Organize target language awareness event

TCLP Chinese teacher Li Fang was approved for a CLP grant to fund materials for a Spring Festival performance and a series of art workshops stretching from February into April 2011. The project, which was conducted by 80 Chinese students and 60 art students at Swain High School, presented a Spring Festival performance and six art workshops about traditional Chinese handicrafts to help teachers, students and parents in Swain County better understand Chinese culture.

TCLP Arabic teacher Manal El Gamal worked with mentor teacher Claudine Clark to organize a field trip to the Milwaukee Public Museum in order to provide an authentic cultural experience for the facilitated language students at Madison East High School. In April, 45 students attended the exhibit on Egyptian Mummies, explored actual Egyptian artifacts, viewed educational films on ancient Egypt, and had lunch at an authentic Middle Eastern restaurant.

TCLP alumni mentor teacher Lalainya Goldsberry was approved for a project to showcase Arabic and Chinese students’ language and cultural knowledge at the Lindblom World Language Festival. A secondary goal of the project was to motivate students to begin or continue learning the Arabic or Chinese languages. The Lindblom World Language Festival itself is a competition where students from Lindblom and other schools who were taking Arabic and Chinese compete with each other in the categories of poetry recitation, talent, skits, research project, and drama.

Alumna mentor teacher, Laura Koebel, was awarded a CLP grant to implement a three-part project designed to promote the Arabic program at Plymouth High School, inform others about Arabic culture and language, and provide support to current Arabic students.