The Department of Modern Languages hosted its third annual Chinese Immersion Day on February 8th, 2016 in the Student Union Apollo Room. Chinese instructors Haili Du and Maan Broadstock organized the immersion experience for 120 high school and middle school students with one or more years of Chinese language instruction. The event celebrated the Year of the Monkey and helped students deepen their knowledge of the Chinese language and culture. The students and their teachers represented six schools: Dayton Regional STEM School; Piqua HS; Miami Valley Middle School; Bishop Ready HS from Columbus; and Seven Hills School and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy School from Cincinnati. Dr. Kristin Sobolik, Dean of College of Liberal Arts, and Dr. Marie Hertzler, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages, welcomed the students, commended them on becoming bilingual citizens of the 21st century, and encouraged them to continue language study.
After pledging to speak only Chinese throughout the day, the students participated in breakout sessions. In the calligraphy session, students practiced Chinese brush painting and drew a Zen Monkey – the Chinese zodiac symbol of 2016. At the “Making Sentences” session, students enthusiastically created sentences with given phrases and competed to show their knowledge of Chinese sentence structures, character recognition and reading them correctly. In the “Let’s Talk” session, students played three language games to practice their verbal communication skills. This year the students got the opportunity to learn a few moves of Chinese Martial Arts led by Chinese instructor Ms. Gu from Miami Valley School. Lunch was provided by Timmy’s Wok, a local Chinese restaurant. The meal included prosperity dumplings, longevity noodles, and chicken or tofu. The Lunar New Year Celebration, hosted by the Asian/Hispanic/Native American Center, followed the breakout sessions. Students from the Dayton Regional STEM School and Miami Valley School gave enthusiastic dance and martial art performances on the stage. Everyone truly enjoyed the magnificent Chinese acrobat performance by Li Liu and had a great time visiting different cultural booths.
The fourth annual Chinese Immersion Day by the Department of Modern Languages will take place on Thursday, January 26, 2017.
