In an exchange of cultural traditions on December 19, Mandarin students sang a Christmas classic in the foreign tongue to other World Language students.

The carolers sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in Mandarin and asked their audience to teach them a holiday saying in their respective language in response. Mandarin teacher Sabrina Wun thought it would be fun to tour the other language classes for the project because “it is fun to sing a song that everybody knows in a different language.”

Wun thought the classic tune would be easier for her class to learn. “There are so many songs that are universal that they know the tune already, so it’s easier for them to sing in another language than trying to learn a totally new song,” said Wun.

Wun also had her students teach their audience how to say “Merry Christmas” in Mandarin.

Mandarin student sophomore Connie Kim said that the class received the lyrics, studied their pronunciation and meaning, and sang the song “over and over in class” to prepare. Although not a formal score in the grade book, Kim said their participation was evaluated on performance and effort.

Freshman April Mao said that the experience helped her classmates to “see how other cultures spend their Christmas, and what they sing about.”

“It’s for the merry spirit,” added Kim.

Gallery • 3 Photos