Mandarin Language & Chinese Culture Immersion Project
A FULBRIGHT-HAYS LANGUAGE AND CULTURE IMMERSION PROGRAM
An Immersion Environment
The purpose of this project is to contribute to the development and improvement of the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the U.S. by providing opportunities for teachers, students and faculty to study in a foreign country to increase the Mandarin language capacity and Chinese culture knowledge of the participants. The project will implement a research-based integrated culture content and language immersion model. A research study will be integrated in the evaluation plan to determine the participants’ Mandarin language gains, increases in pre- and post-knowledge of culture and their perceptions of it, as well as professional transformative changes.
Project Collaborators
This project is a collaborative effort between the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education, UB Office of International Education and in coordination with National Chengchi University in Taiwan.
Project Overview
The project will provide pre-departure and post-travel follow-up activities at the University at Buffalo. It will provide an overseas integrated curriculum, home-like stays and culture site visits in Taiwan.
Spring 2024 at the University at Buffalo
Pre-departure guided activities at UB will be offered by the Department of Learning and Instruction, the International Office, and UB Confucius Institute and will include:
- Application
- Mandarin language and Chinese culture preparation courses
- Lectures, speakers and celebrations
- Individualized language tutoring
- Orientation workshops to distribute international travel related information
- Assistance in planning follow-up activities
- Preparation for the immersion phase studying abroad
- Research activities
- Data collection
July-August 2024 in Taiwan
The overseas experiences will focus on a six-week intensive integrated language and culture content immersion. It will include:
- Mandarin language courses
- Culture seminars and tutoring
- Integrated culture site visits
Fall 2024
Post-travel guided follow-up activities will be implemented to collect data and assist students in integrating what they have learned, including:
- Capstone projects
- Media articles and conference presentations
- Evaluation and research activities
The evaluation plan and the study will provide evidence of the effectiveness of the ICBL Immersion Model and the participants’ gains. Its framework will utilize a comprehensive evaluation model used for evaluating nontraditional education programs. Quantitative and qualitative measures will determine program success and transformative outcomes. NVivo, SPSS and ATLAS-ti will be used to collect, organize and analyze content from interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys, organize, analyze, and help interpret the research and evaluation data. The proposal will be submitted to the University at Buffalo Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board for an expedited review to conduct the study. The United States Department of Education reports will be completed as per GPA guidelines.
Associate Professor; Director, Foreign, Second Language and Bilingual Education programs
Learning and Instruction
Professor; Associate Dean of International Education and Language Programs; Director, Center for Comparative and Global Studies in Education
Educational Leadership and Policy
The purpose of this form is to gather basic information about you, your language background, and Mandarin language experiences. Please fill it out as completely and accurately as possible. Once complete, please email your completed form to:
Lilliam Malave Lopez at malave@buffalo.edu
Participation expenses will be funded by a United States Department of Education grant.