[Nira Sun]

Even though Asians are famous for being respectful and filial to parents, the situation described in the movies was not uncommon in Asian countries. Chinese has a saying literally translated to "One monk will carry two buckets of water. Two monks will share the burden. But with three monks, no one will fetch the water." Parents was hoping that children will take care of them when they get old. However, what they usually got was being ignored by their children. Everyone expects others to take care of the business, so it becomes no one's business. I think the intetion of the movie was to expose such unfortunate but real situation to the society. It was made more dramatic by adding the part that the daughter-in-law was taking care of the parents even after her husband, the son of the old parents, passed away.

[Nira Sun]

At our school site, we have a K-pop club which I do not know if it still exits. This museum definitely is a go-to place for kids who appreciate the Korean culture. They will find lots of information that they are interested in. At the mean time, they can also help to broadcast and promote Korean culture to students who are unfamiliar with Asian cultures. I specifically like the hands-on touch screen where you can get the Korean spelling for your names. This helps students to gain familiarity towards cultures that they don't get much access to.

[Nira Sun]

Since you mentioned Hangeul, I remembered a teacher introduced to us how she taught Hangeul in class. She even had a whole set of Hangeul with matching movement. I found that very interesting. I have seen resources online regarding teaching Chinese strokes with matching KungFu Panda KungFu movements. I appreaciated the teachers who invented these ideas. Becasue of these teachers, our students can enjoy learning languages, especially challenging languages.

[Nira Sun]

I agree with what you said about Korean government supports oversea broadcast of Korean culture. The videos and all the exihibits in the museum are very advanced and organized. All the touchscreens encourage visitors to engage in experiencing the culture. I was able to play around and find out how to write my name in Korean language. I found that very interesting. Althought I might be one of those who will never get the chance to learn Korean language, this interactive media gives me an opportunity to make the connection between my language and Korean one.

In terms of Chinese American Museum, I was impressed with how everything was maintained in an old fashion way. Just like you said, it seems to be preserved by private party instead of government. I am so glad it is still up and running. I do appreciate whoever that ensures this museum gets preserved. It is absolutely a great resource for young generation to have an insight on Chinese immigrant history.

[Nira Sun]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Honestly, It never really came across my mind about the lack of historical and political information in the video presented at the Korean Culture Center. After reading all the posts here, I really appreacited that Jessica pointed it out. Isn't it a type of so called "soft power" we have discussed in the seminar? The way Korean was presented in the video was biased due to its targeted audiences. Like Natali mentioned, having students comparing promotion videos made in different countries promots critical thinking training among students. I think I will introduce this concept to my students to train them to become indepent thinkers.

[Nira Sun]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Nira Sun, a high school Mandarin teacher in LAUSD. This is my 4th year teaching Mandarin and 1st year teaching AP Chinese. I enjoyed my last experience with USC East Asia seminar, so I was super excited when I learned about this summer seminar. I have always wanted to integrate visual arts into my lessons because, in my opinion, visual arts are more effective stimulant for language learners. From my experience, they are also the most engaging materials and resources.

[Nira Sun]

This museum is definitely a precious place that is convenient for local people or visitors to experience history. I just cannot believe that it's free. I truely hope this place will get to be kept forever so that it can continue benefiting younger generations to gain knowledge of immigrant histories.

[Nira Sun]

Hi Natali,

I'm still looking forward to our field trip for our AP students. It would be great if our students can see how similiar our immigrant histories were. Just like you said, it was very interesting that there are Spanish written inside the Chinese American Museum. It would definitely caught our students' attention and easier for them to find connection with the stories they heard from their parents.

Even thought it was not my first time being here, it was definitely my first time went up to the second floor of it. The museum is small but it displayed so many interesting little items from old days. It has a very brief history of how Chinese immigrants have grown and developed in the China town or Monterey Park area.

I was glad that we also got to take a little tour to the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. It was my very first time to stop by there. These two are certainly the best combination for students to experience the immigration histories of both cultures.

[Nira Sun]

This is my second time attending seminar at USC. As much as I enjoyed the first one, this seminar surprised me in so many different ways. I definitely believe that visual arts are effective ways to introduce topics and culture to students in order for them to gain deeper insight on everything about Asia.

Musics:

• When Professor Kim introduced K-pop music, it reminded me of when I had my Mandarin students making music videos of Chinese songs. They were so engaged in learning the lyrics and understanding the meanings by watching the original MV. Most students are benefited from the visual assistance because it fills in the blanks which they get from unfamiliar vocabulary in the lyrics. Once they have understood the content of the music, they made one of their own. Through out the process, students collaboratively practice the language with their partners in an engaging way which most of them enjoyed.

Movies:

• I was definitely impressed by Dr. Yasar’s presentation on Japanese films. Even though we didn’t understand the Japanese language but we were all able to feel how the characters were feeling in the movie due to their facial expressions and tones. I watched the Tokyo Story because of this presentation. The message that I would like to deliver back to my classroom to my students is that we all have emotions in common disregard the languages we speak. Watching movies can certainly help students to understand the different lifestyle then to compare with their own.

• Dr. Yasar also introduced a book named “Sentimental Fabulations” by Rey Chow which I think can be used as a great reading resource for students to gain knowledge of common values presented in Asian movies. Besides the book, it would be great if I can find movies to compare with the Asian movies to strengthen their comprehension.
• Introducing the concept of “soft power” to students. This is a big topic which can be introduced by comparing Asian movies with western ones. I also would like to have students research on the production companies of recent movies.

Cartoons or Posters

• Cartoons or posters are another form of visual arts which emphasize on delivering message through images and very little words. It serves as a great opportunity for students to comprehend the messages without looking for new vocabulary. It goes quite well with world language learning goals.
• In addition, cartoons and posters are usually funny and interesting which will most likely attract students’ attention. It’s also a great tool for students to work collaboratively with classmates.

 

This seminar has definitely changed my curriculum design for my Mandarin classes. I’m now able to integrate more visual arts into my language learning classes. I sure hope that my students will find it more interesting and beneficial to their learning. 

[Nira Sun]

Sounds great! Colors do have certain representation in different cultures. Earlier my colleague and I were looking at a logo with Chinese and Mexican images on there. We both think that we could totally use it as our World Language Department Logo. I joked about how the dragon was painted with black color. It’s quite obvious that Chinese sees red as the luckiest color at all. In ancient theory, red can be used to scare the evil things away. This is probably another major reason behind it. Then I asked my colleague if there is any color that Mexicans or Hispanics specifically like. She reminded me to recall all the decorations and textiles Latinos have are usually mix of all colors and that they are super festive and flashy. This can be a really interesting topics to talk about in class. That way we also expose students to different perspectives and cultures so that they understand the theory behind them. 

[Nira Sun]

I think maybe we can go from gender inequality perspective which, hopefully, is easier for our students to find connection with. What came across my mind now is the foot binding which can also be brought into this discussion. Students can be working together to discuss how women was perceived back in the days as opposed to how they are perceived nowadays. Are there still any unequal theories or concepts imposed on women?

In addition, how does modern society comprehend the phenomenon of men play women roles in musical and other art forms? The reasons behind this must be quite different from back then. Students probably can also discuss how all these changes happened.

[Nira Sun]

I wonder if that Mexican movie you mentioned used the similar camera angle as the Japanese one. I remember the Prof. addressed how the cameras were stationed 2 and half fee off the ground and the pillow shot. Camera angles can be perceived as our perspectives. Most of our students are the experiencing this new life style here compared to their parents who were educated with old fashioned concepts. Maybe we can help students to find the connection between the breakdown of families in the movie and some challenges / conflicts they are facing in real life now.

[Nira Sun]

Some of my students are HUGE funs of K POP. They show me the cute guys they like on their phones. They even buy sweaters with their images on them. You’d be surprised to find out how popular K pop is at our school where 99% of them are Hispanics.

In addition, I would encourage you to give video making project a try. I did it once last semester with my Mandarin 3 students. It was a FUN process. They learned the lyrics and listened to the music days and nights. We even had a little music video show / competition at the end. I was impressed with the quality and ideas presented in their videos. However, you do need to come up with certain “RULES” so that you can be updated on their progress.

[Nira Sun]

Thank you, Donna, for posting these two excerpts from different versions of textbooks. It is indeed a heated topic in China in regards to the Japanese attitudes and perspectives on the history of invading China. As you have mentioned, “neither excerpt covered the massacre in detail and leave out vital information”. If you look at it closer, they even changed the term used to describe what happened in Nanjing, from massacre to incident. History is something that cannot be removed or changed. However, how we perceive history is a matter of perspective. And that perspective mainly comes from books and major medias. This makes it challenging for teachers to deliver “appropriate” message in classrooms. With that being said, I agree with what you said about having students compare the sources and analyze the bias. To add on to that, we can have students do research or discussion on similar historical events in other continents or countries.

[Nira Sun]

Since I am able to read Chinese in the posters, I think I will discuss something else in this post. After learning about the soft power from Dr. Rosen’s class, I wonder are these posters considered as soft power or hard power? They all have very explicit information to either promote certain values or encourage citizens to behave in certain ways. In terms of comparing cultures, I’m also wondering if we have anything similar in American. Are these posters function in the similar way as the ones we teachers post in our classrooms?  We call them visual enforcement, don’t we?

 

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