This spring five applicants were awarded support of a Critical Language Project (CLP) grant for Round 26.
Of the five, two of the projects have been completed so far. Ms. Maguy Yancey applied for and won this grant in November 2023, and the project was carried out at her school throughout the Spring 2024 semester. Ms. Lo Yu-Ting also applied for and won a CLP grant in November 2023, and her project took place throughout the Spring 2024 semester within her host community. One TCLP exchange teacher and two TCLP alumni continue to work on their CLPs.
During the Spring 2024 semester, community liaison Dr. Maguy Yancey led the “Chinese Beyond the Classroom” project at Tommy’s Road Elementary School in Goldsboro, North Carolina. As a result of this project, students at Tommy's Road Elementary School visited in March an authentic Chinese restaurant in Cary, North Carolina, where they were able to put into practice the language and cultural skills learned in the classroom from exchange teacher Ms. Limin Wang (Tommy’s Road Elementary School, 2023-2024). Students ordered food in Mandarin and tried Boba Tea. At the school, students also met weekly with Ms. Wang throughout the semester to learn about Chinese Chess, including how to play it and its cultural significance. The CLP culminated in a presentation that students gave demonstrating their language and cultural competence in front of an audience at the Paramount Theater in Goldsboro, North Carolina. With the support of administration, exchange teacher Ms. Wang Limin, mentor teacher Ms. Yanet Cast, and community liaison Dr. Maguy Yancey, the presentation gave more insight into their school's language program and how these awards help the students attain the three pillars of biliteracy, high academic achievement, and cultural competence. The students presented on the Mandarin Chinese language, culture and Chinese Chess.
Above: TCLP community liaison Maguy Yancey (far right) poses next to exchange teacher Ms. Wang Limin (second to the right), mentor teacher Ms. Yanet Cast (far left), and others on their field trip to a Chinese restaurant
Exchange teacher Ms. Lo Yu-Ting aimed to foster cultural understanding and facilitate language exchange between students in Taiwanese and American classrooms through her CLP, “Making Connections for Global Understanding.” Following a three month-long project-based approach, students at two Taiwanese high schools and one elementary school participated alongside United States students at Ms. Lo’s host school, Sauk Prairie High School in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, and another local middle school. Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, students exchanged three “culture boxes,” each of which contained post cards, snacks, toys, and other items representing U.S. and Taiwanese cultures. Ms. Lo’s Mandarin students at Sauk Prairie High School also went on a field trip in February to Chicago, Illinois. During this trip, students visited the Chinese American Museum of Chicago and Chinatown, ate lunch at an authentic Chinese restaurant, and shopped at a local Asian market for their upcoming Lunar New Year festivities. Throughout the month of February, students prepared a Lunar New Year Feast of dumplings and hotpot, hosted candy-giving pop-ups, and gave Lunar New Year presentations to their peers. During the months of March and April, students at the participating Taiwanese and U.S. schools met each other virtually for online synchronous cultural exchanges, during which they discussed classes, customs and traditions, festivals, and more. Ms. Lo's Critical Language Project provided Taiwanese and U.S. students immersive experiences that bridged cultural gaps and promoted mutual understanding. In total, approximately 90 Taiwanese students and 170 U.S. students participated in the project.
Above: Exchange teacher Ms. Lo Yu-Ting poses with Sauk Prairie High School students after opening their third cultural exchange box from Taiwan