On Fridays at noon, a little conference room on the third floor of O’Dowd Hall becomes the Chinese Corner at Oakland University.
With an increase in cultural events and higher attendance at China Club meetings, professor Hsiang-Hua (Melanie) Chang and the China Club E=Board have been redefining cultural awareness and international community building.
“I’m working to rebuild the Chinese language program and increase attendance at Chinese cultural events,” Chang, associate professor of Chinese, said. “In this era of AI, I strongly believe that cultural proficiency, global awareness, student connections and community building are more important than ever. I hope that China Club can help students develop these essential soft skills.”
As a relatively small program, Chinese Studies has around five students enrolled in upper-level classes, a stark contrast with its 15 students at its peak enrollment year, 2020. As coordinator of the Chinese program, Chang has created a larger and more engaged community of students.
“I never took any Chinese classes, but I’ve just always been really interested in the culture,” Ryan McMahon, an economics student, said. “I found out that there was a China Club here, so I decided to go to one of the meets for the first time a few weeks ago. It was an amazing experience, so I came back ever since.”
Many students like McMahon have become part of the new “Chinese Corner Lunch and Learn” meetings, providing food and language support for the almost 15 weekly attendees and reflecting a growing interest in the club.
“A couple of weeks ago, there were people with Spanish majors, Japanese majors, they just came to experience the club,” Lailah Moore, China Club president, said. “We are just making a community of language learners so you don’t have to know a language, but we’ll help you regardless.”
While the Chinese Corner meetings seek to help students practice any level of Chinese by talking with a language partner — with native speakers like foreign exchange students — or practicing with other students and staff, they also collaborate with other campus groups to inform them about current and local events.
“This week we just talked about career and life,” Moore said. “[At] our typical meetings we normally practice Chinese with various dialogues, eat food of course, and you know, just chat with each other in different levels of Chinese.”
After more than 15 years as the club’s adviser and with a more present student community, Chang founded the first National Collegiate Chinese Honor Society at OU back in 2016. The organization encourages students to continue their Chinese studies after graduation as well as promoting the culture in their communities.
“It is the first of its kind in Michigan,” Chang said. “Although students must satisfy the national headquarters’ criteria to be inducted into the National Honor Society, everyone is welcome to attend events hosted by our OU Chapter.”
Many students and faculty members prepared to attend the 2025 Lunar New Year Celebration at Detroit Riverfront to connect with the larger metro Detroit community. Thus, learning a language goes beyond basic communication, it is a critical skill in the global age we live in, Chang explained.
“For our students, learning a foreign language isn’t just about words and grammar—it’s also about understanding different cultures,” Chang said. “ Language and culture go hand in hand, and by exploring traditions, customs, and perspectives, students gain a deeper, more meaningful learning experience. This helps them not only improve their language skills but also become more open-minded and globally aware.”
For more China Club events, please visit China Club on GrizzOrgs or @ouchineselanguage on Instagram.
