On November 10, 98 Chinese language students from Fridley High School took a field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a Chinese restaurant and a grocery store. The field trip was open to all levels of Chinese language students because it reinforced curriculum goals for each level. 

“‘Language is life’” is a phrase I always emphasize for students,” said Hsiao Hsuan Huang, FHS Chinese language teacher. “Everything in our life is intertwined with language. You can learn about language and culture not just from textbooks, but from real life.”

Currently, Diploma Programme Chinese is focusing on comparing and contrasting cultural topics, school life and shopping habits and students will soon learn about the eight Chinese cooking systems. The Diploma Programme provides students with a balanced education, facilitate geographic and cultural mobility and to promote international understanding. Chinese 4 students are learning about shopping too, such as the relationship between colors and culture, and designs related to commodities. The mid-level Chinese 3 students are learning about hobbies. The novice-level Chinese 1 and 2 are learning about numbers, hieroglyphs, radical (Chinese characters), calligraphy, and Chinese painting.

“Besides reinforcing language learning and the curriculum related to this field trip, I wanted students to enjoy different cultural relics and experience new things that can broaden their horizons,” Huang reflected. “I hope that students will start to explore Chinese culture themselves and discover possibilities for their future without limitation.”