Chinese Class Instruction Words from Your Teacher

[Jenny_MeetMandarin]

In a Chinese-speaking class, the tutor may give you regular instructions/orders in Chinese. Being able to recognize and comprehend these instructions will not only help you better understand the lesson, but make your class more efficient. In this video lesson, Mandy will teach you 12 common instruction words used in an online class.

 

If you are taking Chinese class online, you may have realized teachers sometimes give you orders in Chinese, like opening your book, say it again, etc. Are you able to understand the teacher immediately when these instructions are spoken?

dǎ kāi shū.

打开书。

Open your book. 

 

dú shēnɡ cí.

读生词。

Read the new words.

 

dú kè wén.

读课文。

Read the text.  

 

ɡēn wǒ dú.

跟我读。

Read after me.

 

zuò liàn xí.

做练习。

Do the exercises.

 

zài shuō yī biàn.

再说一遍。

Say again please.

 

qǐnɡ nǐ dú.

请你读。

Read please.      

 

qǐnɡ nǐ tīnɡ.

请你听。

Listen please.    

 

yǒu wèn tí mɑ？

有问题吗？

Do you have any questions?  

 

qǐnɡ jǔ shǒu.

请举手。

Raise your hands.        

 

qǐnɡ zhù yì.

请注意。

Attention please.       

 

tīnɡ wǒ shuō.

听我说。

Listen to me.            

 

zài lái yí cì.

再来一次。

One more time.           

 

mínɡ bɑi le mɑ？

明白了吗？

Do you understand?            

 

wǒ wèn, nǐ dá.

我问，你答。

I ask, you answer.    

[Gharial]

Phrases that are too redolent of the classroom will be of little use outside it.

 

For example, in the real world we don't usually simply command people to do things, and often need to certainly intimate some reasons why they should do whatever (presumable interest at least, and/or what do they make of something, or can they help, and so on and so forth).

 

At a minimum the teacher needs to show genuinely useful additional instances of the forms, which in the case of the imperative would include friendly invitations and exhortations (Come in, sit down, have a drink, dig in!), or warnings (Look out!), admonitions etc.

 

Then, there may be any number of things in all those texts kept at arm's length (assuming those texts even cover enough) or indeed never getting any real look-in given the way many language classrooms are run (most are quite inimical to the spoken language they may be professing, but only professing, to teach).

 

But hey, I'm not saying that a busy teacher can't ever just direct students to turn to page 666 of an often decidedly thin, so-so textbook LOL, and it really shouldn't take too long to learn such phrases (even if they aren't always acted on immediately when heard).

 

As for unrelenting "Direct" Method, IMHO that can lead to an indiscriminate wall of sound that drowns out or dulls the focus, but I appreciate that classes in which the students don't all share the same first language may be impossible to teach without it.