Eighth Graders Interview Chinese Grad Students, All in Mandarin!
Country School eighth graders put their Mandarin language skills to the test by interviewing Chinese graduate students from the University of Connecticut during a class period in January.
“For most of the students, it was their first time speaking to a Chinese person, aside from me, their teacher,” said Linyue Wang, Country School’s new Upper School Mandarin teacher.
The students prepared 15 questions in advance, related to vocabulary they had been learning in class. Working in pairs, the students asked the UConn students about foods, sports, pets, siblings, all in Mandarin. They finished the interviews by taking selfies, as way to remember each other.
“At first I was really nervous,” said 8th grader Emma Herdeg. “In Mandarin, if you mispronounce a tone, you can say the wrong word. But I surprised myself, I think I did pretty well.”
After the interviews, students made posters that included information collected from the interviews. They then had to present their posters to their fellow students. “My goal was to include both an oral and written component as part of the project, as well a class presentation,” said Ms. Wang.
At New Canaan Country School, the study of Mandarin is offered first in grade 7 and continues through grade 9. In addition to Mandarin, students learn Spanish starting in Beginners (pre-K) and may study French and Latin starting in grade 7.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
