In Berks County, Pennsylvania, teachers and students in five school districts are linked electronically to learn Mandarin Chinese.
The Berks County Intermediate Unit in Muhlenberg Township has set up a computer video net. In its first year, the program is providing Mandarin Chinese lessons to six classes in five districts. There are three guest teachers from China, each a college student pursuing a degree in education. Part of a US$900,000 federal Foreign Language Assistance Program grant was spent to hire a full-time teacher.
Reading Eagle.com reports Song Ying, one of the guest teachers, as saying teaching over the internet isn’t much different than being in the classroom.
"‘I think most of the time it’s the same because it’s happening live," she said. "We talk to the students, and they can talk to me."
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