Introduction to Chinese Language...Through Birdwatching

On Thursday 30 April, 15 students gathered in the Liberty Building’s SR 1.11 for a gentle and creative introduction to Mandarin with Qingyuan Yang, a BCI teacher and enthusiastic birdwatcher. Qingyuan shared stories from birdwatching in China and the UK, then guided students through how birds appear in Chinese characters, vocabulary, and poetic descriptions. They also learned to write the characters 飞 (fēi, “to fly”) and 鸟 (niǎo, “bird”), gaining a sense of how imagery and meaning connect in Chinese writing.

A highlight of the session was discovering how to name birds in Chinese — using colour, body type, and birdcall. Qingyuan even demonstrated different bird sounds and challenged the group to guess the species, which led to plenty of laughter.

Students then played a fun drawing game: everyone sketched a bird, and the class had to guess what it was. As you can see from the photo, one student produced an excellent peacock, while another captured a very recognisable seagull.

It was an hour full of creativity, curiosity, and light‑hearted learning — a fresh way to experience Mandarin through the world of birds.

Learn Chinese with the BCI?

Students and staff interested in developing their Mandarin skills or exploring Chinese culture further are encouraged to take part in BCI language courses and attend our year‑round programme of cultural events, workshops and talks. Details of upcoming opportunities can be found on the BCI website and social media channels.