Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, July 02, 2010

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The Chinese camp's finale performance included skits, songs and costumes.

For about four dozen kids, this summer camp will be memorable if for no other reason than it was conducted entirely in Chinese.

In the Intense Language Summer Institute, students immersed themselves in the language and culture by focusing on four major traditions: the Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Moon Festival and Dragon Boat Festival.

“We made a big dragon boat for the performance,” said Nathan Qually, a rising third-grader at Yates Elementary, describing how his class cut out dozens of multicolored dragon scales and sprinkled them with glitter.

The kids capped their two-week experience with July 2 group presentations for their families, featuring songs, skits and costumes.

The summer partnership program, hosted by Crawford Middle School, was made possible by a STARTALK federal grant to Fayette County Public Schools and the University of Kentucky. UK assigned 10 teachers in its certification program, and FCPS invited children who have had at least one year of Chinese instruction in school.

“We’re providing the venue for teachers to do their practicum,” said Alicia Vinson, the world languages specialist for FCPS. And for the kids, “This is a way to maintain their proficiency during the summer.”

The students, who were divided into age groups from kindergarten through eighth-grade, spent three hours a day reinforcing and expanding their learning. They wrote poems, tried calligraphy and, of course, practiced their conversation skills. Hands-on activities played a big role, too, as the students crafted paper lanterns and cooked authentic Chinese dumplings.  

The groups also studied the history of well-known traditions, such as why Chinese people like the color red – because it symbolizes celebration, happiness and good fortune. And in explaining the festivals, the teachers compared them to more familiar holidays, noting how the Moon Festival is like Thanksgiving and the Dragon Boat Festival similar to St. Patrick’s Day.

“Through these activities, they not only learned the Chinese language but also the culture. That’s the reason you learn the language,” said Lily Cheng, who has just been hired to teach at Tates Creek High School and Lexington Traditional Magnet School.

During the two weeks, Cheng and her fellow teachers spoke only in Chinese and encouraged the youngsters to do the same.

“It helps us learn better. We can hear what they say,” said Sydney Peters, who will be in first grade at Dixie Elementary this fall.

For one teenager who was born in China and lived there until age 5, the effort wasn’t a stretch. Millie Ma, who attends Winburn Middle School, signed up for the summer institute more as a tutor and teacher’s aide. She and fellow eighth-grader Laurel Yu both take Spanish now in school. So for Laurel, the Chinese camp was a bit more challenging.

“I learned Cantonese when I was a baby, but this is a whole new language for me,” said the Edythe J. Hayes Middle student.

Two master teachers – Yan Wang from Dixie and Xue-Lian Lei from Crawford – supervised the UK crew, observing their classroom technique, offering feedback and giving demonstration lessons.

Hong Chen, who led a group of second-graders, found that the camp offered myriad opportunities not only to hone her teaching skills but also to broaden the kids’ horizons.

“The purpose is to let students know what this culture is all about and let them experience it,” she said. “By the end of camp, they can use what they’ve learned of the language and the culture.”

Resources:

Studying world languages in FCPS

Linda Beck, the district’s world languages specialist

Foreign Language Assistance Program grant