29/05/2020
你好！我叫沈恩惠，你呢？
Hi, I’m Emily Shaw! I’m a Junior at Brigham Young University studying Linguistics and Mandarin Chinese.
In 2016 I was called to serve a mission in Taiwan, Chinese speaking. In Taiwan I learned Chinese from native speakers and focused my study on fluency, tones, grammar, and conversation.
After returning home in December 2018, I continued to study Chinese at BYU. I have taken college level intermediate and advanced grammar and speaking classes 201, 202, 301, 302; the advanced speaking classes 311; the advanced writing course 322; as well as additional Chinese history, religion and cultural classes.
Nine months after returning home from Taiwan I moved to China for a semester where I completed Nanjing University’s Advanced Long-term Language Program. While there, I worked with Chinese professors and native Chinese students to polish my Chinese pronunciation and intonation. I was also able to travel around to gain understanding of Chinese geography and the role it plays in Chinese culture and language, as well as participate in cultural activities and classes such as a semester-long Chinese painting class and a Taichi class.
I returned to the US after completing Nanjing University’s program in mid-December 2019 and have continued my Chinese education with BYU.
I’ve been studying Mandarin Chinese for over four years now and I think it’s safe to say that Chinese is my passion. When I'm not studying, I'm either reading Chinese books, listening to Chinese music, watching Chinese TV shows, or seeking out my Chinese-speaking friends to put my Chinese in action.
COVID-19 threw a wrench in my last semester just like everyone else, so I can only imagine how hard it has been for the kids in Chinese immersion trying to keep up with Chinese amid the chaos right now. I’ve heard from close friends that most kids’ Chinese is behind what it would have been in an undisturbed semester.
I want to help kids and youth continue learning and loving Chinese over the summer and help them feel prepared and confident to enter the coming school year.
