The Teaching Society, once a branch of the Dartmouth Chinese Cultural Society, is celebrating its second year as an individually recognized organization, Mei said.
Chinese education for children in the Upper Valley was originally organized and staffed by parents in the region, Mei said. About five years ago, a group of parents contacted the Chinese Cultural Society requesting help maintaining a regular teaching staff. Because the society and the newly formed Chinese School had very different goals, the school separated from the Cultural Society to become its own entity the Chinese Teaching Society in 2008, according to Mei.
Learning the pronunciation and adopting an authentic accent is much easier for younger children, as opposed to teenagers or adults, according to Qianqian Zhao '11, a student-teacher volunteer.
Classes run for two hours each week, divided equally between language and culture education, Mei said. Students are separated into small classes based on level of proficiency and age. The beginning classes focus on basic pronunciation, while more advanced classes study short texts composed of Chinese characters, he said.
Two-thirds of the students are of Chinese descent, while the rest are either siblings of adopted Chinese children or simply interested in Chinese language and culture, according to Mei.
Lilly, a nine-year-old student in the program, was adopted from China and is interested in learning the language, she said. She also enjoys other aspects of the program, such as the cultural education, which consists of activities including Chinese paper cutting and crafting lanterns, she said.
So far this year, Mei said the program has been a huge success with the 14 students enrolled, who range from four to 13 years old.
Six Dartmouth students currently teach the children each week, and several more College students are training for the program, according to Mei.
New volunteers initially serve as apprentice teachers, helping established teachers to run their small classes of two or three students, until they are familiar enough with the children and program to have their own class, Mei said.
Students in the program are able to receive an individualized learning experience due to the low student-to-teacher ratio, according to Mei.
Zhao teaches Beginning Chinese, which includes mostly four and five-year-old children.
"My biggest challenge is to keep their attention," Zhao said. "As the year progresses, students feel more comfortable trying things out, and their Chinese skills improve noticeably."
The program provides student-teachers with an opportunity to engage with the local community and gain teaching experience, Mei said.
