This web site aims to introduce a groundbreaking student-centered web project accomplished by non-heritage Elementary Chinese learners at the University of Virginia. It demonstrates how the instructor, Dr. Miao-Fen Tseng, and the students worked collaboratively in the entire learning process leading to a fruitful result. The purposes of the students' publications are:

1. Create a channel for students to communicate and appreciate each other's work
2. Maximize students' learning through interactions between the instructor and students
3. Encourage students' active involvement in and dedication to learning Chinese
4. Provide supplementary materials for Elementary Chinese learners

Students' publications on this website include the following specific areas:

1. Reflections on learning Mandarin Chinese
2. Personal introduction in Mandarin Chinese with accompanying audio files produced by students or native speakers of Mandarin Chinese
3. Selected compositions and dialogues in Mandarin Chinese with accompanying audio files produced by students or native speakers of Mandarin Chinese

To complete this project, students followed step-by-step instructions given by the instructor as described below.

1. The instructor provided assistance in improving students' writing created for weekly oral performance.
2. The students completed their own portfolio by collecting all dialogues that they created throughout the semester.
3. The students selected three pieces of work that they felt were most satisfactory according to their individual preferences.
4. The students made digital recordings and signed consent forms to agree to have their work published.

Although this web site was originally developed for UVA's elementary Chinese learners, it can also extend to "Integrated Chinese" textbook users in particular, and other textbook users in general. In an attempt to providing a complete series of supplementary materials that cover topics frequently taught at elementary level, this on-going project will continue to collect additional works created by learners who take Elementary Chinese in future semesters.

The development of this web project would not have been possible without students' enthusiastic participation, and technical assistance from Alderman Library and the Arts and Sciences Language Lab. Special thanks should be given to the East Asian Center and the Arts and Sciences Language Lab, from where the funding was granted.