Where can first graders in Tarrytown learn how to use chopsticks in China, taste brigadeiro in Brazil, pick up football tips in France, practice Kanji calligraphy in Japan, and join lively dances in Chile just steps from their school?
This is not a trick question when the EF International Language Campus is in your neighborhood, and you’ve been invited to their annual Culture Fair.
On Nov. 7, 80 children from the Tappan Hill Elementary School toured five floors of classrooms where cultures were celebrated through language, activities, music, food, and displays hosted by the 200 students from 46 countries currently studying English at the EF campus.
Said EF Campus Director Debby Arapovic, “This is one of our most meaningful events on campus. It’s a global celebration of multiculturism, giving EF students an opportunity to highlight traditions from their home country (ranging from Argentina and Belgium to Turkey and Vietnam), learning and speaking English, and embracing American culture while at EF Tarrytown. Since many of the first graders at Tappan Hill Elementary School come from Hispanic backgrounds, we’ve been sharing our own students’ perspectives on learning English and speaking Spanish.”
The EF students shared their point of view on the Culture Fair: A student from Japan wrote, “I was very happy to be able to introduce calligraphy as part of Japanese culture. When people from other countries received their names in Japanese, they looked genuinely happy as if they were learning their names for the first time.” Another student wrote, “The Culture Fair let me share my Moroccan culture in a deeper way and learn more about other traditions. I loved seeing everyone’s surprise and curiosity as they discovered something new.” A student from France gave this comment: “Sharing Arab and Maghreb culture was an amazing experience that left me proud, connected, and inspired by our heritage. I loved every moment of celebrating our beautiful traditions with others.”
Tappan Hill Principal Alicia Manguso offered the elementary school’s perspective: “This is cultural exchange in our own backyard between generations of students experiencing similar stories all in the same community. Two of the four classes that attended the Culture Fair are also in our Dual Language Program where students are learning both English and Spanish. Visiting EF and seeing teenage students take the same language/educational risks that our first graders are taking is a truly wonderful way to relate to each other and share a common experience of persevering through language acquisition.”
The Culture Fair followed an earlier Tappan Hill/EF collaboration during Hispanic Heritage Month when EF students from Latin America visited the school to read children’s books in both English and Spanish, connecting through language, storytelling, and shared cultural pride.
We asked Principal Manguso: What’s ahead for this Tappan Hill/EF connection? “I’m very excited to think about new ways that we can partner. I think there is an opportunity to support EF students who have a passion for education and may be looking to go into that field. And we can set up a rotation of guest readers so that the EF students can practice their English. I’ll be working with the teachers’ team to brainstorm other extension activities for next year including some ideas centered around our new garden!”
Manguso added: “Coincidentally, Unit 1 of our ELA curriculum is titled ‘Mapping My World’ which asks students to start out with a smaller scope, my house, my school, etc., and with each week that lens gets broader, so that they start to learn/discuss/think about their town, community, city, state, country, etc. Now that we have experienced the Culture Fair, I see huge opportunities across K – 12 to build projects and make natural connections within our English Language Arts curriculum.”
A final thought on the day went to EF’s Campus Director Arapovic, “It was inspiring to see our international students share their cultures with such pride and joy, and to watch local children discover that the world is much bigger, and yet so connected, right here in Tarrytown. Any time we have the chance to celebrate our mission of opening the world through education and sharing our campus, which is like a mini-United Nations, with the local community, we deem it a success.”
And they’re all showing us how it can be done – one backyard at a time.
