|
St. Louis County Library celebrated its third successful month of
bilingual classes (English/Chinese) on June 29 with St. Louis County
Library Board Member Dr. Ching-ling Tai in attendance. In those
three months, 12 class sessions have been held, and the students'
response has been overwhelming. Classes are held in the computer
lab at St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh
Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131.
The program's bilingual format has been very popular with the
students. Some classes are taught in Chinese only, while others
are taught in English and Mandarin Chinese. Many students have
said that receiving handouts in both languages helped them improve
their English skills. Students have also commented that the materials
are easy to read and make it easier to practice on their own.
In a survey of students in the classes, every student said he
or she enjoyed the learning environment, with specific praise
by many for the instructors: Ling Thumin, County Library Coordinator
of Asian Services, and Reference Librarian Paul Steensland.
Most students indicated they found out about the Library's computer
classes from friends and from St. Louis' two Chinese newspapers:
the St. Louis Chinese American News and the St. Louis Chinese
Journal. About half of the students had no prior computer experience,
and the other half had very limited computer experience. Most
students indicated they had a personal computer at home on which
to practice.
The most popular classes thus far have been Introduction to the
Internet, Yahoo Email and Qikan, which is a Chinese language magazine
database provided by the St. Louis County Library. Residents of
St. Louis County Library can use Qikan through the Library's website
www.slcl.org if they have a St. Louis County Library card. Nearly
all students interviewed said they would recommend the bilingual
classes to friends and relatives.
Students were also surveyed on what type of classes they would
like the Library to offer in the future; typing, the Chinese Pinying
system, digital cameras, and the Library's online catalog were
the most popular.
In response, the August bilingual class schedule includes Introduction
to the Library's Online Catalog on Tuesday August 9th, from 2
to 5 PM; Advanced Library's Online Catalog on Tuesday August 16th
from 2 to 5 PM; Qikan on Saturday August 27th from 1:30 to 4:30;
and Finding Quick Facts Online on Tuesday August 30th from 2 to
5PM.
Through only three months old, St. Louis County Library's bilingual
computer classes have become very popular.
|
