Northlake Elementary Chinese Cultural Program
Purpose/ Goal:
To deliver total Chinese cultural literacy through providing an environment of Chinese language and culture immersion.
Cultural literacy is a term coined by E.D. Hirsch. According to Hirsch’s book Cultural Literacy, What Every American Needs to Know, “to be culturally literate is to possess the basic information needed to thrive in the modern world.” We aim for all our students to have Chinese cultural literacy. They will understand Chinese idioms, traditions, philosophy, jokes, names, history, and all other parts of Chinese culture. Students will also be able to participate in a Chinese culture fluently.
This program and the instructors of this program deliver not only surface but also deep Chinese culture. (see picture)
Surface Culture
In and out of class, we play Chinese games and toys, sing and dance to Chinese songs, read Chinese stories, and have events and lessons on Chinese food, festivals, and arts, traditions, among others. Deep Culture A little harder to see, we also teach students about Chinese facial expression, body language, eye contact, personal space, tone of voice, courtesy, customs, friendships, what is ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ ‘desirable’ or ‘undesirable,’ attitudes, core values, concepts of time and justice, etc. These cultural lessons are delivered through immersing students in Chinese culture. Instructors serve as vehicles to bring Chinese culture for students to absorb. Picture source:
https://www.oh-i-see.com/blog/2013/09/12/culture-smart-3s-and-4s/ |
Instead of referring to a teacher as Mr. Huang, students call the teacher Huang Laoshi, the last name followed by ‘teacher’ in Mandarin, and nothing else. Referring to someone using the ‘last name plus a title’ format is a sign of respect and a very important tradition in the Chinese culture. This extends to the teacher’s spouse or children whenever they visit the class. If Mr. Huang’s wife comes into class, the students call her Huang Shimu, again in the same format.
When students enter the classroom, they bow to the teacher and say, using Mr. Huang as an example, “Huang Laoshi, zao,” meaning “good morning, Mr. Huang.” They also do this to their peers, bowing and saying a student’s Chinese name followed by “zao.”
There are too many other traditions and customs that students learn to be mentioned here.
When a teacher teaches mandarin, authentic material from China or Taiwan is almost always used. Chinese story books, videos from Chinese news channels, Chinese music videos, Chinese movies, etc. teach students not only the language, but also culture. The stories teachers tell tell history, philosophy, core values of China, and other concepts like the concept of justice that are hard to teach but integral to the Chinese cultural literacy of students.
Moreover, the teacher uses appropriate attitudes and tones toward students and asks students to do so toward peers, the teacher, and their parents/elders. Tones, body Language, and facial expressions are often used to communicate with the students. This is something that very few non-native-Chinese teachers can bring to students. After some time, students learn to understand and use these deep cultural gestures that they absorbed from the teacher. One easy to see example is asking someone to come to you. In Chinese culture, you are never supposed to use one finger to motion someone to come to you. It is extremely disrespectful, and students learn about this quite easily. Many attitudes, tones, body language, facial expressions, and gestures that are more complex and harder to see and explain are also learned by students.
These are not all the examples of how our cultural program and our instructors can teach students about the Chinese culture and educate them to become Chinese cultural literate. Below are some pictures and videos of some of our events and lessons.
For more information about this program, please contact us:
Mr. Huang (Huang Laoshi).
Mrs. Huang (Huang Laoshi).
Address: 268 N Coleman St, Tooele, UT 84074
Phone: (435) 833-1940
When students enter the classroom, they bow to the teacher and say, using Mr. Huang as an example, “Huang Laoshi, zao,” meaning “good morning, Mr. Huang.” They also do this to their peers, bowing and saying a student’s Chinese name followed by “zao.”
There are too many other traditions and customs that students learn to be mentioned here.
When a teacher teaches mandarin, authentic material from China or Taiwan is almost always used. Chinese story books, videos from Chinese news channels, Chinese music videos, Chinese movies, etc. teach students not only the language, but also culture. The stories teachers tell tell history, philosophy, core values of China, and other concepts like the concept of justice that are hard to teach but integral to the Chinese cultural literacy of students.
Moreover, the teacher uses appropriate attitudes and tones toward students and asks students to do so toward peers, the teacher, and their parents/elders. Tones, body Language, and facial expressions are often used to communicate with the students. This is something that very few non-native-Chinese teachers can bring to students. After some time, students learn to understand and use these deep cultural gestures that they absorbed from the teacher. One easy to see example is asking someone to come to you. In Chinese culture, you are never supposed to use one finger to motion someone to come to you. It is extremely disrespectful, and students learn about this quite easily. Many attitudes, tones, body language, facial expressions, and gestures that are more complex and harder to see and explain are also learned by students.
These are not all the examples of how our cultural program and our instructors can teach students about the Chinese culture and educate them to become Chinese cultural literate. Below are some pictures and videos of some of our events and lessons.
For more information about this program, please contact us:
Mr. Huang (Huang Laoshi).
Mrs. Huang (Huang Laoshi).
Address: 268 N Coleman St, Tooele, UT 84074
Phone: (435) 833-1940
Chinese New Year celebration:
Chinese Yo-yo activities:
Chinese Calligraphy& Chinese Writing:
Chinese Paper cutting:
Students show Chinese picture taking gestures:
The students gestures exhibit their understanding and fluent usage of this Chinese culture.
The students gestures exhibit their understanding and fluent usage of this Chinese culture.