Da Shan is back!
bodawei
January 01, 2010, 06:12 AM posted in General DiscussionI don't know if anyone else caught this, but Da Shan has a show called 'Sports Chinese', and it is pretty good. It was on CCTV 9 (the English channel) shortly after midnight, and I believe they said it was the first in a series. I'm hoping that it is also on CNTV (yet to check.)
It would suit learners of a wide range of levels (rather like ChinesePod). There are a number of dialogues, some grammar points and a typical Da Shan-style culture segment. The first episode was not actually about sport as such (except the culture segment), but the scenarios include a couple of journalist characters who work at a 'sports bureau'. This episode focused on introductions and using the 是 。。的 structure.
PS. He doesn't look a day older. That Canadian climate seems to be kind to the skin.
bodawei
January 01, 2010, 07:28 AM@tal
Ah, maybe that is why it was on after midnight! I realised that it was dated, but I recall you saying that he had some difficulty getting his latest series to air (was that you?) So I thought this might be it.
I am also not a 'professional sport' fan at all, but I am still engaged by Rugby League - well there will definitely be none of that on Da Shan.
But thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow.
PS. Did you watch the New Year show on CCTV? It reminded me that Chinese and Australian culture are as far apart as .. ever. The globalization of culture is just not happening. 'Bless us!' (as one of my students wrote in her final economics exam.)
Is that a girl's name?
Tal
January 01, 2010, 07:37 AMNo worries mate! Actually I have managed to completely ignore the New Year festivities (including TV) this year for the most part. Having a 10-month-old who wakes up 3 times a night and usually insists on getting up before 6.15am tends to rigidly focus the mind on snatching sleep whenever possible!
I do know exactly what you mean. Cultural synthesis is one of those things much easier to believe in 'from a distance', isn't it? Nowadays I know it's just a dream. The best a sincere and well-meaning foreign teacher can do (I believe) is be like 雷锋, a 好榜样!
PS. I think you might be remembering me saying that Da Shan told me in an email that CCTV9 had told him (sometime in 2004) that they would be releasing books and DVDs of Travel in Chinese, but that they never did. They did release books and DVDs of Communicate in Chinese, his first show for them.
xiaohu
January 01, 2010, 06:03 PMYes, 朱晓萌 indeed is quite sporty in Sports Chinese. In fact she was what kept me tuned in!
I've always felt like 大山 has somehow discovered the fountain of youth.
Tal
January 01, 2010, 07:19 AMI think it was intended both as a patriotic curtain raiser and to help all the foreign journos who would surely be coming to China to report on the sporting fun. Many of the dialogues seem specifically to mention the names of the newly built Olympic venues and the exciting events to be witnessed there.
It is quite interesting to watch for a Mandarin learner, but it has way too much sport vocab to interest me. It does have quite a bit of the lovely 朱晓萌 though, so I can put up with it!