Almost 45% the world’s egg production is based in China. However, they are not usually sold in neat boxes of 6 or 12 but are piled in baskets or trays. It will not only be hen’s eggs, jīdàn 鸡蛋, you will see on sale as apart from the many colours you will also see quail, duck and goose eggs.
Eggs in China
Pelmanism cards for beginners
Word games for download
These cards use pinyin, English and Chinese characters. Designed for beginners the PDF download can be printed and cut up on the guidelines or alternatively can be used as a template for making your own Pelmanism cards. The vocabulary is taken from Unit 1 of ULearnChinese Book 1.
Unit 1 pelmanism
Solar power in China
In the Ningxia Hui autonomous region clean energy accounted for one third of all power generation, wind, hydro and solar. Yinchuan City (also called ‘Phoenix City’) is the capital of the region situated in the remote northwest of China. The 1000-year-old city is a famous cultural city beyond the Great Wall. The old sector of Yinchuan City to the west is green and peaceful, and contains all the places of interest. It includes the 1500-year-old Haibao Pagoda; the famous Buddhist architecture from the West Xia Kingdom Chengtiansi Pagoda; and the West Xia Imperial Tombs known as the ‘Pyramids of China’.
Train ferry to Hainan Island
Going on a tropical holiday to Hainan Island? If you go by train from Beijing West station the whole train is carried over to the island on a train ferry, a 55 minute journey across the Qiongzhou Straits, but with an hour loading time. Journey time from Beijing to Hainan island is about 35 hours. The Harmony EMU is the fastest long distance EMU train in China. These trains are also called héxiéhào (和谐号, Harmony) or bullet trains in China.
China: Triumph and Turmoil
This Channel 4 series is really important to watch. It looks at China’s ascendancy, and asks what the future holds for the world’s most populous country and its relationship with the rest of the world. What language would you choose to learn in parallel to your own cultural background. http://goo.gl/TyxVH
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Clipper fleet leaves Qingdao
This leg of the Clipper 11-12 Race fleet left the marina to the sound of drums and thousands of cheering locals, as well as the sights of dragon dancers and fireworks. However, an icy blast brought snow showers sweeping across the Olympic Sailing Centre just before the boats slipped their lines and headed out for the start line in reducing visibility.
The actual start has been delayed until Monday morning and the boats are all heading for a point 25 miles out to sea before starting their epic journey across the Pacific to Oakland, California. Live tracking goo.gl/005hn
Chinese fashion on-line
On-line shopping is big business in China. Using on-line fashion web sites is a good way to teach new words, colours, sizes, types of clothing. It also illustrates the power of young Chinese women buyers, 21-35. A good site is zooq.com, http://goo.gl/TvhxG
Estonia
A leap year blog. A bit of a break this week as we are in Tallin talking to the Chinese Director, Lin Ke, of the Tallin Confucius Institute. A trip to Helsinki on the excellent Tallink ferry was interesting as the Gulf of Finland was covered in ice floes.
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Opening of the Ulster Confucius Institute
Photographed during a visit to the Belfast city centre campus where he was briefed on plans for a week of Chinese cultural events in April marking the formal launch of the Confucius Institute of Northern Ireland at the University of Ulster (CINIU), Vice Minister Hao Ping (pictured) claimed both countries could reap a number of benefits from its establishment..
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Using Games in Language Learning
Word games – the academic justification
Two papers that discuss reasons for using games in language learning, when and how to use them, types of language games and using games in a co-operative context. These two papers have been recommended on the TES Resources web site..
Making Games Co-operative
Using games in language teaching
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