SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga University (GU) added a Chinese learning program to its list of courses this year, beginning Sept. 22 through Nov. 17 on Fridays from 2-3 p.m.
The program is called Yan Xueshe (言学社). Three graduate students in GU’s Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages are leading the new program.
Ziyue Hu, one of the students running the program, is excited about what the year will bring.
“Everyone can come, learn Chinese, and we can share our ideas and culture with anyone who is interested,” Hu said.
Yan Xueshe will teach students how to write, understand, and pronounce Chinese characters. The proposal for the program first came in February of 2023, and GU did a trial run for the curriculum, said Hu.
Another goal of Yan Xueshe is to involve activities to learn about Chinese culture. Hu continued to say that the purpose of the activities is to encourage the sharing of ideas and cultures to create a community.
The program is planned to have a class each week, with each class lasting an hour, according to program coordinator Ziyu Lin.
Lin said that although the program will mainly focus on teaching Mandarin, some teachers in the group speak Cantonese and other Chinese dialects.
The program’s trial run last year contained lessons on greetings food, among other topics, said Lawrence Zhang, a program coordinator and a second year in the MA TESOL program.
According to Zhang, the curriculum is expected to expand to explore transportation, social norms, and daily conversational skills.
The three coordinators are busy planning content and lessons for Yan Xueshe this semester.
“Everyone is welcome to join us,” Zhang said. “Our target is people inside the campus, but we would also welcome people from the Spokane community.”
