Using rice paper and Chinese writing brushes, kindergarteners Jude Bakija, left, Celina Savage, center, and Austin Buda, right, practice writing in Mandarin along with their classmates at Williamstown Elementary School on Friday morning. Students in pre-school through 1st grade have been learning about Chinese culture and language since October with the help of Ms. Xiaohong Wan, a native of Shanghai.
Saturday January 7, 2012 WILLIAMSTOWN -- With Chinese New Year beginning on Jan. 23, students in Erin Callahan's kindergarten class know that the year of the dragon is fast approaching.
They also know how to write the Chinese character for dragon and how to pronounce it in Mandarin Chinese.
Since October of last year, students in preschool, kindergarten and first grade at Williamstown Elementary School have spent one to three days a week learning about Chinese culture and the Mandarin Chinese language.
"They're 20-minute classes that focus largely on vocabulary and culture," Principal Joelle Brookner said Friday.
She said for the past 10 years, Superintendent Rose Ellis has wanted to bring world language teaching back to the school, and after multiple committees, it was decided that the school would advertise for a Mandarin Chinese or Spanish teacher.
Xiaohong "Wendy" Wan was then hired part-time to fill the position, Brookner said.
"She has been a great addition to our community," Brookner said. "Not only are the children learning new things, but the teachers are learning a lot as well."
She said the plan is to expand Mandarin Chinese instruction to the second grade for the 2011-12 school year, and then eventually offer it through sixth-grade.
Wan said that her lessons don't follow a separate curriculum, but are incorporated into what is being taught in the classroom.
"It's integrative teaching, not immersion,"
she said. "It is really to reinforce what is being taught in the classroom."Sometimes students will forget a Mandarin Chinese lesson, but that is fine because the idea is to get them interested and give them the experience with the language and the culture, she said.
While she plans to teach students about Chinese New Year, some of the lessons she has already taught include the story of the 12 zodiac animals, the pronunciation of healthy foods in Mandarin Chinese, and Chinese currency, she said.
On Friday, Wan met with students in Callahan's class to teach them Chinese calligraphy.
Besides drawing the character for dragon, students also used special brushes and ink to write the numbers one through 10 and the eight strokes needed to make the characters.
Brookner said the brushes were a gift from parent Thomas Loughman who bought them on a recent trip to China.
Loughman's daughter, Anna, who is a student of Callahan's, said Friday that it's really fun learning about different languages and cultures.
Classmate Caleb Low, 5, agreed.
"I like to say Mandarin words to my parents, and say what I want in Mandarin," he said.
To reach Meghan Foley,
email mfoley@thetranscript.com.
Source: http://www.thetranscript.com/ci_19693225?source=rss_viewed
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