Volunteer Teachers from the Confucius Institute at WKU were recently invited to provide a program for clients of the Barren River Adult Day Care Center in Bowling Green.
Confucius Institute Volunteer Teacher Xiaolin Tian provided a program recently at the Barren River Adult Day Care Center in Bowling Green.
Shanfeng Guo and Xiaolin Tian taught the group traditional Chinese songs, showed a video about the history of the Dragon in Chinese culture and also gave a musical performance on a traditional Chinese gourd instrument called the hulusi.
Steve Creekmore, Recreation Therapist with the Barren River Adult Day Care Center, said: “The collaboration between the Barren River Adult Day Care Center and the WKU Confucius Institute provides a unique and enjoyable cultural experience that would not otherwise be possible for the individuals served by the center. We thank them for coming and look forward to their next visit on March 21.”
The Barren River Adult Day Care Center is designed to meet the needs of adults who are physically impaired or mentally confused and may require supervision, medical and nursing care, increased social opportunities or assistance with daily living activities.
Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, WKU-CI Assistant Director, agrees the partnership between the two organizations is an important one. “We’re fortunate and proud the WKU-CI can provide opportunities like this to organizations like the Barren River Adult Day Care Center,” she said. “We want to make sure absolutely everyone who wants to can learn more about China and the Chinese language. We are happy the Barren River Adult Day Care Center contacted us and hope that other organizations will do the same.”
The Volunteer Teachers often make presentations to schools and other nonprofit organizations, as well as guiding tours of the WKU-CI’s Chinese Learning Center. They also teach Chinese language courses for the community at-large for both adults and youth.
The WKU-CI and Hanban, China’s Ministry of Education, work to promote understanding of the Chinese language and culture through children’s programming, training courses, cultural workshops and community events. Together, these organizations have introduced fully articulated K-16 instruction in Modern Standard Chinese into local school systems, serve as a regional center for Chinese teacher training and Chinese curriculum development, and build connections and partnerships between Kentucky and China.
For information about the WKU-CI or the WKU-CI’s Chinese Learning Center, visit www.wku.edu/ci.
Contact: Cheryl Kirby-Stokes, (270) 745-2836.
