Teacher builds trust through language

Red paper-cuts and brush-inked calligraphy cover the walls. A sign by the door reads "100 percent speak Chinese". When Alan Heath walks to the front of his classroom at Lone Peak High School, his students rise, fold their hands in front of them and bow. Heath bows back. Zuoyi, the traditional Chinese gesture of greeting and respect, is used to open every class.

It is a small ritual, repeated each day at the school in Highland, Utah. But for Heath, who teaches Advanced Placement (AP) Chinese Language and Culture, the bow is an attempt to bridge two cultures, one classroom at a time.

"The more important thing is not so much language, but understanding of culture, understanding of the mindset, understanding of why the Chinese people think the way they do," Heath said. "Once you do that, whatever level your language is, you're going to be able to have a better relationship."

Heath started learning Chinese at 19 and found it difficult at first. But the difficulty gave way to devotion. He went on to study international relations and Chinese at Brigham Young University, then spent years working in trade consultation and later at a genealogy organization before stepping into a classroom 15 years ago.

"I chose to teach Chinese because Chinese has had a huge impact on my life, and I love the language, I loved the culture," he said. "I decided that I enjoyed teaching enough that I wanted to teach Chinese and share my knowledge and my experience with the language and the culture, so that other Americans could learn to love the culture and the language."

His first visit to China came in the 1980s, when he began traveling there for business. The country he encountered has changed tremendously compared to the one his students would later visit.

"In the 1980s in Shenzhen, nobody had cars, everybody had bikes, they were mostly wearing Mao suits, and it was a different China altogether," Heath recalled. "It was very backward and very protected, so their understanding of the West was very limited. When they saw a foreigner who spoke Chinese, even though my Chinese was not great, they were just amazed. I would go out on the street in Shenzhen, and within one minute I would have hundreds of people around me, all wanting to hear a foreigner speak Chinese."

Four decades later, his students are having similar encounters of their own.