[Megan Hsiao]

I really enjoyed Prof. Jung-Kim’s thorough and detailed lecture about Korean foods, which also makes me hungry. Indeed, Korean soft power--K-Pop, K-drama, K-beauty products, and Korean foods, etc are way more far-reaching than we can expect. Many of my students are BTS fans and they have been following these singers on social media and even attending their concerts in the U.S. At school, my students had organized several club activities featuring K-pop music. With this lecture and the readings, I am thinking of incorporating an Asian Food unit in the curriculum by having students study the background history of the Chinese grocery stores and Korean supermarket H Mart and compare and contrast their similarities and differences. During the Lunar New Year, I used to have students make Chinese dumplings and study Chinese New Year's dishes. Prof. Jung-Kim’s presentation and this Food & Identities program have motivated me to also include Japanese food and Korean food in my curriculum. I think studying Korean food history in America is also a good way especially for the Asian American students to understand their history and raise their awareness of their identity.  

 

[Megan Hsiao]

As a fan of Japanese food, it is interesting to learn about the origins of Japanese food and its places. In the lecture videos, Prof. Rath explained the importance of Umami, a savory flavor in Japanese cooking. Unlike Chinese people using a lot of spicy flavors in cooking, Japanese use Umami to add a seafood flavor in dishes. Umami is made from Konbu which is also an important ingredient of Japanese stock for soup. Enjoying Japanese ramen with different broths, it is inspiring to learn about Konbu and Katsuo as essential ingredients in Japanese cooking. Additionally, the reading of Japanese Mothers and Obentōs also reminded me of the importance of lunch boxes as obento in my childhood. Even today, boxed lunch is still very popular and common. As Anne Allison mentioned that the presentation of obento is very critical, this feature of the dish being very organized and stylized can be easily found from Japanese drama. I wonder how much of the Japanese food presentation has changed in the modern days, especially if it has been influenced by the idea of sustainability.  

 

[Megan Hsiao]

Thanks for posting Fred's blog. This is very helpful! 

[Megan Hsiao]

Indeed, I feel the same way that food supply has been weaponized and politicized. In particular, I have been thinking about the recent issue that Taiwan’s parliament approved the imports of U.S. pork containing a leanness-enhancing additive. See the article https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-politics/taiwan-lawmakers-approve-imports-of-additive-fed-u-s-pork-idUSKBN28Y0ZF. This event has caused many public protests and media attention in Taiwan. Similarly with the “political pineapple” issue, Taiwan has been a victim of political and trade deals through the imports of U.S. ractopamine pork. I am curious to know what Fred’s perspective would be regarding these issues. Meanwhile, despite the complexity of political and economical issues such as the political pineapple, I am thinking how we can integrate issues like this in our classroom.

[Megan Hsiao]

Thanks for sharing the PBS program and the NPR podcast! Great resources for classroom! 

[Megan Hsiao]

The lecture and the readings about Chinese Food in America are very interesting and captivating. It is very inspiring to learn that the history of American Chinese food reflects immigration and what America is. In Jennifer’s lecture, she mentioned that there are more Chinese restaurants in American than all the major fast food restaurants combined, plus Chinese food is the most pervasive food in the continents. I have never realized that Chinese food will be so influential in terms of its developments. Jennifer also brought up another interesting point about the Chinese exclusion act, the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States based on race. Although there are many immigration reforms since then, xenophobia has been an important social issue, which has become more serious during the COVID outbreak. Additionally, I also learned a lot from the video about fortune cookies, especially that they actually originated from Japan. I would plan to use the lecture videos in class to show how Chinese food is related to immigration in America.

[Megan Hsiao]

That's something I would defenitely do if I bring students to China! Our trip to Taiwan was canceled due to pandemic last year unfortunately. Hope there will be a chance to have the student international trip to China in the near furture! 

[Megan Hsiao]

The topic about food and the cultural meaning behind it is always fascinating. In my Chinese language class, I did several food units, including a MacDonald project in which students compare and contrast the MacDonald menu in China and in the U.S. I think the MacDonald videos in the presentation is a very good material that we could use in different subject areas such as Social Studies. Although it might be complicated to discuss political issues, the video will work very well for a cultural discussion regarding the meaning of the Chinese name for Manfu/good fortune, the college entrance exam, etc. In Taiwan, it’s also very common for students to use MacDonald as a place for study and hanging out with friends. It’s interesting to see the cultural differences and how this American fast food chain adapts to the local culture. In regards to the Chopstick video, it is filmed so well that it not only portrays the chopsticks as the Chinese cultural heritage but also reflects all the virtues and kindness in Chinese society. It is certainly a great teaching resource in the Chinese language class.

[Megan Hsiao]

Hello everyone! My name is Megan Hsiao and I teach Mandarin Chinese in Cleveland Ohio. After living in Ohio for so many years, the aspect I dislike the most is the snowy winter but I like the friendliness and simplicity of life here. I am originally from Taiwan and I love East Asian culture. I really hope to visit East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. During the pandemic last year, my school had both a hybrid and fully remote model, which actually helped me to learn a lot about remote teaching. Although many students learn the best from in-person settings, I think remote learning will still remain demanding in the coming years.

 

[Megan Hsiao]

How I intend to incorporate the course into my teaching:

After completing the Crossing Boundaries program, I am planning to add more East Asian cultural discussion topics which I learned in the program in my Madarin Chinese curriculum. As in most of the Mandarin Chinese programs in the U.S, the students normally focus on learning Chinese language and the assessments also reflect high percentage in assassin students’ language proficiency. However, due to the challenges of Chinese language learning, it has shown over the years that the Chinese course enrollment in the nation has been declining. Therefore, I have been thinking of adding more cultural learning in the program to balance with linguistic study. Taking Chinese level I as the example, it would be a great stage to introduce East Asian culture and history in this level as a result to lay the beginning foundation of learning. Specifically, I am planning to relate Chinese culture/history with the East Asian countries. For instance, one curriculum project I am planning to incorporate in my unit is to have students further study about Korean wave and its impacts on East Asia (see details in my post on the Lesson Plan forum). I hope the resources and the lecture videos are permitted for us to use in our classroom. 

The other projects students can do is to research on the Silk Road & Belt Road Initiative, and Western Classical Music in China by using the resources provided by USC China-Institute. Adding different cultural research projects and relating the projects with East Asian cultures in each unit will let students have opportunities to conduct research using English resources and they can present their cultural projects in English in addition to the target language usage in class as an end product. The cultural presentation and discussion as assessments will also provide credits and grades for the students to earn. I think the integration of implementing the resources from Crossing Boundaries will support the Chinese program with global studies and will increase students’ learning motivation and broaden their language learning with culture. 

 

[Megan Hsiao]

How I intend to incorporate the course into my teaching:

After completing the Crossing Boundaries program, I am planning to add more East Asian cultural discussion topics which I learned in the program in my Madarin Chinese curriculum. As in most of the Mandarin Chinese programs in the U.S, the students normally focus on learning Chinese language and the assessments also reflect high percentage in assassin students’ language proficiency. However, due to the challenges of Chinese language learning, it has shown over the years that the Chinese course enrollment in the nation has been declining. Therefore, I have been thinking of adding more cultural learning in the program to balance with linguistic study. Taking Chinese level I as the example, it would be a great stage to introduce East Asian culture and history in this level as a result to lay the beginning foundation of learning. Specifically, I am planning to relate Chinese culture/history with the East Asian countries. For instance, one curriculum project I am planning to incorporate in my unit is to have students further study about Korean wave and its impacts on East Asia (see details in my post on the Lesson Plan forum). I hope the resources and the lecture videos are permitted for us to use in our classroom. 

The other projects students can do is to research on the Silk Road & Belt Road Initiative, and Western Classical Music in China by using the resources provided by USC China-Institute. Adding different cultural research projects and relating the projects with East Asian cultures in each unit will let students have opportunities to conduct research using English resources and they can present their cultural projects in English in addition to the target language usage in class as an end product. The cultural presentation and discussion as assessments will also provide credits and grades for the students to earn. I think the integration of implementing the resources from Crossing Boundaries will support the Chinese program with global studies and will increase students’ learning motivation and broaden their language learning with culture. 

 

[Megan Hsiao]

Jiaxing, I use this website in my class as well! My students love it, especially in my Chinese I. The animation is very friendly and easy to understand. This is a good website for Chinese teachers! 

[Megan Hsiao]

Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful review on American Factory. I haven’t gotten a chance to see this film but after reading your reviews, I am planning to watch it before school starts and use it in class this year. I am very interested to have students discuss the cultural differences in work ethics/attitudes and lifestyles between the Chinese and American workers. Based on my own experience working with American co-workers, I find it true that how my American colleagues value vacation time whereas working overtime seems to be very normal in East Asian society. I believe this film will be a good resource for the students to learn Chinese culture from a different perspective. 

 

[Megan Hsiao]

Great points! I am also very interested to learn more why Chinese people love Beethoven so much. I also agree with you about the discipline and the skill cultiation of music appealed to Confucian values. I am looking forward to hearing more about this in today's discussion! 

[Megan Hsiao]

This is my first time to learn about the history of the development of classical music in China and the presentations are so inspiring and informative that I hope they are available for us to use in the classroom. (Will the presentation videos be available to be shown in our class?) There are several topics that I think might be very engaging when having a discussion with the students. One easy topic to start is to study the concert halls in China. As a pre-discussion activity, it will be interesting to have students do an online research to learn more about these famous concert halls in China and compare them with the top concert halls in the U.S (the Severance Hall in Cleveland is one of the best in the nation). Like the ones shown in the presentation videos, I am impressed by the modern and magnificent architect design of the concert halls/performing center in China since I’ve never been there before. The investment in music also proves how Chinese government promotes and values classical music. Meanwhile, with the growing number of Chinese musicians studying abroad and then later returning to China after graduation, this exchange has greatly enhanced the openness of China in the international world. I am wondering that will the pandemic impact China’s investment in classical music and how the Chinese musicians come up with different plans to adjust to this new normal?

[Author]

Posts