Websites


 * BBC. //Real Chinese - Asking for directions//. Retrieved on November 21, 2009 from:** [|**http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/real_chinese/directions/**] BBC’s Real Chinese online lessons cover a variety of topics which include this Asking for Directions lesson. It presents the lesson in slide shows with key language points, audios of dialogues, tips on pronunciation and grammar, cultural notes, and a short video clip. This online mini lesson can be used as a listening material supplementary to in-class instruction.

[] [] These two games/quizzes offer the opportunity for students to learn from fun when studying the vocabulary. Different from other memory game and matching quiz, these two replace the words with audio clips so that it exercises students’ listening skill too. The website also has other games based on different levels and topics. The disadvantage is that the vocabulary being tested is very limited. Only six words are tested each time.
 * Chinese iLAB.com. //Chinese Transportation Audio Memory Game.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**
 * Chinese iLAB.com. //Chinese Transportation Audio Matching Quiz.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**

**Chinese-Tools.com. (2005-2008). //Lesson 25 - Direction and Position.// Retrieved on November 17, 2009 from:** [|**http://www.chinese-tools.com/learn/chinese/25-direction-and-position.html**]
 * Chinese-Tools.com. (2005-2008). //Lesson 26 - Asking the Way.// Retrieved on November 17, 2009 from:** [|**http://www.chinese-tools.com/learn/chinese/26-asking-the-way.html**] These two well-developed online lessons can serve as exemplars for teachers to plan for the directions and transportation unit. Students at Chinese Level 2 may not be able to learn these two online lessons by themselves, but they can definitely learn some basic vocabularies and sentence structures from the lessons with proper scaffolding.

[] This resource is good for vocabulary review and character exercise. One thing special about this site is that it has animations of the steps of writing the characters in the vocabulary. In Chinese, character writing practice is very important so it can be used in class presentations or for self-study of the characters. It also has a stroke video which shows the steps of writing the vocabulary of vehicles.
 * Chinese-Way Press. //Learn Chinese Word—Transportation.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**

[|**http://www.clavisinica.com/voices.html**] This is a collection of short annotated and graded texts about life in modern Beijing. Each text is accompanied by an MP3 audio recording, so students can listen to the stories as they read along. This accommodates the needs of audio learners among the students. The attractive thing is that all of the selections are written by savvy young Beijingers and are read in their own voices. Each piece offers a perspective on modern life in Beijing you won't find in a Chinese language textbook or the China Daily. So this resource is perfectly suitable for high school students at the beginner and intermediate levels.
 * Clavis Sinica. //Chinese Voices Project.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**

Thanks to Google, students can use this map to explore China virtually. Students can find locations, work in pair to ask directions, calculate distance, and pinpoint places of interest. Specific addresses are searchable in most of the big cities but not for towns or villages. It is in Chinese.
 * Google map (Chinese version).** [|**http://ditu.google.cn**]

[] This is a resource of maps of China and its major cities. It is very comprehensive because it includes maps of the cities, their scenic spots, district maps, and the maps in different historical periods. These maps will come in handy when teaching a lesson on transportation and directions.
 * MyChinaStart.com. //China maps of Shanghai, Beijing & other Chinese cities.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**

This website is a popular Chinese learning resource because everyone can find their own level here. The conversation is usually half in Chinese and half in English. The content is authentic especially for nowadays and for young people. Some new words invented recently are used. It always includes discussion, dialogue, vocabulary, expansion, and exercise part. Audio is also provided. It is interesting that the beginning, elementary and intermediate levels all have directions part. However, they develop with different levels and go forward deeper from beginning to intermediate because it is not that straight forward to ask for directions. This can be helpful for students who don't understand the lesson well and they need help from similar resource with English translation.
 * Praxis Language Ltd. (2009). ChinesePod.** [|**http://chinesepod.com**]

[] These Printable PDF Mandarin Flashcards are convenient for teachers to use. It has two types: Chinese and English with Pinyin; Chinese with Pinyin and English. Teachers can choose different types to print out based on the needs of the lesson. Actually it also has pictures on them so it is very visual. The vocabularies are divided by themes such as transportation, clothes, animals, body parts, etc. This could be a very good resource of visual aids to be used in many classes because the website has a wide range of themes.
 * Semanda.com. //Printable Mandarin Flashcards.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**

[] [] These two resources are lessons on direction and transportation. It has vocabulary with Pinyin, English and Audio clips of the pronunciation. Each lesson has two sets of vocabulary and dialogue so teacher can tailor them to what the class needs to learn. In the vocabulary part, it separates the characters in one word to let learners have a better understanding.
 * Simple-Chinese.com. //Asking for Direction.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**
 * Simple-Chinese.com. //Transportation in Chinese.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009 from**

[|http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dporter/sampler/sampler.html] As the title indicates, this website contains reading materials of Modern Chinese Literature, Classical Chinese Literature, Chinese Film Scripts and Song Lyrics, Chinese Fables, Parables, and Children's Stories, Chinese History, Ethics, and Politics, Chinese Language in Daily Life. This resource is wonderful not only because it provides so many kinds of reading materials, but also brings the culture and connections perspective into the classroom of language learning. The numerical ratings next to each title provide a rough measure, on a scale from one to seven, of the relative difficulty of the text based on the usage frequency of the characters it contains in modern Chinese. A low number indicates a relatively accessible text, with a low percentage of less commonly used characters. A higher number indicates a more difficult text, with a higher percentage of such characters. So teachers can choose the text according to the difficulty of the article and the level of students.
 * University of Michigan. //Chinese Text Samper: Readings in Chinese Literature, History, and Popular Culture.// Retrieved on November 30, 2009**