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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

CHINESE
NEW YEAR
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1 Warm up

Look at these pictures. How are they connected to Chinese New Year?

red envelopes a dragon the Nian Gao cake

decorated temple lion costumes traditional lanterns

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2 Synonyms
Decide which of the options (a – c) is NOT a synonym of the word from the text.

1. sticky

a. gummy b. wet c. tacky

2. delightful

a. amusing b. pleasant c. wonderful

3. incredible

a. unbelievable b. amazing c. expected

4. important

a. famous b. significant c. vital

5. stunning

a. superb b. common c. gorgeous

6. huge

a. enormous b. massive c. tall

7. spectacular

a. remarkable b. ridiculous c. amazing

8. joyful

a. thrilled b. happy c. unusual

Write down 8 things that you could describe using each of these words or their synonyms. In pairs,
compare your answers. Make sentences with those words.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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3 Skimming
You are going to read a text about three different places Chinese New Year is being celebrated. Before
you read look at the four parts below, which are missing from the reading text. Decide where they
should go.

which is a really important Buddhist temple which is spectacular

which is the capital city of Penang which really makes me laugh

Chinese New Year

We asked three people about their Chinese New Year celebrations. Here is what they said.

1.
Quanzhou, China
My favourite time of the year is Chinese New Year’s Eve. All of my family come to my house to celebrate. We
have so much food. We eat Nian Gao, which is a kind of rice cake that I love. In our tradition, it’s an offering to
the Kitchen God. It’s sticky, so it makes it difficult for him to talk and say bad things about humans to the Jade
Emperor, the ruler of heaven. We also watch the New Year’s Gala on TV, which we call Chunwan. They have
dancing, singing, drama, and some comedy, 1) . On this night, we can stay up late, usually until
the next morning. We believe that the longer we stay awake, the longer our parents will live.
2.
Penang, Malaysia
George Town, 2) , really comes alive at Chinese New Year. Around December, there’s the
delightful Chinghay parade. The performers throw and kick flagpoles on to each other’s heads and balance them.
The flagpoles can be about 8 metres high, maybe taller and probably weigh a lot, so it’s an incredible skill.
We also go to Kek Lok Si, 3) . Monks visit it all the way from Thailand every year. Usually, the
temple closes before dark, but at Chinese New Year, it opens in the evening and is decorated with thousands of
lanterns and lights. It’s a really stunning sight and people come from all over the world to see it.
3.
San Francisco, USA
My family is originally from China, but I grew up here in California. We still follow traditions around Chinese
New Year. My family always give me Hongbao, which is a red envelope with money in it. Relatives give them to
unmarried children in the family. But Chinese New Year is huge here. Every year, we always go and watch the
parade, 4) . You can see the Dragon Dance, which brings good luck. The longer it goes on, the
more luck the community will have. The streets are always full of the sound of firecrackers, which scares away
monsters in our tradition. It’s always a joyful and fun time.

Mazu Temple in Quanzhou Chinese temple in Malaysia Chinatown in San Francisco

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4 Understanding the text

Decide if the following statements are true or false.

1. In Chinese tradition, the Kitchen God is the ruler of heaven.

2. Children must go to bed early on Chinese New Year’s Eve.
3. Performers in the Chinghay parade use their feet and hands with the flagpoles.
4. Kek Lok Si temple is in Thailand.
5. Kek Lok Si temple isn’t open in the evening all year round.
6. The person writing from San Francisco is married.
7. It is better if the Dragon Dance goes on for a long time.
8. Traditionally, the noise from firecrackers keeps monsters away.

5 Focus on non-defining relative clauses

Part A: In the Skimming exercise, you put 4 non-defining relative clauses into the text. Look through
the text again to find and underline 4 more examples.

Look at the following sentence from the text.

George Town, which is the capital city of Penang, really comes alive at Chinese New Year.

The underlined section is called a "non-defining relative clause". It is a way of giving

extra information about something. It is non-defining because we could take it away,
and the sentence still makes sense.

George Town really comes alive at Chinese New Year.

Part B: Now, write the word which in the correct place in the following sentences.

1. In the days before New Year, Chinese families clean their homes, is important to sweep away bad
luck.
2. The TV New Year’s Gala traditionally ends with the performance of a song, is called Can’t Forget
Tonight.
3. In Northern China, many people eat jiaozi, is a kind of dumpling, on the fifth day of the New Year
celebrations.
4. On the 7th day, in places such as Malaysia and Singapore, some people eat yusheng, is a type of
salad with raw fish in it.

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Part C: Reorganise the sentences so that they make sense.

many Chinese pray and give thanks. / On the 9th Day /, which is traditionally the birthday / of the
Chinese New Year /of the Jade Emperor, /

1.

wishing good luck and wealth to visitors /, which is a decoration / Many people will place Fai Chun/, on
their doors.

2.

which are usually red /Other traditional ornaments at this time / and have an oval shape. /, are lanterns,

3.

"Kung Hei Fat Choy"/ "Congratulations and be prosperous!" / A common greeting at this time of year /,
which in English can be spelled /, roughly means, /

4.

Now, think of two traditions from a celebration in your culture. For each one, write a sentence
explaining it using a non-defining relative clause.

1.

2.

6 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. What aspects of Chinese New Year do you think you would like?
2. What do you do in your culture to celebrate the New Year?
3. Do you have any traditions that you celebrate in your culture that other cultures don’t usually
celebrate?

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7 Extension task

Look back at the text. For each one of the following items, write a sentence using a non-defining
relative clause.

1. Chunwan
2. Chinghay
3. Hongbao

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TEACHER MATERIALS · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Key
1. Warm up

5 mins.
Tell students that you’re going to be looking at celebrations of Chinese New Year. Encourage students to say what
they know about Chinese New Year and ask them to look at the photos and consider how they may be connected
to the celebration. If you have students with Chinese origins, you may want to ask them to help explain some of
the items if they are willing to do so. Don’t force anyone to do so if they’re not comfortable.

2. Synonyms

10 mins.
Ask students to complete the questions. Lower-level students may require a dictionary. You may want to extend
this activity by asking students to write out sentences using the adjectives to describe something of their choice
after they have finished the questions.
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. c 7. b 8. c

3. Skimming

5 mins.
You may want to time this exercise so that students don’t read the text in too much detail while they find the
correct place for these non-defining relative clauses. This grammar point will be covered later, so you may just
want them to focus on completing the task at this stage rather than exploring the grammar.
Article:
1. which really makes me laugh
2. which is the capital city of Penang
3. which is a really important Buddhist temple
4. which is spectacular

4. Understanding the text

10 mins.
Allow the students to read through the text in more detail and answer the questions. Ask them to underline the
area of the text where they find the answer.
1. False. "Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven"
2. False. "we can stay up late, usually until the next morning."
3. True. "The performers throw and kick flagpoles on to each other’s heads..."
4. False. "Monks visit it all the way from Thailand every year."
5. True. "Usually, the temple closes before dark..."
6. False. "My family always give me Hongbao... Relatives give them to unmarried children in the family."
7. True. "The longer it goes on, the more luck the community will have."
8. True. "The streets are always full of the sound of firecrackers, which scares away monsters in our tradition."

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5. Focus on non-defining relative clauses

10 mins.
Explain to the students that you will be looking at examples of non-defining relative clauses, which are a way
of adding extra information to a sentence. You should elicit that they use commas to separate it from the main
clause, and that it can be removed leaving the sentence still able to be understood. They also can be in the middle
of a sentence, or at the end. Ask them to find 4 other examples in the text. The possibilities are:
which is a kind of rice cake that I love.
which we call Chunwan.
which is a red envelope with money in it.
which brings good luck.
which scares away monsters in our tradition.
Part B:
5 mins.
Ask the students to identify where to add the relative pronoun - which. This is designed to get the students used
to focusing on what it is that they’re giving extra information about.
1. ..., which is important to sweep away bad luck
2. ..., which is called Can’t Forget Tonight.
3. ..., which is a kind of dumpling
4. ..., which is a type of salad with raw fish in it.

Part C:
10 mins.
Now ask students to reorganise the sentences so that they make sense. There are alternative answers if punctuation
is altered. You may want to ask more advanced students to see if they can find them.
When that is complete, ask students to think of something, which is part of a celebration, from their own culture
and write a sentence for each using a non-defining relative clause. Circulate and aid with grammar and spelling as
needed. Encourage them to use the examples to help them.
1. On the 9th Day of the Chinese New Year, which is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor, many Chinese
pray and give thanks.
2. Many people will place Fai Chun, which is a decoration wishing good luck and wealth to visitors, on their doors.
3. Other traditional ornaments at this time are lanterns, which are usually red and have an oval shape.
4. A common greeting at this time of year, which in English can be spelled "Kung Hei Fat Choy", roughly means,
"Congratulations and be prosperous!".

6. Talking point

5 – 10 mins.
Ask the students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Encourage them to share information about
their own New Year’s celebrations or other celebrations that may be unique to their culture.

7. Extension task

10 mins.
Ask students to write sentences about the following elements from the text using a non-defining relative clause.

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CHINESE NEW YEAR

Possible answers:
1. At Chinese New Year’s Eve, many people watch Chunwan, which is the CCTV New Year’s Gala.
2. In Penang, a lot of people watch the Chinghay parade, which is usually in December.
3. At Chinese New Year, families give a red envelope containing money to unmarried children, which is called
Hongbao.

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