Chinese L7: Example 2
Example 2: Letter to friend
亲爱的兰兰 ，
好久不见 ，你最近好吗？还记得在中国的时 候 ,
好久不见 ，你最近好吗？还记得在中国的时候 , 我们最喜欢一起去茶馆喝茶。现在我回到了新西兰 ，我很想念中国的茶馆。在新西兰 ，我的朋友们不是去Starbucks喝咖啡 ，就是去McDonald’s 喝可乐 ，或者去朋友的舞会喝啤酒。你第一次说要带我去茶馆的时候 ，我觉得这个活动可能会很无聊！可是后来我觉得茶馆真好玩 ，因为你教了我中国的茶艺。有时候 ，我们一边喝茶一边聊天 ，有时候我们一边喝茶一边下棋。
你还告诉我 ，古时候 ，人们也喜欢去茶馆一边喝茶一边看京剧。那一定很有意思！真希望我还有机会和你一起去茶馆喝茶。
祝学业进步！
你的朋友，
Jenny
二零一一年八月二日
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Context and text type
Jenny has just returned to New Zealand after being an exchange student in China for a year. She is writing a letter to her good Chinese friend, Lanlan, about their experience in a teahouse in China.
Text type
Letter. Productive.
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Examples showing how the student is:
Communicating information, ideas and opinions through increasingly extended and varied texts
Jenny uses the formulaic expression 还记得 to recall past experience.
The use of temporal verbs and adverbs shows the switch between time frames. For example,还 is an adverb used to indicate that the situation remains the same. 记得 is a verb, and its use in the context of 还记得 indicates that something that happened in the past still can be recalled.
Mary uses temporal nouns 现在 ，第一次 ，后来 to switch between time frames.
The text illustrates the use of connectives 不是就是或者 to indicate alternatives.
Mary uses 可能 to express possibility.
Mary uses 一定 , which is stronger than 可能 and indicates certainty.
She uses the sentence pattern 一边 …一边 … to express the idea of simultaneous actions.
Beginning to explore the views of others
Mary’s use of 你第一次说要带我去茶馆的时候 ，我觉得这个活动可能会很无聊 ，可是后来我觉得茶馆真好玩 shows development and change of her perspectives and attitudes.
Beginning to develop and share personal perspectives
Mary uses 我觉得茶馆真好玩 , and then 我希望 to express, develop and share personal opinions and aspirations.
Beginning to justify own ideas and opinions
She uses 我觉得茶馆真好玩 ，因为你教了我中国的茶艺 to explain and justify her own statements.
Beginning to support or challenge the ideas and opinions of others
Mary uses 那一定很有意思 to express approval and appreciation.
Beginning to engage in sustained interactions and produce extended texts
Mary uses 不是就是或者 to present further alternatives and extend her ideas.
Her use of the temporal expressions 有时候 , 还是 , 后来 , 现在 , 第一次 enables her to organise and sequence events in extended text.
Her use of the coordinating sentence pattern 一边喝茶一边下棋 enables her to further develop and extend ideas in text.
Interpreting ways in which the target language is organised in different texts and for different purposes
Mary uses the format 亲爱的 … to address the recipient of the letter.
She uses the formulaic expression 好久不见 ，最近好吗？ to greet the recipient and begin the letter.
In the same way, she uses the formulaic expression 祝学业进步 to conclude the letter.
Her use of the formulaic expression 学业进步 (May your learning improve) indicates that she is acknowledging the importance of education in Chinese culture.
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Opportunities for developing intercultural communicative competence
Investigate, explore and discuss the tea house, tea ceremony and Beijing opera, their special character, the values they express, and their place and current relevance in Chinese culture. Make comparisons and connections with aspects of own culture(s).
Examine the format of letter writing in Chinese and in English, exploring the conventions of the genre and making comparisons and connections across cultures.
Compare and contrast the drinking cultures of China and New Zealand, and the values they express.
Last updated March 4, 2013
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