REGIS

REGIS HIGH SCHOOL | page 10 SPRING 2007 | page 11
Regians
in China
Mr. Acosta and the Regis
Chinese Program
by Kevin Gallagher
‘07
In November of 2006,
Regis was visited by a
delegation of Chinese
representatives from
the Hanban Group
of the Chinese
Education Ministry
who are working on the Chinese AP textbook.
The Chinese AP exam will be offered for
the first time in May of 2007, even though
the textbook will not be available until the
fall. Professors Zhu Ruiping, of Beijing
Normal University, and Ma Ruojiang, of
Beijing University, sat in on Mr. Acosta’s
Chinese classes at Regis to witness how
American students study Chinese. This was
a follow-up to their initial visit in February
of last year. The professors chose Regis for
these visits because our school offers four
levels of Chinese and because they saw
the high level of accomplishment of Regis
students. Over the past several months, the
professors have been collaborating with Mr.
Acosta on the preparation of a textbook that
will be used to help students prepare for the
AP exam. Mr. Acosta is one of the authors
of this textbook project.
One of the main purposes of Professor
Ma and Professor Zhu’s visit was to get
to know American students, and to try to
determine what sort of lessons and reading
passages they would find most interesting.
Students in Mr. Acosta’s Chinese classes
tested out sample materials from the
Chinese AP preparation book, and provided
lively feedback. These interpretations
were hardly limited to the pages of the
textbook. Presentations on a sample
lesson about traditional Chinese sports in
Chinese IV soon evolved into a pantomime
of various Olympic events, with students
providing commentary in Mandarin. The
visiting professors were impressed by the
energetic classroom atmosphere, and they
later remarked that they had admired the
students’ ability to express themselves in
Chinese.
Professors Ma and Zhu returned to China
in November, but they remain in touch with
Mr. Acosta as work continues on the AP
textbook and supplementary materials. The
AP textbook will be published by Thomson
Publishers and by Beijing University Press.
It will be made available to high schools
across the United States by the fall of 2007.
Mr. Acosta has been a teacher at Regis
since September of 2001. He was hired as a
teacher of French and Spanish, but he also
was asked to set up a Chinese program for
Regis. After obtaining his B.A. in Chinese
and Modern Languages at Seton Hall
University, Mr. Acosta earned his M.A. and
M.Phil. (all but dissertation for the Ph.D.)
in Chinese at Yale University. Later on he
also earned an M.A. in French at Montclair
State University and an M.A.T. in Spanish
at Rutgers University. Prior to coming to
Regis, Mr. Acosta taught at East Hamden
(Connecticut) High School for one year; at
Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, New
Jersey, for nine years; at Oak Knoll School
of the Holy Child in Summit, New Jersey
for four years. He also taught Spanish parttime
at Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City
for one year.
Mr. Acosta has written articles for the
Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers’
Association. He contributed thirteen
translations to Classical Chinese Tales of
the Supernatural and the Fantastic, a book
edited by Karl S.Y. Kao and published by
Indiana University Press in 1985. He also
wrote an article on the Ming Dynasty writer
Fang Hsiao-ju for the Indiana Companion
to Chinese Literature (1986), a book edited
by William Nienhauser, Jr. As Chinese
language studies at the high school level
begin to grow in popularity, Mr. Acosta says
he is confident that Regians will be able to do
extraordinary things with their knowledge
of the language in the coming years.
By Jay Jay Loftus ‘07
During the summer before my Junior year,
whilst most of my friends were either on the
beach or stuck at their summer jobs, I was
boarding a 747 en route to Shanghai, China
where I was to spend a month studying
and living as part of the Glimpses of China
program. Although this program is not
Regis-run, I was introduced to it by my
Chinese teacher here at Regis, Mr. Pedro
Acosta, and was convinced to make the trip by the upperclassmen
who took it before me.
Although I was skeptical at first, I can honestly say that my time
in Shanghai was not only one of the most rewarding experiences
during my time at Regis, but of my life as well. I was able to immerse
myself in an ancient and proud culture, interacting and forming
relationships with local Shanghai students on a daily basis. I took
intensive Mandarin classes as well as other classes with topics
ranging from ancient seal carving to China’s role in the 21st century.
I was able to make lasting friendships with high school students
from all over the world. The other program participants hailed from
countries such as South Africa, England, and Colombia.
The month flew by, and I found myself not wanting to leave. I wanted
to spend more time learning and experiencing the Chinese culture,
and I am certain I will return in the near future.
By Tully McLoughlin ‘07
“I spent a month in Shanghai with fellow Regians
Kevin Gallagher, D.J. Judd, Conor Halloran,
Tim McCormick, and James Melvin. It was the
furthest any of us had been from home—it is
almost as far away as you can go. As a part of the
Glimpses of China program, in late June we met
fifty other students from around the world to
study the language and culture of China. I met
some phenomenal people—there was a young
lady from Belgium who spoke English, French, Spanish, and some
Italian, and a young man from Mexico whose native tongue was Spanish
and who decided to spend a month of his summer in, of all places, China.
In class, we hearda from professors of architecture, history, theater,
music, and economics. But it was the time spent in the city itself
that left an indelible impression on me. It was a month of enormous
learning and joy: at the nearby Trust-Mart we purchased everything
from dirt-cheap ice-tea to flip-flops; in open markets we bargained for
bags, T-shirts, and watches decorated with the face of Mao; and on dirt
fields near the dormitories we played soccer with high-school students,
practicing our new languages on each other.
The language barrier held its own problems and mysteries. The food
took some adjustment. But the amount of pollution in the Shanghai air
produced some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. And from
a small vendor on a side-street I purchased, at the going rate of eight
for a dollar, the most delicious dumplings I have ever had the pleasure
of eating! I wrote my college essay about my trip to China, because
that summer in Shanghai opened the world to me. I recommend an
adventure in China to anybody. It is unforgettable.