The NSLI-Y program strongly believes that the best way for students to advance langauge skills and cultural understanding is total immersion - trying a hand at the arts, visiting the sites, and learning traditional practices. For students in NSLI-Y China this summer, the busy days of immersive activities flew by until the students were surprised to discover just how much they had learned in a matter of weeks.
Making Chinese Opera Masks
One defining aspect of traditional Chinese Opera, sometimes referred to as Peking Opera or Beijing Opera, is the masks and face paint that actors and singers use to enhance their roles. The colors of masks are highly symbolic with different colors strongly identified with different personality traits such as loyalty or bravery. Often the performers are responsible for making their own masks and doing their own face paint. Students had the chance to try their hand at traditional mask making and greatly enjoyed learning about the cultural significance of Chinese opera. Students learned that in China in general, colors carry the weight of powerful cultural significance. One well known example is that the colors red and gold are colors of good fortune, luck, and prosperity.
A Hidden Pocket of History
On July 16, NSLI-Y China students visited the traditional village of Huitong, a small hamlet of winding streets and old, ancestral halls set in a picturesque landscape of fruit orchards a short drive away from their language school. The group visited the ancestral hall of the Mosi family, where they saw traditional Guangdong architecture that included some open-air roofs, an altar where the family had worshipped ancestors and came together in daily life as well as for holidays, and a chart depicting 18 generations of the family tree. Then the participants walked some of the streets of Huitong, stopping for group photos and a coffee bar set in a traditional style building.
Students expressed a great deal of interest in the history of the ancestral hall and village. They also were able to see that a piece of history can be just around the corner in daily life, and it was very beneficial to have a field trip with the language partners, who could explain historical and cultural concepts and vocabulary related to the village to students.
The Art of Taiqi
During their daily culture classes, NSLI-Y China students in Zhuhai learned Taiqi with Chinese fans. The visually striking, powerful and effective exercise practice, is a health activity that is intrinsically tied to Chinese culture. In addition to presenting information about the practice in Chinese, the students also presented a Taiqi fan performance to an audience during their community service event on July 25, 2015.
The activity brought students out of the classroom setting and into an active learning environment with instruction in both Chinese and English. Many students are able to receive and understand instruction in Chinese now - tangible proof of the leaps their language skills have taken during their time on program.