I’ve been a bit hard up for quality teaching materials here in Laos. Fortunately, I have crates of stuff collected over the years: flashcards, games, activities, books, posters, learning centers, and so on. The problem – and it’s a common one at international schools – is that teachers move on and take all their loot with them. When Tony and I head to India next year, I will leave behind a nearly naked English as an Additional Language classroom. With that in mind, my principal recently picked up a few toys and games at the closest thing we have to a department store, Home Ideal.

My favorite new toy is ABC Domino. Although its name implies a single domino, it actually includes many rough-cut wooden people-shaped dominos, each with one letter of the English alphabet sloppily stenciled on its belly. Young students will enjoy setting up the dominos to spell simple words before toppling them over. But more importantly, I get a big kick out of the packaging. Made in China, the toy features the complicated Chinglish that kept us smiling for four years in Shanghai.

All of the superfluous capital letters and random punctuation are true to the original:

The world how many people want to create a world record, even fake a more beautiful and better quality of enjoyment. You try it out, let the Body show Come, let Art Exhibition Now you and your friends in front of us, so we feel that the United States is more than good!

So what is the goal of this game? Isn’t it obvious? It’s all about ABILITY, apparently:

Educational purposes: to foster the children’s hands and the ability to organize and coordinate the ability to enhance your baby’s ability to think and develop your baby a cool head, good psychological quality, persistent determination; all babies to have a domino effect emotional awareness.

OK, I’m sold! However, children learning the English language need very clear instructions for playing a new game. Good thing ABC Domino comes with an explanation.

Games: Let the baby in a box appearance, is through with the building blocks of the place, arranged and combined with the role of outside force formed under a different shape; arbitrary overturned a wood chip, all the wood all collapsed; can also let your baby Arbitrary who fight and give full play to your baby’s imagination.

How can a child NOT learn English with a toy like this? The box says it all: “Let your baby in the game understand the English alphabetical.”