Every spring break, students in Berkeley High School\u2019s Mandarin program trade their classrooms for international travel. They spend nearly two weeks exploring China, practicing their language skills, and experiencing Chinese culture firsthand. Organized by Mandarin teacher Xin Chen, the program that began over a decade ago has become a highly anticipated annual tradition that combines classroom learning with real-world experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For many students, traveling alongside classmates and stepping into a new culture is a major motivation to join the trip. \u201cI also wanted to understand more about Chinese culture,\u201d BHS sophomore Oskar Cross said.<\/p>\n
Each year\u2019s schedule varies, but typically includes multiple cities, cultural landmarks and school visits. Over the course of the trip, students explore museums, historic sites and natural monuments. \u201cOne of my favorite experiences was visiting the Junsheng Sand and Stone Museum, where they showcase artworks made with stone dust and natural elements to create textured landscapes,\u201d Cross said.<\/p>\n
Students say the trip offers experiences they would not normally encounter, even for those already familiar with China. \u201cIt felt a bit touristy, but it was still really cool to visit one of the roots of Kung Fu,\u201d BHS sophomore Alexa Davis said, reflecting on a martial arts lesson at the Shaolin Temple.<\/p>\n
A major goal of the trip is encouraging students to use Mandarin outside the classroom. Many participants described using the language daily while ordering food, shopping, or speaking with tour guides. \u201cIt was stressful at times but also very eye-opening to see how people use the words and phrases I\u2019ve been learning in real life,\u201d Cross said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Using Mandarin in everyday situations also helped students notice the gap between classroom learning and real-life conversation. \u201cIn school, you learn very formal textbook Mandarin, but in China I learned how to speak more colloquially so I don\u2019t sound like I\u2019m reading from a textbook,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n
Not every experience matched expectations, which students said made the trip even more eye-opening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere weren\u2019t many opportunities to use my Mandarin because people wanted to practice their English,\u201d Teddy Moore, a freshman at BHS, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fast-paced schedule is another defining feature of the trip. \u201cThe itinerary was packed, so we often got to the hotel around 10 p.m. and woke up at 6:30 a.m. to start another full day. After 11 days, it was pretty exhausting and didn\u2019t feel much like a spring break,\u201d Cross said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moore added that the group rarely stayed in the same hotel for more than two nights. \u201cThe trip was 12 days \u2026 we were constantly packing and traveling,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
For Chen, these challenges are outweighed by the growth she sees in students after they return. \u201cThey feel more motivated to learn the language,\u201d she said. Chen emphasized that the trip is connected to coursework and designed as an extension of classroom learning rather than a vacation. \u201cStudents research destinations and choose locations based on culture, history, or food. Many students plan to go during senior year, especially after completing travel-focused units in class,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Students also stressed the importance of seeing another country beyond headlines and stereotypes. \u201cPeople hear a lot about China in the media and this lets students see it for themselves,\u201d said Cross.<\/p>\n
Many say the trip becomes one of their most memorable high school experiences, and strongly encourage others to participate. \u201cEven if you\u2019re not very confident in your Mandarin, it\u2019s still worth it,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n
As the program continues to grow each year, the annual journey has become more than a trip abroad. For BHS Mandarin students, it is a chance to connect language learning with real life, widen perspectives and experiencing the world beyond the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter returning, students gain a broader perspective and better understanding of Chinese culture. They become more culturally tolerant and recognize both differences and similarities between people,\u201d Chen said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every spring break, students in Berkeley High School\u2019s Mandarin program trade their classrooms for international travel. They spend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-306882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}