CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — April 20 is Chinese Language day.
It’s meant to highlight the impact the language has had in the world's culture.
At Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Chinese-language fundamentals course instructor said students learn by speaking Chinese during class time.
Texas A&M University-CC instructor Wen-Yen Yang aims for to teach students something they wouldn't regularly learn on their own.
“For American college students to learn a second language like this class, where they are learning Chinese language. It’s not only learning the language but it’s also learning the culture,” he said.
From middle-school students in Taiwan, to those seeking to learn the language in a college setting, Yang teaches Chinese, and his focus is teaching students how to have a conversation rather than writing.
“When we learn new vocabulary, we learn where the words came from and we’ll learn what life is like in Taiwan and China,” said one student.
Charlotte Day and her classmate Savannah Cantor are freshmen at TAMUCC and have dedicated their last two semesters to getting to know the language.
They said there is still so much more to learn.
“Any language is a good skill, and you can’t keep it up without practice,” said Cantor.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization encourages people to celebrate Chinese Language Day by joining a class or visiting a museum to gain more insight into Chinese culture.
Searching #ChineseLanguageDay on your social media is a great way to see what the holiday means to others around the world.
You can also use #Chinese LanguageDay by visiting the Texas State Museum of Asian cultures, where they will be celebrating Chinese Language Day by teaching the public the history behind Chinese lettering from noon-5 p.m. Wednesday.
