My dds and I have been watching Taiwan’s 2015 romantic comedy TV series “Love Cuisine/料理高校生” (available on YouTube or Netflix, both with Chinese subtitles) for the past month or so and they are loving it, particularly my 10 year old.  It’s pretty funny and there are so many good lines.  The romantic gestures and culture demonstrated by the two ~ 30 year old protagonists are very wholesome (i.e. conservative), probably comparable to secondary school level.  I didn’t know Taiwan can still be so conservative on screen.

You might ask, why am I spending all these time watching TV shows with the girls, given I have tons of other things to do.  Well, I am the facilitator and instructor for their Chinese within our small Chinese social group of three (and their only social group of this nature and Chinese proficiency level).  So, I have to know what’s going on so that they can share with me the various things they learned from their CLE (Chinese Language Ecosystem).

After listening to scripted dialogues for the past month, however funny they are, I figure it would be good to introduce real life dialogues of love and lost in China or Taiwan.  So, I found a couple of reality TV shows in China and showed a couple of segments to my dds, though they are primarily meant for my teenager.  In this first video lasting 15 minutes, a young lady’s raw emotions were laid bare after she learned that hers was an unrequited love and the man she loved all these years has married already.  In just 15 minutes, the show host and the guests used languages involving young love, excitement, expectation, shock, devastation, and closure.  Shaken somewhat by the raw emotions in Reality TV, my teenage dd was nevertheless captivated and asked to see other segments.  I can see how some parents may think it is too early for her to watch such program but that’s another topic.  Regardless, it seems to be a very “efficient” way to learn this aspect of the Chinese language.  I also see teaching moments in these shows for my dd in terms of what NOT to do, given the hosts invite guests with the most intense stories.