Tanya Kalischer shares her passion for Chinese

Tanya Kalischer planned to stay one year at MHS. That was 25 years ago.

“It was just going to be a one-year experience,Tanya回忆道。, who returned to the Berkshires from 中国, where her husb和, 克里斯, was finishing his doctoral research. The plan was to find a one-year post while 克里斯 wrote his dissertation.

“只是偶然, they had an empty ap艺术ment at Miss Hall’s, 和 it was exactly what we were looking for,坦尼娅说。, who signed on as a resident in Witherspoon — for the next nine years. “We loved being there, 和 we loved living in the Berkshires.”

The following year, Tanya was asked to take over the Weekend Activities program, 和 she hasn’t stopped adding hats since — International Student Alliance Advisor, Junior Class Advisor, Chair of the Spectrum Fund Committee, 和, 今年新, International Student Advisor.

It was in 2007 that Tanya launched the popular Chinese Language 和 Culture class at MHS. 一年前, 帕姆布雷斯林, 然后 the Language Dep艺术ment Chair, had approached her about teaching Chinese, because the Dep艺术ment was looking to exp和 its offerings.

“It was a little intimidating, but I have absolutely adored it,Tanya回忆道。, who had previously taught 英语 和 英语 as a Second Language during another stay in Taiwan, but had never considered teaching Chinese. “I have just had incredible students, 和 I have really enjoyed watching them excel,” she adds. “I love the convergence of learning the language 和 finding the confidence to speak it, 和 also underst和ing the language in the context of the culture.”

As for Tanya’s 历史 with the language, it grew from a need to eat. After she 和 克里斯 graduated from Wesleyan University, where 克里斯 was an East Asian Studies major 和 had previously lived in 中国, he suggested they go to Taiwan to teach 英语 和 study Chinese 和 Taijiquan.

“I could say ‘Hello,’ ‘Thank you,’ 和 ‘I don’t underst和 what you’re saying,’坦尼娅说。. “We would eat at little restaurants, 和 I am a very strict vegetarian. 克里斯 would order for me, 和 my food would arrive with dried pork, which didn’t make me happy. 最后, 克里斯 said he wouldn’t order for me, so if I wanted to eat, I had to learn how to speak Chinese.”

In the years since that first stay, she 和 克里斯 have taken a number of research trips to 中国, often staying in small, 偏远的村庄. As Tanya describes it, she learned the language “backwards,” picking it up on the street while living in Taiwan 和 teaching at Tunghai University. Tanya also conducted graduate research on the environmental movement that emerged in Taiwan following the termination of m艺术ial law in 1987. While 克里斯 was doing his doctoral research, they stayed for a year in a remote mountainous area of Fujian Province, 中国. “We were the only foreigners there, 和 nobody spoke 英语,” Tanya notes. “But there were many six- 和 seven-year-old children who played with my two-year-old-son, Aaron. They spoke magnificent Chinese, 和 I spent hours every day surrounded by these children, who were my teachers.”

晚些时候, Tanya took an intensive Chinese immersion course at Middlebury College, where she learned to read 和 write. As a result, she concurrently teaches her students to read, write, 和 speak.

“Chinese is an incredibly challenging language to learn, but it is beautiful to speak 和 write,谭雅说。, who describes her classroom as relaxed 和 playful, 但结构. “I want the classroom to feel safe 和 comfortable, so students can experiment 和 feel totally okay with making mistakes.”

Tanya’s aim is to expose students to the richness of the language 和 culture — including current events, 音乐, 艺术, 哲学, 历史, 和 religion — 和 do it in a fun 和 engaging way. She often uses photos, 视频, 和 examples from her extensive field work in 中国, to augment the classroom experience.

“I love seeing students st艺术 with a complete lack of knowledge 和, 然后, 在10月, they’re writing paragraphs, having conversations, 玩游戏,她说。, 和 a number of her students have gone on to take Chinese in college.

“My goal is that by the end of the year, they will feel comfortable having conversations with one another 和 with our Chinese students. “I love seeing them have a passion, not only for the language 和 the 艺术 of it, but also for Chinese culture.”