Primary Chinese: Listening and Speaking — Tutor Lesson Plan (retelling, discussion, picture talk)

2026-10-28

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary Chinese

Speaking marks are lost to speed and disorder, not to lack of ideas. Three frames fix it: a three-part retelling, four discussion sentences and four picture frames.

Objectives — the student can retell using who, what and result, disagree politely, and describe a picture in a consistent order.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Listening	Name the main character and event	Both given
Frames	Say I agree, however	A full sentence
Sequencers	Give three order words	First, then, finally

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-8 min	Retelling	Who, what, result	Retell one passage
8-18 min	Discussion frames	Agree, add, disagree, summarise	Practise in pairs
18-28 min	Picture talk	Time or space order	Describe one picture
28-38 min	Speaking	One minute, recorded	Listen back
38-42 min	Correction	Too fast, no order, no courtesy	Say it again
42-45 min	Exit check	Three questions marked	Finish alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: A retelling has three parts

Who: Ming. What: could not find a book in the library. Result: asked the librarian.
Retelling is not memorising; it keeps the trunk and may add branches.
Lose the trunk and nothing else counts.

Student retells a thirty-second passage in three sentences.

Scene 2: Disagree with a frame, not a shrug

Agree: I agree because…
Add: I would like to add…
Disagree: I see your point, but I think…
Summarise: so we could…

Student practises summarising two views in one sentence.

Scene 3: Picture talk needs one order

Time order: first, then, after that, finally.
Space order: left to right, top to bottom, far to near.
Pick one and keep it; jumping around loses the listener.

Note: whole picture, then detail, then one closing impression.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Retelling	a thirty-second passage	Who, what, result	Three sentences
Disagreeing	a classmate is wrong	Acknowledge then add	I see, however…
Picture talk	a park scene	Left to right	Four ordered sentences
Summarising	two views	Close with so	One summary sentence

Sanity check (teach this): Speech needs sequencers; without first, then and finally the listener is lost.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Three parts of a retelling	Who, what, result	Trunk complete
Polite disagreement	I see your point, but I think…	Acknowledges first
Should picture talk jump around?	No, keep one order	Order consistent

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Memorising details	loses the result	Three parts first.
Speaking too fast	listener cannot follow	Pause after each sentence.
No sequencers	scattered ideas	First, then, finally.
Blunt disagreement	you are wrong	Acknowledge, then add.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Primary Chinese chapter index — Use the three tasks on this page

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Three parts of a retelling	Who, what, result	All right: move to reading aloud
Polite disagreement frame	Acknowledge then add	One wrong: re-teach
One order for picture talk?	Yes	Two wrong: repeat scene 3

09 Tutor FAQ

Should pupils memorise a script?

No; frames sound more natural.

Nervous speakers?

Open with I have three points to set a rhythm.

Is spoken Cantonese allowed?

In speaking tasks yes; written tasks need written Chinese.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.