How to build an interactive Chinese lesson
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Build a lesson around what the student should be able to do. Laowai’s lesson editor combines material and exercises in an ordered sequence that you can preview before students see it.
Start with an observable goal
Open Classroom → My lessons and create a lesson, or start from material in Laowai library. Name the lesson after its task: “Ask where a book is” tells you more than “Lesson 4”.
Plan the order before adding blocks: a short model, essential vocabulary, one supported question and an independent response. For location, the model could be 书在桌子上, followed by a new object or place that students must describe themselves.
书在桌子上。
Shū zài zhuōzi shang.
The book is on the table.
Choose a block for the evidence you need
The editor offers text and audio, vocabulary, multiple choice, multiple answers, matching, gap-fill, text completion, word order, listening dictation, written response, spoken response and handwriting.
| Check whether a learner can… | Try |
|---|---|
| Recognise a meaning | Matching or multiple choice |
| Build a sentence | Word order or a gap |
| Understand a recording | Listening dictation |
| Use the language independently | Written or spoken response |
| Form a character | Handwriting |
A multiple-choice answer and a spoken response give different evidence. Choose only the formats needed for the lesson, and allow teacher review for open responses.
Add words and generate a first exercise draft
Use the dictionary tools to add words to the lesson. Check the full entry and choose the meaning used in the text. Vocabulary can support a generated exercise set such as Chinese-to-meaning, pinyin choices or matching.
Review every generated question. Similar meanings can make a choice ambiguous; distractors should allow one defensible answer. Add a short explanation that teaches the distinction.
For listening dictation, choose an available Laowai recording in the editor and retain its attribution. For writing, speaking and handwriting, add a clear prompt and review criteria. “Describe where the book is in one sentence” gives students a more useful target than “Write something”.
Preview the complete student task
- Save the lesson.
- Open Preview and work through the sequence in order.
- Check Chinese, pinyin, wording, answers and recording availability.
- Check that the task is answerable from the material you provided.
- Return to the editor for corrections, then save again.
From Use lesson, choose Teach live or Assign homework. An assignment uses a fixed copy; future edits remain in the editor. If you revise a lesson after assigning it, decide deliberately whether students need a new assignment.
Reuse source credits with adapted material. A text being readable on the public web does not mean every part can be redistributed in your own course.