Thomas Cheung


INTRODUCTION

Being a part of Chinese 101 is one of the most rewarding feelings I have 
had here at UVa. The class is challenging to say the least, but is fun 
and enjoyable at the same time. If you were to take any first year 
language course, it would have to be Chinese 101. The instructor, Tseng 
Laoshi, is one of the most pleasant professors at UVa. Her teaching scheme 
and personality counteract the toughness of this course. The class itself 
is challenging, but the atmosphere of the class makes up for it. My 
classmates and I work together to help one another, and more than anything, 
we poke fun at ourselves and enjoy the class while at the same time we 
strive to do well and to succeed. There are no overachievers and no 
underachievers. Everyone starts off at the same level. I admit, since I am 
a Cantonese speaker, I assumed that I would have an easier time. But, I 
was quick to notice that all the other components of the Mandarin language 
were tough. I commend this class for its toughness and I commend Tseng 
laoshi for her dedication and friendly disposition that compensates for 
the difficulty of the class. Chinese 101 is one of the most interesting 
classes offered at UVa. and no one can go wrong with the decision to 
register for this class.

My Most Excellent Work

1.	Lesson 2- Family
2.	Lesson 1- Greetings
3.	Lesson 5- Visiting Friends

The reason I chose these particular three passages was not only because of 
the grade I received on them. These three were chosen in part because of 
their structure as well as the fact that they flowed like a real conversation. 
Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 were both good starts to a conversation. I made good 
use of the provided vocabulary. Also, in those dialogues my partner and I were 
inventive and creative. I chose the narrative because of the material in 
that chapter. Hobbies were more interesting to create a narrative with. The 
criticizing remark I have for myself is that I did not work more into the 
narrative. It was quite short and I guess that is the result of the limited 
vocabulary I had to start with.

Self-Introduction:         Image File      NJ Star File     Audio File	
Family:                    Image file      NJ Star File     Audio File
Greetings:                 Image file      NJ Star File     Audio File
Visiting Friends:          Image file      NJ Star File     Audio File
  

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