Worlds of Possibility

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Eleven years ago, the addition of Mandarin to the Middle School language curriculum introduced our students to a non-Latin-based language.

Worlds of Possibility

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Could a middle school with 122 students in three grades support four languages? As Head of Middle School Justin McLean recalls, that was the question in 2009, shortly after he joined the middle school faculty. “I was asked to serve on the Mandarin task force, which would make a recommendation about adding Mandarin to our language program.” After a year of study, the task force endorsed the idea, seeing it as “consistent with Meadowbrook’s dedication to excellence in all endeavors,” McLean says.

The task force’s report was part environmental assessment, recognizing the growing influence of Mandarin in area independent and public education at the middle and high school levels. “We found that at other schools, Mandarin provided a language learning opportunity for students who struggled with inflected language learning,” meaning nouns with cases and verbs that conjugate. And Meadowbrook itself was seeing “many more families where one or both parents spoke Mandarin or had Mandarin speakers in their families.”

McLean calls offering Mandarin, which Meadowbrook began doing in the 2010-2011 school year, “a significant Meadowbrook milestone.” “It goes hand-in-hand with our quest for excellence in all areas and our commitment to diversity in an ever-changing world. It’s also important in helping students develop a global frame of mind. By offering a non-Eurocentric language, we are communicating which things are worth learning.”

Expert Needed

Once the decision was made to offer Mandarin, Meadowbrook had to find an outstanding teacher to launch the program—something the task force found was critical to the program’s development at other schools. Meadowbrook found that person in Ms. Bo Hu, a Chinese national who had come to Boston University to earn a master’s degree.

Hu started at Meadowbrook by teaching the Mandarin language in the middle school, eventually branching out to offer Chinese Cooking as a middle school elective and an introductory Mandarin class for students ranging from JK to 2nd grade in the after school enrichment program.

“The children adore Bo,” observes Mrs. Barbara Campbell, director of the after school program. “She makes learning Mandarin so much fun, with age-appropriate games, songs, and hands-on activities.”

“Bo is a great teacher,” agrees Languages Chair Sara Rigelhaupt. “She has a way of building relationships with each student so she can meet the needs of all of them. And her use of everything from technology to learn sentence structure to calligraphy brushes to draw the characters really engages students.”

According to Hu, in a typical middle school Mandarin class, she will start by introducing a Chinese character and new vocabulary. “I talk to students about the Chinese character, the fact that it’s based on an image, and how it developed. Then they may play a SmartBoard game or a card game to learn vocabulary and grammar. Using reading passages from the text, students will learn about Chinese culture, whether it’s cuisine, festivals, or weddings.”

Through Zoom, Mandarin students regularly connect with Chinese “buddies,” middle school students who are studying English. “The Chinese buddies help Meadowbrook students with their

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“Students love learning about the different culture, they love the Chinese characters—so many of them are visual learners—and they love practicing

what they learn.” – BO HU, MANDARIN TEACHER

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language skills and then are able to ask questions about America,” says Hu. For homework, students may have to translate a passage— which they will post online where their buddies can also give feedback—as well as submit voice recordings of reading the passage out loud.

“The small class size means I’m able to build close connections and give each student attention to the fullest,” she continues. “Students love learning about the different culture, they love the Chinese characters—so many of them are visual learners—and they love practicing what they learn.”

Putting it to the Test

Hu’s former students enthusiastically endorse her assessment. “I loved taking Mandarin at Meadowbrook,” says Aleena Bacorro ’21, now a sophomore at the Winsor School. “There were only four people in my class. It made for a really comfortable environment. People felt like they could take risks, and everyone was able to work at their own pace. And Ms. Hu is a great teacher. She put a real emphasis on the culture behind the language.” Bacorro, who is now taking Mandarin II at Winsor, found the transition easy. “When we started, I was definitely ahead of other students.”

Joshua Levine ’20, who calls Mandarin “my favorite class at Meadowbrook,” found himself in a similar position at Nobles and Greenough. “Ms. Hu set me up to do really well at Nobles,” he says. “I won the Freshman Language Award, which is given to the strongest student in a modern language.” Former students also recall earning top marks on the annual Mandarin language test. Hu had researched a test they could take since there was no equivalent to the National Latin Exam or Spanish Exam. “I found the Youth Chinese Test (YCT), which is administered by the Chinese Education Administration Bureau to non-native speakers of Chinese around the world—so it’s an international test,” Hu says. “Grade 6 takes level 1; grade 7 takes level 2; grade 8 takes level 3 or 4. The YCT level 3 is pretty challenging. This year, we had five students elect to take level 4.”

Of course, the ultimate test for any language learner is to speak it in its native country. Meadowbrook launched a trip to China in 2016—open to all students—for that purpose, with a plan to offer it every other year. According to McLean, a small group went in 2016; in 2018, there were 27 students. (The 2020 trip was canceled due to the pandemic; Meadowbrook hopes to offer the trip again when China is open for international travel.)

Hu planned those trips carefully to give students a rich and varied experience. “We don’t just do the touristy stuff,” she says. “We visit a local school in Beijing where the Mandarin students meet their buddies and go to Chengdu to see pandas. We also take a kung fu class, work with shadow puppet artists, go to the Peking Opera, and do calligraphy. Students get to experience Chinese culture in China.”

Chloe Chao ’19, who went on the 2018 trip, recalls it was “like being thrown into the deep end.” “I found I was able to translate on the trip for students who didn’t take Mandarin,” she says. “We saw pandas, which was the highlight of my life, and ate wonderful food everywhere. We visited a school, the Forbidden City, the Water Cube in Beijing—every day was so packed.” Now preparing for the Mandarin AP exam, Chao finds that she is able to converse with her relatives. “I can now talk to my grandmas in Mandarin. And it’s opened up a lot of avenues to converse with my relatives in China. It’s satisfying for me to be able to use the language and make connections.”

Though Levine’s heritage is not Chinese, he is confident that his study of Mandarin will prove to be useful in the future. “Being able to speak Mandarin will benefit me in the long term,” he concludes. “It will provide a lot of opportunity no matter what I decide to do.”

And that worry about whether a middle school of 122 students could support four languages? Unfounded. “Our language classes at Meadowbrook are the perfect size,” says Rigelhaupt. “And offering four languages is what makes Meadowbrook stand out.” u