44 Shanliwa from Fuping, Hebei Province, sang "Ode to the Olympics" in Greek photo/Xinhua News Agency
Assistant teacher Lin Jiahao took a group photo with the children during the training interval Courtesy photo / Lin Jiahao At 8 p.m. on the 4th, at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, 44 mountain girls from the Malanhua Choir in dashan, Baoding County, Hebei Province, sang "Ode to the Olympics" in Greek to amaze the world. They wear tiger head clothes and tiger head shoes, and the image of "tiger head and tiger brain" shows the vitality of Children in China's new era. How to make children go from zero to Greek in three months to stand on the stage of the Beijing Winter Olympics and sing emotionally? Their Greek teaching assistant, Lin Jiahao,Chinese a Grade 19 Greek student at the School of European Language and Culture of Beijing University of Foreign Languages and Cultures, told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter the story behind the children's learning Of Greek.
Prepare well
Check information and consult experienced teachers
At the end of October last year, Qin Yezhen and Lin Jiahao, teachers majoring in Greek at the School of European Language and Culture of Beijing University of Foreign Chinese, were invited by the Winter Olympic Organizing Committee to teach children Greek in the depths of the mountains, so that children could spread the story of China's Winter Olympics to the world with their natural singing voices. After receiving the task, Qin Yezhen of the Beiwai Greek Language Teaching and Research Office, as the main teacher, and the 19th grade Greek Lin Jiahao, as the assistant teacher, went to the Bayi Hope Primary School in Nanzhuang, Fuping County, where the children were located, twice in mid-November and early December to carry out a 17-day Greek language teaching. Subsequently, the two teachers also provided language tutoring to the children at any time.
Referring to his feelings at that time, Lin Jiahao admitted that when he received the task in November last year, there was indeed some pressure. Because Greek is really hard, it can't be learned all at once. They had never taught such a young child to learn Greek, and before going to Fuping County to teach, "we consulted some teaching materials and also consulted experienced teachers." Based on teaching experience, it is foreseen that children will encounter problems in Greek pronunciation, especially certain pronunciations will be very challenging. We wanted to teach them from the most basic Greek alphabet, from the pronunciation of the letters to the phonics of words, really starting from scratch to learn Greek. ”
Multiple teaching methods are used together
Pinyin and English are taught in combination
Lin Jiahao told the Beiqing Daily reporter that because the time was really tight and it was too late to start teaching from the 24 Greek letters, they decided to use the most acceptable method for children. "We are teaching a combination of pinyin and English. For example, the word κατεβα, we would write ga-de-va on the blackboard. Because children are more familiar with pinyin and learn faster, this reduces a lot of burden on children. We also took the advice of local teachers and decided to teach in this way. ”
In order to increase the children's interest in Greek and their confidence in learning, teacher Qin Yezhen and assistant teacher Lin Jiahao put a lot of relevant pictures in the PPT when teaching the children Greek lyrics, so that the children in the mountains intuitively understand what is "tall temples, flower crowns made of olive branches, ancient spirits are immortal..." For example, the children do not know what "pilgrim" means, they must explain to the children: Pilgrims need to climb over mountains and mountains to the most sacred place in their hearts. For example, the Greek lyrics are not so simple and straightforward, and the two teachers will process this and tell the children in a simple and understandable sense. "One of the lyrics is 'In the Firmament of the Earth,' and we guess that the children may not understand the meaning of the firmament, we will simplify it to the children as 'between heaven and earth.'"
In addition, the teachers will divide the lyrics into small parts and small parts for the children to listen to, and let the children explain their understanding of the lyrics in small groups to deepen the children's understanding. "We will also let the best students in the group tell all the students, and then find the most thoroughly understood one in the group, tell everyone again, and deepen the memory over and over again." Lin Jiahao said. While teaching the children Greek lyrics, they often "danced with their hands", amusing the children, and doing everything possible to make the children understand the lyrics so that they could vividly express the Olympic spirit through singing. They sometimes divide the children into small groups and play group games; they play small games or rest when the children are not concentrating, often keeping the children in an active state of learning.
Children never cry out for tiredness
Take the initiative to keep up with the progress
In addition to teaching the lyrics of the Olympic song, Teacher Qin Yezhen and Assistant Professor Lin Jiahao will also teach the children some Greek daily phrases, such as "Hello" and "Happy Chinese New Year!" wait. "The children's language talent is particularly good, and it didn't take long to teach it. The most surprising thing is that when we returned to Fuping County for the second time, the children remembered a lot of Greek daily phrases. Lin Jiahao said.
Talking about the children's enthusiasm for learning, Lin Jiahao told the Beiqing Daily reporter that he had been touched by the children's efforts again and again. "Once, very late from class in the evening, we saw a little girl lying on the window and humming this Olympic song in her own voice. There was also a little girl who was trained together because she was halfway through, and her progress was slower than others, and she cried in a hurry, but she still wiped away her tears and practiced to catch up with everyone's progress. We also often see that between the usual breaks, there will be many children running over, with a cute local accent in Fuping, their eyes full of curiosity, pointing to the small blackboard, asking me to help correct and guide pronunciation and other issues. Lin Jiahao's words were not without pride.
Not only that, but the children's training is also very hard, under normal circumstances, about three hours a day of Greek training, and many times, even a whole day of learning. "The children never complained bitterly, and our comprehension often amazed us." Lin Jiahao sighed that in such a day and night together, Lin Jiahao has also become the "Xiaolin teacher" in the hearts of children.
Finally, at about 9 p.m. on the 4th, the children stood on the stage of the "Bird's Nest" without any accompaniment and sang the "Ode to the Olympics".
Speaking of the children's performance on the evening of the 4th, Lin Jiahao is very proud and has always praised the children's performance is amazing, they have shown their best singing and state to the world, so that the most simple and lovely songs can sound in the "Bird's Nest". He said: "The children have overcome many difficulties along the way and created many miracles. I told the children that they were the pride of Kobayashi.com. I also hope that the joy of music, the Greek language, and the Olympic spirit will take root in their hearts. ”
Article/Reporter Wu Wenjuan