Group helps Chinese students learn American culture, language

By Alexis Austin

austina@thejohnsonian.com

Students from Pengyou pose for a group photo after a meeting. The group was formed this fall to help Chinese students get acclimated with American culture. Photo courtesy of Kat Callahan A friend is always there to lend a helping hand.

At Winthrop, Pengyou does just that.   Pronounced PONG YO, the group was formed to help Chinese students interact with their professors and peers.

“Dr. Ardialo, Dr. Moore, the University College and Dr. Weikle, Dean of the College of Business Administration, saw a need for a group like this,” Residential Learning Coordinator Kat Callahan said. “English and CRTW professors found that Chinese students were struggling in their classes. They didn’t know American culture very well.”

Callahan, who has an interest in global issues, was then put in charge of forming a group in which Chinese students could learn American culture and improve their English.  

“I had about one week to put something together,” Callahan said.

In this short period of time, Callahan informed students of the group through Facebook and word of mouth.

“I also contacted the Culture Club, the International Center, the College of Business and had Residential Learning Coordinators tell their Resident Assistants who work on the Around the World floors,” Callahan said.

Assistant Dean of University College, David Harwell, assisted Callahan in getting things together for Pengyou.  Before starting his position at Winthrop this fall, Harwell spent the last five years traveling throughout Asia and China.

“I was treated well by the people in China and I wanted to make sure they got treated well here,” Harwell said.

Approximately 40 students attended the first meeting in September. The students who attended decided to call the group Pengyou because it means friend in Mandarin Chinese. Students meet every Friday in Dinkins Student Center.  

“There are about 15 to 25 students a week. We either pair students off or work in groups, so students can work one on one,” Callahan said.

Freshman digital information design major Sarah Auvil is an American student who has been participating in Pengyou since it started. Auvil, who said she is open to trying new things, learned about the group through Facebook.

She also visited China this  past summer. 

“It’s really helped me to get to know some of the Chinese students on campus better, and also to learn more about China,” she said. “Most of the students are from the Nantong area which I am not very familiar with.”

Students also go on trips to help them get a global perspective on Winthrop and the world around them. Recently, they visited Brattonsville Plantation and attended the Renaissance Festival this month.

Since the group has started meeting, both Harwell and Callahan have seen a change in the students who attend.

“The Chinese students are interacting more with students and their English has improved,” Callahan said.

Auvil said she has learned some interesting things about China, as well.

“There’s a city in China where people buy beer in plastic bags and sip it through a straw. Also, some cities on the east coast are very famous for their seafood,” she said. 

Pengyou is a pilot program. If things go well with getting the Chinese students acclimated, it will eventually expand to helping all international students adjust to American culture and language.

“We hope to have a large group,” Harwell said. “We hope it’s an annual thing open to all international students and have more contact with European, Latin American, African and Middle Eastern students.”

Not only are there hopes that Pengyou will help international students, but there are also hopes that it will help the American students as well.

“The program will help Winthrop’s reputation as being more welcoming to students, but also increase American students’ opportunities in going around the world,” Harwell said.

“It’s a great platform for getting to know the Chinese students at Winthrop on a more personal level,” Auvil said. “It’s a great place to make friends from both here and abroad.”