Community-Based Language Initiative

K-12 partnerships | Cultural Immersion | Cross-Cultural Exchange

Chinese 101 — First-Year Chinese I

Instructor: Tianshu He 

Community Partner: Durham Academy Middle School Type of Engagement: Cross-school collaboration; cultural exchange

Students collaborated with Durham Academy middle schoolers in a short-video contest. Each group created videos on shared topics, then served as judges for each other's work. The project wrapped up with a Chinese shuttlecock-kicking activity that brought both groups together for hands-on cultural exchange.

Student work: Short video production; peer evaluation; cross-school collaboration; real-world language practice.

Photos: Chinese Program Facebook — CHN101 

Chinese 102 — First-Year Chinese II

Instructor: Tianshu He 

Community Partner: Li Ming's Global Mart (local Asian market) Type of Engagement: Task-based field experience; community language immersion

CHN 102 students took part in a "Local Market Scavenger Hunt" at a local Asian market, completing interactive tasks in Chinese with vendors and customers. Students from multiple Chinese course levels joined, creating opportunities for cross-level interaction and community connection.

Student work: Task-based language activities in a real-world setting; vendor and customer interactions; written reflection on language use and cultural practice.

Photos: Chinese Program Facebook — CHN102 

Chinese 331 — Modern Chinese Media

Instructor: Tianshu He 

Community Partners: Perkins Library; Möge Tee (local bubble tea shop); Shandong University of Finance and Economics (virtual) 

Type of Engagement: Multiple formats — library event, virtual exchange, guest speakers, community conversation

CHN 331 students engaged with the community through four distinct activities: a library-based reading event exploring China's women's liberation movement; a guest speaker series featuring graduate students and visiting scholars on topics including gender equality and digital labor; a virtual cross-cultural exchange with college students in China on internet slang and campus life; and an informal conversation event at a local bubble tea shop with visiting students from China, focused on environmental topics.

Student work: Discussion participation; cross-cultural exchange; community conversation in Chinese; engagement with contemporary social and cultural topics.

Photos: Chinese Program Facebook — CHN331 

Chinese 434S — Chinese Traditional Culture in Modern Life

Instructor: Tianshu He Community Partners: NC Chinese Opera Society; UNC-Chapel Hill (guest speakers) Type of 

Engagement: Immersive cultural workshops; guest practitioners

CHN 434S students explored traditional Chinese culture through three hands-on experiences: a tea culture session with guest speakers from UNC, including a live tea ceremony and tasting; a Chinese opera demonstration with performers from the NC Chinese Opera Society, where students tried on costumes and interacted with the artists; and a guest lecture and workshop on traditional Chinese clothing, where students created garments using paper and fabric.

Student work: Participation in tea ceremony; costume interaction; garment-making workshop; discussion and reflection connecting cultural practice to language learning.

Photos: Chinese Program Facebook — CHN434

Health Equity | Immigration | International Literary Exchange

French 101 — Elementary French

Instructor: Germain Choffart 

Community Partners: TROSA; Duke Campus Farm 

Type of Engagement: Community field visits; sustainability-focused language learning

French 101 students explored the intersection of language, sustainability, and local community through visits to two Durham-area sites. At TROSA, guided by a program graduate, students learned about social rehabilitation and the circular economy, connecting it to the French organization Emmaüs studied in class. Students completed a "thrift challenge" — finding and describing two outfits in French on a limited budget. At Duke Campus Farm, students engaged with the farm's mission and soil health work entirely in French, thanks to the bilingual farm director. The visit ended with a "sensory plant challenge" to identify crops and share food memories as a language exercise.

Student work: Thrift challenge at TROSA; sensory and vocabulary activities at Duke Campus Farm; connecting French language skills to sustainability and civic engagement.

Related stories:

• French Takes Root at Duke Farm
• Sustainable Conversations (TROSA visit)

Photo: coming soon

French 301 — Finding Your Voice in French

Instructor: Laura Florand 

Community Partner: Ahead Togo (students in Farendé, Kuwdé, and Tchikawa) 

Type of Engagement: International literary collaboration

Students in French 301 administer and judge the "Prix des Bleus de Duke," a literary writing contest for middle and high school students in three rural villages in Togo — communities that have hosted Duke's DukeEngage program for over a decade. Working in collaborative teams, Duke undergraduates develop contest prompts, evaluate submissions across multiple rounds, and select top writers at both the middle school and high school levels. Students apply the writing, peer feedback, and critical literary analysis skills developed in class to offer a meaningful opportunity for young writers in a remote context.

Student work: Design contest prompts; evaluate and rank submissions in teams; write award letters explaining selection decisions.

Photo: coming soon

French 308S — Manger: Foodways and Food Systems in the French-Speaking World

Instructor: Laura Florand 

Community Partners: Duke Campus Farm; Root Causes; Loaf (Durham bakery); Bon Fritay food truck (Andre and Dafney Lafortune); Senegalese chefs Eric Ndiaye and Papa Assane Mbengue 

Type of Engagement: Community-engaged course; public-facing dialogue series; site visits and volunteering

FR 308 connects French language learning with food, culture, identity, and community access through sustained engagement with Durham's local food system. Students volunteer with Root Causes and Duke Campus Farm, visit the Durham Farmers Market, and organize the Nourish: Food, Identity, Community series — public discussions that students fully moderate and facilitate.

Community partnerships have included a visit to Loaf, a downtown Durham bakery, where students explored the role of local grain sourcing, farmers market relationships, and small food business community-building. Students also welcomed Andre and Dafney Lafortune of Bon Fritay — North Carolina's first Haitian food truck — to campus for International Creole Day, and hosted Senegalese chefs Eric Ndiaye and Papa Assane Mbengue for an event that included West African drumming and food open to the Duke and Durham communities.

Student work: Volunteering and field-based learning; facilitating and moderating public discussions with community partners; connecting experiential learning with academic analysis of food systems, identity, and culture.

Related story: Service-Learning Through French Language, Food, and Food Systems 

Photos: coming soon

Health Equity| Immigration | Durham Latinx Community

Spanish 306 — Health, Culture, and the Latinx Community

Instructor: Joan Clifford 

Community Partners: Root Causes (Fresh Produce Program); Emanuel Food Pantry; Duke Student Community Resource Navigators (Help Desk) 

Type of Engagement: Service-learning; direct community health support

Students in Spanish 306 apply their language skills in direct service with Durham-area organizations addressing food insecurity and community health. Work includes sorting and packing produce, staffing community food distribution sites, and delivering food boxes. Through the Duke Student Community Resource Navigators, students support individual patients over several weeks — calling to discuss available community resources such as food banks, social services, and medical specialists.

Student work: Food sorting and distribution; community delivery; sustained patient resource navigation; deepened understanding of social determinants of health.

Spanish 313 — Bridging Cultures: Latino Lives and Experiences in NC

Instructor: Bethzaida Fernandez Community Partners: La Fiesta del Pueblo (Raleigh); The Green Market; Iglesia Emanuel (Inmaculada Church); Carmen's Restaurant Type of Engagement: Task-based field trips; cultural immersion; community research

Students in Spanish 313 make four structured field trips across the semester, each with specific tasks to complete. At La Fiesta del Pueblo, an annual festival in Raleigh, students research what health, banking, food, literacy, and education services are available to the Latino community by interviewing vendors directly. Trips to The Green Market, Iglesia Emanuel, and Carmen's Restaurant extend this work into different community spaces, with students completing language and culture tasks at each site.

Student work: Vendor interviews and community research; task-based field activities; cultural observation and reflection; sampling and engaging with Latino food traditions.

Photo: coming soon