Learning Chinese becomes more popular on campus
In order to meet student demand of learning Chinese, the modern language department enlarged the Chinese course selection into intermediate level.
As China becomes more open than before, people are increasingly learning the importance of speaking Chinese.
In the past, Chinese language courses at UCM only included primary levels one and two. This semester primary level two is offered, and most of the students in this class want to learn Chinese at a higher level next semester.
"Chinese is not that difficult like many people imagined," said Qiuyun Wang, the instructor of UCM's Chinese courses. "All the students in this class had good basic in Chinese after finishing primary level two. It is better for them to continue learning Chinese than stopping here."
In the Chinese class, students learn not only the language, but tradition and culture as well.
In the first class, all students will be given a Chinese name based on the pronunciation of their English name. "Iterated Chinese," the text book for the course, explains new vocabulary and grammar so students have a chance to perform what they just learned in a brief conversation.
Three or four students can get together and prepare a scene dialogue in the class. They are encouraged to use Chinese as much as they can.
During some traditional Chinese festivals, such as the Chinese New Year's Day, the instructor will lead the students to sing the song of Chinese New Year.
"The Chinese course is interesting," said David Badger, an American student in the Chinese language class. "Though it is difficult for me, I would like to learn more next semester."
The Chinese course is also a springboard for joining UCM's Study abroad program to be an exchange student in China. This August, two students in the Chinese class are going to study in Beijing and Nanjing, a big city in the southern part of China.
"Students who finish a year of study in China have Chinese as their individualized major," said Mike Sawyer, director of the Modern Language Department. "It is a good opportunity to learn and practice their Chinese. The students who are approved to study in China have enough listening and speaking skills in Chinese. They still need to face a lot of difficulties, but it can force them to improve."
Sawyer also talked about the film contest this coming next week where films made by high school students using a foreign language will be featured.
"We had the film contest every year. In the past, we never had Chinese films, but this year we have eleven. It indicates the increasing interest of learning Chinese in high school," Sawyer said. "Following this trend, the Chinese course can attract more students to apply for UCM."
International students are needed to be volunteer judges for the film contest. Several Chinese students have already agreed to judge the Chinese films.
