Tai Hao Le!

Tai Hao Le! is produced by the Curriculum Corporation and consists of a single CD-ROM supported by a 20- page booklet. The CD-ROM scores well in some areas and not so well in others, yet emerges as an overall value-for-money resource for use with junior secondary Modern Standard Chinese classes.

Designed to complement the early stages of the Corporation`s Zhongguotong materials, Tai Hao Le! is a targeted at beginning learners and covers sixteen topic areas that include `animals`, `getting around`, `the weather`, and `daily routines`. Each topic area has three levels of complexity, although these do not go far beyond simple vocabulary acquisitions and a limited range of basic sentence-types.

Cross- referenced against the widely used Hanyu series that is used at lower secondary level, Tai Hao Le! contains support for most units in each of the first three Hanyu textbooks, although the visual presentation on the CD-ROM has a predominantly primary slant. Primary schools should therefore feel particularly comfortable in using the program.

The screens are easy to navigate, and moving in and out of the three features of the program- learning, testing, and the dictionary- provides no problems to the learners.

The vibrant colour scheme is attractive without being overwhelming and the graphics- including a free tortoise guide- are humorous and entertaining.

The sound quality is excellent, and many of the 48 subtopics are supported by video clips of up to a minute and a half in length that feature examples of real conversational use. The resolution of the videoclips is quite good and the speed high enough for quite good lip sync. For the most part, however, these reinforce the primary `feel` of the program: many are from SBS`s TV Ed series with Miss Cynthia and friends.

For the teachers there is a password only access area in which test records and achievement scores for the whole class can be kept. The teacher can see at a glance which topic areas each member of the class has worked on, the highest level they have accessed in each subtopic, and their cumulative score from the tests. This can be printed out as an attractive certificate of completion.

The main shortcomings of Tai Hao Le! is the lack of character use. Dialogues within each subtopic can only be read in pinyin or English translation, although the dictionary does provide characters for each item of vocabulary. In the learning sections, learners are rarely taken beyond exercises- electronic media may have many ways of making close exercises entertaining, but they still remain close exercises.

The level of interactivity is pretty much lock step in approach and does not allow for processing of information in activity based learning situations. This would need to be addressed by the Curriculum Corporation if they develop further CD-ROM materials aimed at senior secondary learners.

My observation of learners using Tai Hao Le! is that the program does provide a learning incentive for less motivated learners. The program is valuable not only in the way that it helps learners acquire new vocabulary but also in the way that it helps learner develop their listening skills as they attempt to respond to audio prompts.

Given that junior secondary learners follow a text book course repeatedly return to a beginner level at the start of each new unit as far as new vocabulary and new grammatical items are concerned, the simple structure of the Tai Hao Le! exercises will not be wasted on learners at this level.

The price of the CD-ROM is quite reasonable and partly compensates for some of the shortcomings mentioned.

* Reproduced with permission.

Mike Williss, Languages Coordinator at Aberfoyle Park High School, Adelaide

Babel, Volume 34, Number 3 | Summer 1999-2000 pp35

Tai hao le!: learn to speak Chinese
Date of Review: 06/03/2000
NALSAS: Curriculum Corporation
Publisher: Curriculum Corporation: Melbourne, VIC., 1998
System requirements: Windows 3.1; Windows 95; Windows NT; Macintosh; CD ROM
Description: A Lively Australian program for learning Chinese that utilises text, videos and animations to refine listening and reading skills.
Review: Designed to be integrated into Chinese teaching programs, this CD ROM allows students to advance at their own pace. Four modules deal with topics such as myself, family, time, travel, food, activities, sport, weather and animals. A range of levels extends the program from complete beginners to those with some familiarity with Chinese. Videos, quizzes and activities provide entertainment and reinforcement. Good for vocabulary extension, sentence structure and conversation. OZ
Curriculum Areas: Languages Other Than English (LOTE)
Suitable for: Middle/Upper Primary; Lower Secondary
Descriptors: Chinese Language - Study and teaching; Chinese language - Vocabulary; Chinese Language - Dictionaries - English; Student evaluation
Reviewer: accessED
Rating: Highly recommended OZ

Published on Classroom Resource Reviews at http:/crr.qed.qld.gov.au/reviews

* Reproduced with permission

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Developed by the Australian Curriculum Corporation, this CD-ROM complements existing Zhongguotong print, tape and video material for students, ranging from upper primary to mid-secondary levels. An activity book will soon be released to accompany this disk. The CD-ROM activities help players to refine their listening and reading skills. The disk is designed to be integrated into Chinese teaching programs in the classroom and tutoring environments. Modules 1 and 2 are designed for complete beginners, starting with basic greetings such as hello and goodbye, and progressing to counting to 100. Modules 3 and 4 cover introducing yourself, and parts of the body.

Last word: Australian-made, colourful graphics, Rating 8/10

* Reproduced with kind Permission

Ms Linda Bruce

Australian PC USER- School PC | September 2000 pp88