100 Chinese Language Learning Activities

Learning a new language is very rewarding. It can be a challenge at times as well - memorizing lists of vocabulary words or writing Chinese characters over and over can get a little monotonous. To keep kids and even adults engaged and interested, language learning activities should be fun as well as challenging. Here, you will find literally hundreds of free language-learning lessons, games, and activities. Join us and have some fun.

Language Lessons & Activities

  1. Learn the Cardinal Directions
  2. Use a world map and Lego minifigs to identify countries and the languages they speak
  3. Learn the Gong Xi Song
  4. Keep a journal while on vacation
  5. Free printables and activities from, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan
  6. Watch movies dubbed in Mandarin
  7. Use a photograph to elicit conversations
  8. Interview a family member and write a script for a newscast
  9. Create a poster to teach others the colors
  10. Describe what others are wearing
  11. Create a brochure for a zoo
  12. Explore a new Chinese idiom each month
  13. Create a menu for a traditional Chinese meal
  14. Learn Mandarin through Yoga
  15. Download a Better Chinese game app
  16. Volunteer to teach a Kindergarten class how to say and write Nihao 你好 and XieXie 谢谢
  17. Text a friend
  18. Sign a song in Chinese
  19. Learn about money and set up a store - practice bargaining
  20. Watch a short cartoon and retell the story
  21. Use children's books to build vocabulary
  22. Read a favorite children's book in Mandarin to a friend
  23. Write your own picture book in Mandarin
  24. Choose from the many titles available from Better Chinese
  25. Learn the lyrics to a favorite song, like Let it Go! 
  26. Enjoy the animated films of Miyazaki - a documentary in Mandarin Chinese
  27. Explore the BBC Primary Languages website for online games, stories, and lessons
  28. Print out a Hanzi Grid for practice writing Chinese characters
  29. Learn the Sid Shuffle - Dance and Rap with Sid from Ice Age
  30. Create a poster like this one, "Fruits"
  31. Study Chinese Radicals

  1. Learn about the Dragon Boat Festival
  2. Make an origami boat
  3. Go on a scavenger hunt in Chinatown or an Asian market
  4. Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with stories, games, and Moon Cakes
  5. Learn a poem for Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
  6. Learn how to play Mahjong
  7. Learn how to make Chinese paper cutting 
  8. Learn how to make Chinese knots
  9. Celebrate Chinese New Year in San Francisco
  10. Enjoy these 12 Chinese New Year Books
  11. Create an accordion style mini book of the Chinese zodiac animals
  12. Create a "fú 福" lucky word sign or banner for Lunar New Year
  13. Even Halloween and Easter!
  14. Take a Taichi class in your local area
  15. Learn about the provinces of China
  16. Play a geography game
  17. Become an archeologist and Discover Terra-Cotta Soldier
  18. Read a Chinese Folk Tale
  19. Choose from this selection of animated Chinese Fairy Tales from Better Chinese
  20. Interview a foreign exchange student from China
  21. Read a historical fiction - for example, The Transcontinental Railroad
  22. Create a family tree
  23. Listen to the Taipei Chinese Opera and the beautiful sound of various Chinese instruments
  24. Take up a martial art like Kung Fu or Wushu
  25. Learn about these festivals and more with the animated collection from Better Chinese
  26. Learn about Chinese numerology and hand gestures for counting
  27. Celebrate Lunar New Year by collecting postage stamps from all over the world
  28. Explore the art of Kam Mak
  29. Try your hand at Chinese-style brush painting
  30. Challenge your friends to a game of table tennis or ping pong

    1. Learn how to use chopsticks
    2. Wo ai zhong guo cai - 我愛中國菜 - I Love Chinese Food
    3. Take a cooking lesson and try a new vegetable
    4. Learn to make jiaozi (dumplings) for Spring Festival
    5. Enjoy a Chinese Tea Ceremony
    6. Learn to make hand-pulled noodles
    7. Learn to make zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for the Dragon Boat Festival
    8. All About Moon Cakes -a traditional delicacy of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
    9. Visit a Hot Pot Restaurant
    10. Choose your favorite dishes and prepare them for friends  http://youtu.be/6s3XpCsDAn4
    11. Create a cook book of your favorite Chinese recipes to share with family
    12. Visit (albeit virtually) Beijing's Donghuamen Night Market  or Wangfujing Night Market
    13. Do a research report on the provinces of China and discover how their food preferences vary by region
    14. Try making Peking Duck or order it at a favorite restaurant
    15.  Compare Chinese eating customs to another culture

  1. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
  2. The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy
  3. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Williams
  4. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
  5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  6. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
  7. Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
  8. The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker
  9. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
  11. Dim Sum for Everyone by Grace Lin
  12. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
  13. The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean
  14. Elmer's Day by David McKee
  15. Dragon's Pupils - The Sword Guest by Martin Chu Shui
  16. Discover the author Laurence Yep
  17. Read the bilingual books of Huy Voun Lee and create your own
  18. Sky High: The True Story of Maggie Gee by Marissa Moss
  19. Read a favorite book or series in Chinese like Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter
  20. The Monkey King by Aaron Shepard

This post is part of the iHomeschool Network’s 100 Things Linkup. Be sure to visit and enter to win over $370 in cash and prizes.


Write a comment

Comments are moderated