The Chinese national begins a 10-month stay teaching at BHS.

After 16 years as an English teacher in his native China, Tiancai Chen is familiar with the frustrating gulfs that sometimes emerge between words spoken and words understood.

Last month, he stepped off a plane and, for the first time, onto American soil to begin a 10-month stay on Bainbridge Island as a foreign exchange teacher at Bainbridge High School.

He left a great deal behind, including his wife and 8-year-old son, for a chance to immerse himself in American culture and learn teaching methods that could one day be useful in his own classroom back home.

And, though he spoke English before he arrived, Chen has already discovered new meaning in words he’s long been able to define.

For example, schoolwork consumes most days for students and teachers in China, a reality that leaves little time for lounging around. So what’s the English word for a pre-prepared meal eaten outdoors?

“Picnic,” he said in between smiles. “I knew what that word meant before, but now I can explain in detail what it means to people back in China.”

But as Chen understands, his stay here is more than a picnic. It’s an opportunity to share knowledge with BHS teachers while observing how students learn in this country.

During his time on the island he hopes to give presentations about Chinese language, history, geography, calligraphy, poetry, music and travel. He also plans to start a twice-weekly Chinese club at the high school with help from his mentor teachers, Loanne Harmeling and Amanda Ward.

Chen was one of 25 Chinese teachers chosen from a pool of hundreds to participate in an American Field Service exchange program that sends Chinese teachers on extended sojourns abroad.

He will live with three different host families during his trip, all of whom work in the Bainbridge School District.

The Starr Foundation, which co-sponsors the program, gives each exchange teacher a $100 stipend per month for sundry items like soap and toothpaste, meaning they must rely heavily on their host families.

Chen teaches English – which is compulsory in Chinese schools – at Ma’anshan No. 2 Senior Middle School in Ma’anshan, a “very small” city of about 500,000 in eastern China, near Shanghai.

The school is home to some 4,000 students between the ages of 15 and 19, but he teaches only 17- to 19-year old students.

Ma’anshan, Chen said, is a young city, but is the wealthiest in Anhui province because of its steel production.

So far the differences between here and home are many.

He said Seattle is “very big and beautiful,” but he prefers Bainbridge.

“It’s quieter and not as crowded,” he said, not to mention green. “I understand why Washington is called ‘the Evergreen State.’”

But the most notable differences, he said, are found in the educational experience.

In China, the school day begins at 7:30 a.m., with students cycling through seven periods before classes let out at 5:30 p.m. Because the pressure to perform is so high, most students study each night until 11 p.m. or midnight. Sundays are the only days off and are often filled with chores.

Instruction methods differ greatly as well. Chen only teaches about 90 minutes per day, spending the rest of his time grading assignments and planning lectures. Two hours of each day are set aside for office visits with students.

Math, English, Chinese, chemistry, biology, physics, computers, history, politics and physical education are among the subjects taught, with lectures filling most class periods and minimal interaction occurring between students and teachers.

Chen said he prefers the student-centered approach he’s seen so far at BHS.

“Here in America students use their heads to express themselves,” he said. “Communication is the main way of teaching. But in China there is almost no time for students to express themselves. They are taught to accept the teacher’s opinion even if they doubt the opinion is right. I think it’s good to train students to be confident.”

He was excited to see that American students are taught current events, something that isn’t the case in China, where the government puts heavy restrictions on the media.

Though Chen is only observing classes for now, both Harmeling and Ward plan to include him in classroom discussions as the year progresses. He will also give presentations at other schools in the district and at events around the community.

“He’s a wonderful resource,” Ward said, adding that many teachers at BHS hope to learn as much from Chen as he does from them. “It’s fascinating to hear about schools and life in his country.”