On Tuesday, November 5, 2013, a group of fifth-grade students from Reid Temple Christian Academy visited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US.

Reid Temple Christian Academy is a private institution located in Glenn Dale, Maryland, best known for its immersion programs for various foreign languages, including Mandarin Chinese. It also initiates the Global Embassy Mentors Program, under which each of the immersion classes establish a partnership with a foreign embassy in Washington, D.C., to help learn about the country’s history and culture.

The sixteen student visitors from the fifth grade were studying in the Mandarin Chinese Immersion Program. They were led by the school’s assistant principal, Mrs. Donna Edwards, and Mandarin Chinese class teacher Ms. Yen-Ling Shih, who is from Taiwan.

The Education Division coordinated the visit, briefing them about the history, culture, people and society of Taiwan, followed by a Q&A interaction. Mandarin Chinese was mainly used during the interactions. The students’ interest in Taiwan and knowledge and ability in Mandarin Chinese were very impressive.

In her remarks, Mrs. Donna Edwards thanked TECRO for the warm reception and for the intellectual exchange, which she believed would broaden the minds and vision of the children. She also expressed her hope to further strengthen the partnership with TECRO, in order to help the school’s Mandarin Chinese teaching and learning in the future.

The Education Division prepared a box of Chinese dumplings for each visitor before they left the TECRO office.