April 29th 2025
This semester, SLS Middle and Upper School Mandarin students launched an exciting bilingual pen pal project with students from Menaul School Qingdao in Qingdao, China. The connection was made possible through last year’s Mandarin fellow, Dr. Zong, who now teaches at Menaul School Qingdao.
In Middle School, students received letters in English from their Chinese peers and wrote replies in both English and Chinese. The arrival of the letters sparked a lot of excitement in class, and students were eager to respond using the Mandarin they've been learning.
Upper School students, who are currently studying a unit on school life, wrote about their daily routines and campus experiences—all in Mandarin. They also included English translations to support the exchange and build mutual understanding. These bilingual letters not only helped students apply their language skills in a meaningful context but also deepened their cultural curiosity.
Teachers in the Upper School gathered the letters and mailed them to China, and now the SLS students are eagerly awaiting their replies. Projects like this bring language learning to life and give students a global perspective—one letter at a time.
