Turning Chinese
Guest teachers teach language and culture
By Joan Tupponce CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Yan Li is teaching Chinese at J.B. Watkins Elementary School as part of the Chinese Guest Teacher Program.

Yan Li will always remember her sophomore year in China when Debbie, a new foreign teacher, walked into her classroom. Li, who teaches Chinese at J. B. Watkins Elementary, is part of the Chinese Guest Teacher Program, a partnership between the College Board and Hanban, China's Office of Chinese Language Council International.

"Debbie was different from the gentleman we had had from another English-speaking country," Li explained. "We fell in love with her at first sight. It seemed that she never talked without her arms dancing. She had a way to capture your attention in class from the first minute to the last."

When Li learned that her teacher was American, she made an entry in her diary.

"I wrote that one day I would go to that country and see with my own eyes whether [America] was a wonderland with people all like her, happy and merry all the time," Li said. "Here [at Watkins] I am doing the same thing Debbie did 10 years ago."

Chesterfield County Public Schools is one of only four school systems in the United States to receive teachers in both the first and second rounds of the Chinese Guest Teacher Program. Li, who arrived in January 2007, was the school system's first native Mandarinspeaking teacher. Sa Zhongqing is the second teacher to arrive. She is currently teaching first-year Chinese at Cosby High School and will also serve as a resource for social studies teachers in all Chesterfield schools.

"Integrating world language into our curriculum for all students, kindergarten through grade 5, was intentional," explained J. B. Watkins Principal Marlene Scott. "Research shows that introducing language to children at an early age promotes cognitive development, builds awareness of other cultures and is a good indicator that students will enroll in other world language classes as they progress through the grade levels."

According to Linda Szwabowski, Chesterfield's instructional specialist for world languages, Chinese is just one of the languages that the federal government has identified as vital to the country's economic and defense interests. Other less commonly taught languages include Arabic, Russian, Japanese, Farsi and Hindi.

"We've had a lot of people ask about Arabic, so we are doing a lot of background work for the day when we might offer Arabic as well," Szwabowski said.

Even though Watkins is the first elementary school to offer Chinese, the program model is in place at all seven elementary schools in the county that have content integration. By 2012, all county elementary schools should be offering a world language.

"The world language program at Watkins is content-based," Scott explained. "Students are learning the language and culture of China while supporting the existing curriculum."

Schools interested in teaching a world language must go through a specific process before classes are offered.

"Administration works with the faculty and the community to decide which language will be taught," Szwabowski explained. "We educate them about the benefits of an elementary language program. It's better if the whole community has a voice in making decisions."

Scott admits that some parents were apprehensive about the school's choice of a foreign language.

"As they continue to be educated about China's influence on the U.S. economy and begin thinking about their children's future, they see that Mandarin Chinese is the right choice," she said.

Evidence of Li's culture is scattered throughout her classroom.

"It's slowly spreading throughout the school building," Scott said. "We are planning to participate in the Chinese New Year Festival celebration on Feb. 7, 2008. This will be a whole school event featuring the foods, music, parades and many other activities to further learn about the culture and traditions of China."

Parents are amazed at how fast their children are learning the language.

"I hear lots of stories about the children translating the language for their parents while in the local stores and at Disney World," Scott said. "So the children are applying their knowledge and new language outside of the classroom."

Li was excited and honored to be chosen for the program - she was one of only 34 teachers selected out of more than 600 candidates sent to Hanban.

"J. B. Watkins is an awesome school," she said. "The kids at Watkins are really sweet and smart. They are willing to participate in all kinds of activities in class. Some of them come to me and tell me 'I love the game we played today' or 'I like the video you showed us about China.'"

She's proud of the students' progress. Every Monday morning at the school, a student gives the school-wide weather report in Chinese.

"Isn't that awesome?" Li said. "I bet they will be the most competitive job hunters in the future global market."