By Laura McAlister
Journal Editor
Briarwood Christian School can’t take all its high school students to China. But thanks to a new distance learning program, it can bring a bit of China to them.
When school starts Aug. 17, Briarwood high school students will be able to interact with students in China to learn Mandarin, the standard Chinese language. Briarwood Superintendent Barrett Mosbacker said the class would be one of the first of more distance learning opportunities to come at the private school.
“The idea is to bring the content into the classroom, that we couldn’t normally do, through distance learning,” Mosbacker said. “We’re starting with Mandarin Chinese because there has been significant growth in China economically, and we feel it’s going to be a very important skill to learn.”
The school also is offering Chinese and Latin I, II and III as part of its distance learning program, but the Mandarin class will be the only one that will allow students to interact directly with their peers in China.
Mosbaker spent about 10 days this summer visiting China and meeting with educators there to discuss the program. He said they are “extremely excited” about the partnership.
“I’ve basically been meeting with city officials and other government officials, university presidents, deans and high school leaders forming the partnership,” he said. “Everyone has been really hospitable and kind. I couldn’t have asked for a better reception. They’ve been very enthusiastic.”
The course will be set up to allow students in a classroom in China to talk in real time to students at Briarwood via the internet. Mosbacker said they would also interact through e-mail throughout the course.
He hopes students will learn a lot about Chinese culture in addition to learning the language.
“They (the Chinese students) will be able to exchange interests and practice English, and our students can practice Mandarin,” he said. “They’ll also be able to learn the differences in the cultures.”
Mosbacker said the class would be taught by an online instructor fluent in both English and Mandarin, who would likely be based somewhere in the U.S. The classroom at Briarwood would have a proctor fluent in both languages, as well.
In addition to the distance learning class, Mosbaker said Briarwood hopes to start a student/faculty exchange program with China, with some Chinese students possibly attending Briarwood this year.
“We’re working diligently to bring one high school student to Briarwood immediately to finish their last two years of high school,” he said.
Although this will be the first year Briarwood offers Mandarin through distance learning, Mosbaker said there has been interest in the course at the school. So far, about 30 students have registered for the course, which is being offered to students in grades nine-12.
He said the school plans to continue to add more distance learning courses not only for its students but also to students all over the nation.
“The distance learning initiative is really something we’re putting thousands of dollars into,” he said. “We think this will enhance and enrich the existing traditional classes. We plan to package our courses for other schools, so they also can have access.
“What’s really interesting is we have a large school in the Midwest already enrolling their students in our online program.”
