ChiffraCounts

by sijia cheng

The French numeral system, with more complexity and less transparency than the‬‭ Chinese numeral system, presents significant challenges for Chinese learners of French when‬‭ learning French number words. ChiffraCounts–with “Chiffra” derived from the French word‬‭ chiffre‬‭ (number) –is a board game designed for Chinese adult learners at a beginner level of‬‭ French. This 3-to-4-player game can be played as an in-class activity or for entertainment‬‭ purposes without the need for instructor guidance. It aims to help learners explore the differences‬‭ between French and Chinese numeral systems, and develop their own ways of internalizing the‬‭ French numeral system.

The target audience of this board game is Chinese adult learners at a beginner level of‬‭ French.‬‭ Learners will explore the differences between numeral systems in different languages,‬‭ focusing specifically on French and Chinese. They will internalize the French numeral system by‬‭ using unique French number primitives and applying mathematical operations of addition and‬‭ multiplication to construct numbers from 0 to 99 in the most efficient representations, engaging‬‭ in discussions with other players and voting on the best representation.