Improving critical language skills of U.S. and international students

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.

At Seventy-First High School, the "Passport to Global Cultures" Program, led by Carmen Villalobos, seeks to expose students to various cultures and develop knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for different communities worldwide. The "Passports to Global Cultures" program focuses on and promotes the Arabic language and culture.

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.

Mr. Hayab's "Cooking Lessons and a Moroccan Soirée" project had two phases. In the first phase, project participants took part in Moroccan cooking and culture classes, and in the second, participants organized a Moroccan Soiree in Ramadan for the community members.

Students currently enrolled in Mandarin I, II, III, and IV will visit the Yin Yu Tang House, located at the Peabody Essex Museum.

The students at Eastside Charter School did not previously visit Philadelphia’s Chinatown. For most of the students, this year represented their first-time taking Mandarin.