Whiz Kids: Chinese Students Studying English in Madison

Accomplishments:  Thirty-four students and two course leaders from China made Madison their home for the past two weeks while they attended “summer camp” to learn English.  For many of these students this was their first visit to the United States and most of them did not know each other prior to the trip.

They were participating in the Education First (EF) Educational Homestay Program.  The goal of the program is “to learn to speak English and to experience American culture,” said Program Leader Lauren Palermino.

In addition to classroom work they travelled to New York City, Yale University, The Mark Twain House and The State House in Hartford, Quassy Amusement Park, Mystic Seaport, shopping at Tanger and Clinton Crossing Outlets and a tour of downtown Madison. 

Upon leaving Madison the students are travelling to Boston and then to Washington, D.C. before returning to China on August 3rd.

Key to Awesomeness:  These students travelled almost 8,000 miles from home to live with host families, study English in DHHS classrooms, and visit local sites of interest. Coming from a city with roughly 10 million people many said Madison is a beautiful town with very friendly people.

All the students are required to take English back home in China and are given American names, which many adopted while in Madison.

“Their grammar is superb.  They can read. They can write. They have a very hard time speaking,” said teacher Lamonte Miller.  “The exercises that we do…it’s challenging because they really have a hard time speaking.”

Guangzhou, China native Colin said, “The most difficult (part), some words I don’t know.”  He said he wants to learn English because “in China there are so many foreign people!”

Course Leader, Vivi Leung, says English is very important for the Chinese students to learn.  “If they learn English they can get a better education and also get in touch with the world and maybe they can also find a good job!”

Victoria, a seventh grader, said “surprise” was her first reaction upon arriving in town.  “Madison is beautiful and there are many forests,” she added.

The open air and expansive living space also made an impression on Colin, “I think the Madison Town is very quiet and I love it.” His classmate, 12 year old Owen, echoed this, “It is very beautiful and has much fresh air!”

Host family member Kevin Ruggiero is a 2011 DHHS graduate who will attend University of Montana to study international business and Chinese.  He studied Chinese all the way through high school and volunteered to assist in the EF classroom. He said in addition to helping the students learn English he had a unique opportunity to practice his Chinese.

“I feel like every day I am talking more and more Chinese to the kids,” said Kevin. “When I wake up in the morning I say, ‘Good Morning,’ and I talk in Chinese.”

Although this may be the first trip to the United States for these students many of them are already looking ahead to a return visit.

“I want to come back to study in the university,” said Victoria.