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Tennessee State Students Prepare for China by Studying Mandarin

Photo credit: K. Cummings/the Meter Tennessee State President Melvin N. Johnson, front row, sits in on language lessons with students and faculty who will study in China.

By Marshall A. Latimore
Black College Wire

When Shaana Worlds heard she could travel to China for six weeks and receive college credit as well, she jumped at the opportunity.

Worlds, a junior English major at Tennessee State University from Moss Point, Miss., will be joining seven other students and two faculty members on a visit to Tianjin Polytechnic University for five weeks, as well as a week of travel in Beijing and Xian, China. They leave May 20.

“It’s an opportunity that I’m very excited about. I feel like it’s (a) once-in-a-lifetime" experience, Worlds said, excited that she was selected from more than 20 applicants. “I know that it’s something that I have to look forward to and it’s an opportunity for me to show that TSU has prestigious students that can put us on the next level.”

The students, who come from the colleges of business and arts and sciences, have been taking a course in Mandarin Chinese on campus. The class, created specifically for those taking the trip, is offered two hours a week for 13 weeks.

Some students, like Jennifer Peterson, say they are “having a ball.”

Peterson, a senior business administration major from Dayton, Ohio, said that although she sometimes struggles with the language, she looks forward to attending the sessions.

“The classes are fun, but the language is a little hard,” Peterson said. “But it keeps you involved and you understand it.

“Sometimes I’m like ‘Oh, yeah, I know what that means' when (the instructor) says something that you’re understanding.”

University President Melvin N. Johnson visited one of the lessons. Johnson will also be in China this summer and said he hoped their paths crossed. “My wife will be joining me and we plan to do plenty of sightseeing,” he said.

Funding for the student and faculty visit came from the recently launched Pilot Center for Academic Excellence in Intelligence Studies, according to Galen Hull, director of the university's Office of International Business Programs.

Hull said the students will all enroll in a three-credit course entitled “International Trade,” along with a three-credit- hour independent study course based on their experiences. In the independent study class, the students will be required to maintain a daily journal from their Nashville departure through their time in China and their return home, and write a paper on a topic related to their China experience.

Peterson said she didn’t mind the courses, the language barriers, or the culture shock she expects.

“I look forward to being able to have the opportunity to experience another country,” Peterson said. “That’s what I’m excited about.”

Marshall A. Latimore, a student at Tennessee State University, writes for the Meter.

Posted May 9, 2006