News

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Learning Mandarin Chinese in the Digital Age

Forty-five students from three local high schools and two junior high school--San Marcos, Santa Barbara, and Dos Pueblos high schools as well as Goleta Valley and Santa Barbara junior high schools—will begin a Mandarin Chinese course this semester. Schools in other communities have embraced the addition of Mandarin to the curriculum as proficiency can enhance a student’s future career opportunities, given China’s expanding role in the global economy.

The course is designed specifically for today’s digital natives, as it combines the advantages of a live teacher and structure of a traditional classroom with the flexibility and power of online learning. In this program, students meet with their teacher and classmates in online classrooms, communicating face-to-face using live video and the latest social networking tools. Using a secure web portal, students have access to course information, class schedules, assignments, grades, and teacher feedback anywhere, anytime.

Some of the 45 students will attend class at their school while others will access the instruction from their homes before or after school hours.

Since cultural and linguistic immersion are key factors in learning any language, students create avatars and together take teacher-led “field trips” to foreign landmarks, such as the Great Wall, via the program’s interactive 3D virtual world.

As in a traditional class, grades are based on weekly assignments, quizzes, attendance, participation, as well as midterm and final exams. Students also have the opportunity to learn through interactive games, music, videos, and poetry.

Classes in Mandarin Chinese are not totally new to the school district as classes have been integrated into the curriculum at La Cumbre Junior High School. Currently, 100 seventh-graders receive exploratory Chinese instruction through the elective program by one district teacher, Josephine Moore, who is qualified to teach Chinese. Successful completion of the seventh-grade course permits La Cumbre eighth-graders to take Chinese 1-2.