[mmyuyu]

Hi Eway,
I am sorry I didn't reply till now. Thanks for your further questions which deserve Chinese teachers and learners attention. Tone is really a big problem and tone problems happen to students of all levels. Leaners with particular tone problems need to spend even more time to correct themselves. I usually don't teach tones like repeating and I like to teach students pair phrases instead. I do pair pronunciation practice such as shui(3) jiao(3) which means dumplings and shui(2) jiao (4) which means sleep, wan(2) which means play and wan(3) which means bowl or late, bei(1) zi which means cups and bei(4) zi which means bed cover, etc. I will also use visual clues such as pictures to emphasize the different meanings caused by different tones in Chinese and it helps me to explain in class as well.
I teach four skills at the same time but the writing skill development will be last introduced to my class. I usually teach writing after few basic conversation and reading classes. Basically, Chinese characters are images which might be combined with sounds or other elements. So I draw pictures to let my students know how the character is formed. Sometimes I use CD ROMS or Chinese learning web sites which offer animation films of Chinese characters formation. They offer good visual effects and this helps students effectively and can be very motivating. However, some students only want to learn speaking and listening so I teach writing according to individual needs.
I teach writing and reading at the same time because reading helps to facilitate writing skill development. For example, I might ask students to identify and circle the words they have learned when they are doing reading. Recognizing characters might also help learners to pay attention to the components of characters and the meanings of words while reading. ( Some components have meanings themselves.)
Lastly, I went to National Taiwan University to take training courses for Chinese teacher and I work for the International Rotary Club which has a program called Youth Exchange Program. I am responsible for teaching exchange students Chinese and I also do private classes. Further questions are always welcomed and I hope my reply really answer your questions.