign newspaper: the research suggests that this may render you more open-minded to the facts at hand and less easily swayed by your immediate gut reaction.”
– David Robson, The Guardian, 09/17/2023
With questions, please contact Anne Giles.
Last updated 09/24/2023
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.
