What do you get when you combine quirky traveling experiences with a strong passion for your culture? In language classes, a jumpstart into the life behind the languages. Two educators with connections to two cultures both work toward one common goal, to spread their knowledge of “cultura” and “chuan tong” to students using unique methods. At the beginning of the fall semester, these teachers-in-training began shadowing teachers in the world language department.

Caroline Scauso

Caroline Scauso became a student teacher for two Spanish classes through San Francisco State University’s Credential Services Teacher Preparation Center, a facility that facilitates placements that fulfills the student teaching requirements for current SF State students. She currently handles two levels of Spanish classes as a teacher-in-training, Dr. David Lipman’s Spanish 2 class and Cristina Ballbe’s Spanish 4 class.

Lowell hosts teachers-in-training on a regular basis, both to support people entering the profession and to bring in the enthusiasm and ideas of teachers who are actively studying pedagogy. Some students think having a student teacher is a good experience, because they often are sympathetic and experimental while teaching the curriculum. “I enjoy having a student teacher, because unlike a normal teacher, she understands the students more and how we can learn better,” Spanish 4 student sophomore Lauren Taylor said. “For example, she makes us speak constantly when we are in class, which helps me learn a lot.”

Scauso has experienced both sides of the podium, which helps her understand how to break the language down for student learning. She grew up in a small town, Walnut Grove, on the delta south of Sacramento and studied Spanish at Delta High in Clarksburg for four years. She participated in an exchange program in Argentina for one year after graduating from high school, and then stayed in Argentina for an additional five years having taken the culture to heart by marrying an Argentinian and living in the city of Villa Maria in the Province of Cordoba.

Argentina was Scauso’s first experience in teaching, making it a valuable time for her to learn. With limited materials, Scauso had to create many of her own lessons from scratch, which taught her a lot about lesson planning. “I learned that collaborative work is very important while teaching a foreign language, because it gives students an opportunity to learn from their peers and to practice conversational skills,” Scauso said. “Also, exposing students to authentic material is extremely important. For example, an article from a Spanish newspaper or an email from an exchange student provides students with a deeper understanding of the language.”

Her travels enabled Scauso to incorporate Spanish culture into her curriculum. “Culture implies everything from music to art to traditional foods — basically every aspect of life,” Scauso said. “Twenty-five percent of their grade will be based on writing projects in the target language. All writing projects will be about cultural topics where students will be given the opportunity to learn more about the countries that speak Spanish. For example, a topic students could research is about regional dances such as the tango.”

Video media will also be an important tool for students to learn about culture. “I try to use media like music, videos and research gathered from online to enhance learning,” Scauso said. “Watching short clips of documentaries, news and soap operas will give students exposure to native speakers. The Internet is also great for researching info about the different countries.”

Scauso’s experience across the world motivates her to teach her students to be globally aware. She has traveled to Mexico, England, Scotland, Italy, Spain, France, Turkey, Sicily, Canada, Alaska and nearly every country in South America. “My traveling experiences have opened my eyes to understanding and respecting differences,” Scauso said. “Leaving your environment is important because you learn that there are many beautiful and surprising things in our diverse world. I hope to teach this message of tolerance and respect for things that we might not understand to students. I was once told before leaving on my exchange program, ‘It’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s just different and different is okay.’”

Even with prior experience teaching, Lowell was a change for Scauso, as her classroom time had varied from classes of ten students in a private school to the challenge of being a substitute in public schools in the River Delta Unified School District in Sacramento County. “The main difference in the schools was that Lowell is a lot larger,” Scauso said. “However, now that I have my own classes, I enjoy getting to know my students. I find it important to know each and every student and to keep an enthusiastic attitude.”

Cindy Zhou

The second enhancement to the world language department is student teacher Cindy Zhou. Zhou is excited to experience her first time teaching in an American school; she will be teaching Brian Danforth’s Chinese 2 and Jing Liang’s Chinese 6H students. Last semester, the student teachers mostly spent their time observing the master teacher. They also had a three day solo where they taught the students by themselves.

With a family background in education, Zhou knew at a young age that teaching would be suitable for her. “My dad was a teacher and he influenced me to follow in his footsteps and become a teacher as well,” Zhou said. “I enjoy teaching and I want to impact others in a positive way.”

In China, Zhou taught Chinese to students in public schools. After immigrating from China two years ago, student teacher Cindy Zhou obtained her master’s degree in Chinese from SF State. She gained additional experience in teaching when she became an after-school tutor at AP Giannini for half a year. “I hope to improve my skills this semester and become more comfortable at teaching,” Zhou said. “I am learning different styles and techniques from the teachers here.”

Zhou looks forward to bringing aspects of the language’s country of origin into the classroom, particularly Chinese history. She has told her students stories similar to Three Kingdom, a story in which rival states fight against each other. “I think Chinese history would be interesting to teach in class,” Zhou said. “It would provide students with a deeper understanding of the Chinese culture and make learning more enjoyable.”

Another way Zhou ties in culture in class is by assigning projects. Students recently did a project that involved plans to build their own restaurant. Students collected menus from actual businesses and designed their dream restaurants using different Chinese foods. The students presented their plans using pictures to discuss the where, what and why of their creation. “Students not only learn about Chinese food, they also will teach the class about it too,” Zhou said. “For example, students could feature a Buddhist dish for monks in ancient China called luo han zhai. Everyone in the class will benefit, because everyone learns a little more about Chinese history.”

Zhou uses her experiences traveling to Hong Kong, Korea, India, Japan, Macau, and many cities in China to enhance learning in the classroom. For example, she taught her students about the climate in Beijing when they were learning about weather. “I like to tell stories about my experiences to help students learn about the class topics,” Zhou said. “I definitely plan to visit more Asian countries and use this to make class interesting.”

According to Zhou, the Lowell community provided her with a sense of belonging. “I can see a change in the different cultures,” Zhou said. “In China, the average number of students in each class was around 50. However, students would experience mostly lectures and skits were not part of learning. Students here are more active and work better with one another.”

A version of this article first appeared in the Jan. 27, 2012 print edition of The Lowell.