Meet Ying Wang, Chinese teacher at EIB Grenelle

Let's meet Ying Wang, Chinese teacher at EIB Grenelle! We had the opportunity to interview her and ask her a few questions about her background, her teaching at the school, her goals for the class, and her upcoming projects.  

 

 

Can you introduce yourself? 

Hello, my name is Ying Wang. I have been living in France for almost 20 years. My background is quite diversified: art and architecture studies. I love French culture and I am passionate about teaching. I have been teaching Mandarin Chinese for 6 years in Paris.

 

Could you describe your work at EIB Grenelle? For example, you start teaching in Year 4, why? 

My role at EIB Grenelle is to promote Chinese culture through various projects and in collaboration with my colleagues. And of course teaching Mandarin to children from CE2 onwards, 2 hours a week. 

Why start in Year 4? Because this is an age when learning French and English is well established. Children already know how to read and write. A third language, such as Chinese, which is completely different from the Latin languages, opens up and enriches the minds of children - the future citizens of the world.

 

What are the objectives of your class? 

The pedagogical objectives are different for each class. For example, the first year is a year of discovery of the different intonations, of the writing gestures, mainly from a cultural perspective.  

In the 2nd year, we deepen the vocabulary and learn to build sentences, read Chinese characters and write. The 3rd year is a demanding year, for some of them they will be able to prepare for a small certificate in Chinese called YCT level 1. (There are 6 levels in total). This is an exam for school children and college students who are learning Mandarin Chinese.

  

How would you describe your teaching strategy? How does a lesson unfold? 

My way of teaching is to emphasize the spoken part. Gestures are at the heart of my pedagogy. It allows children to better memorize vocabulary, the order of the lines and encourages the participation of all students.

A typical lesson is divided into 4 parts:  

1. Greetings with gestures  

2. Vocabulary review with rhymes 

3. New vocabulary 

4. Personal work plan 

End of class: validation of each student's work plan. 

 

Do you have any special projects planned this year that you would like to share with us?  

Since I haven't been back in China for 3 years, I would like to celebrate the Chinese New Year with the students and maybe have them work on a play at the end of the year on the legend of the 12 animals of the zodiac.