Taiwan

Chi Jiu-Ching's "Come On! Let Me Show You This Beautiful World!" Project aims to facilitate an opportunity for her students to explore Chinese culture and language through food and cultural exchanges with Taiwanese students. Ms. Chi's Mandarin students at Vanguard Van Gogh Elementary and Secondary School learn to cook several different Taiwanese dishes eaten to celebrate the Lunar New Year, sharing these dishes with their parents, teachers, and the local community. Ms. Chi's students will go on field trips to local areas and share these experiences in Mandarin with Taiwanese students.

Dr. Maguy Yancey's "Chinese Beyond the Classroom!" project seeks to enrich Tommy's Road Elementary School students' Chinese language learning experience by having students visit and eat at a local Chinese restaurant. Students in the Mandarin program increase their intercultural competency and language proficiency while interacting with the menu and local Mandarin speakers at the restaurant. Dr. Yancey's project strives to provide students with the opportunity to gain first-hand experience with Chinese culture and to make connections with their local Chinese community.

Ms. Lin’s “Hot Pot is the Staff of Life” project engaged participants in the cultural and historical significance of the hot pot of traditional cuisine. In the classroom, Ms. Lin taught the students about the history of hot pot in China, common ingredients used in the hot pot, the ingredients’ symbolism, and how to use chopsticks. Next, the students, their families, and school staff visited a local Chinese grocery store and restaurant to experience the hot pot firsthand.

At Tommy's Road Elementary (TRE), students take Mandarin as an enrichment class twice a week. The classes focus on reading, writing, and listening skills, speaking the target language, and learning about the culture.

Since Butler Academy (BA) students only have one Mandarin class per week and do not have the resources or materials to help with self-learning, Ms. Lin created a project to help students stay motivated while learning a foreign language.

Ms. Huang's "2023 Chinese New Year Celebration” project invited students, teachers and staff, parents, and community members to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Ms. Huang coordinated and organized the day-long event, during which students and teachers prepared a song to perform on stage for parents and the community.