The Two-Week Homestay Invitation
Mei is a Year 11 student in Sydney preparing a short spoken response in Chinese for her Beginners class. Her teacher gives this prompt: your Chinese friend Wang Li has invited you to spend two weeks with her family in Nanjing during the summer holidays. Write what you would say to accept, and mention one thing you are worried about.
Mei drafts: 王丽，谢谢你请我去南京。我很高兴。我七月十五号到南京。我有一点儿担心，因为我不会说很多中文，而且我不吃辣的菜。我妈妈说我可以去，但是我要每天给她打电话。
Her teacher marks three problems: the response does not clearly accept the invitation, it lists two worries instead of one, and it adds information that was not asked for. Mei has 150 characters to work with and wants to keep her friendly opening.
1. Identify which parts of Mei's draft fail the task requirements, and rewrite the draft so it satisfies the prompt while keeping the friendly opening.
Read the worked answer
Diagnosis
- Acceptance is missing. 我很高兴 ("I'm happy") expresses emotion but never accepts. The examiner looks for an explicit 我很想去 / 我愿意去 / 太好了，我一定去.
- Two worries, not one. 我不会说很多中文 and 我不吃辣的菜 are both concerns. The prompt says 一个担心, so one must go. Keeping the language worry is stronger because it links to the Beginners course theme of communication.
- Unrequested content. The arrival date 七月十五号 and the mother's rule 我要每天给她打电话 were not asked for. They eat characters and can read as padding.
Rewrite (about 60 characters, well inside the limit)
王丽，谢谢你请我去南京。太好了，我很想去！我有一点儿担心，因为我的中文不太好。你说慢一点儿，可以吗？我们南京见！
Why this works
- 太好了，我很想去 is an unmistakable acceptance.
- 我有一点儿担心，因为我的中文不太好 gives exactly one worry, with a reason.
- 你说慢一点儿，可以吗？ is a polite request that shows communicative purpose rather than just listing facts.
- 我们南京见 is a natural, friendly closing that keeps the warm tone Mei wanted.
2. Mei's classmate says she should replace 我的中文不太好 with 我的中文很不好 to sound more humble. Explain whether this advice helps or hurts her response.
Read the worked answer
It hurts the response.
我的中文不太好 means "my Chinese isn't very good" - a mild, realistic hedge. 我的中文很不好 means "my Chinese is very bad" - a strong self-criticism.
Why the change backfires
- It undercuts the acceptance. Mei has just said 我很想去. Saying her Chinese is very bad right afterwards makes the trip sound impractical, which weakens the confident tone an acceptance needs.
- It is not more polite. In Chinese,适度 self-lowering is polite, but 很不好 is not modest - it is a factual claim that invites the friend to reassure her or worry about her. 不太好 already does the polite work.
- It clashes with the request. She follows with 你说慢一点儿. If her Chinese were 很不好, asking people to slow down would not be enough, so the two sentences stop fitting together.
Better advice for the classmate to give: keep 不太好, and if Mei wants more politeness, soften the request instead - 你说慢一点儿，可以吗？ already does this with 可以吗.
Marking link: Beginners responses are judged on appropriateness of register as well as accuracy. A well-chosen hedge scores better than an exaggerated one.