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Some North Castle residents took a peak at the other side of the world this spring by learning Mandarin Chinese at their local library.The lessons, from instructor Christopher Alesevich, were part of a series at the North Castle Public Library that began in March and ran through May.Classes included reviews of vocabulary words, mock conversations and writing practice. But those involved said the most important part of the lessons was a second live instructor who assisted the class from Beijing via Skype.We had a lot of fun, Alesevich said. The instructor taught lessons from an online Chinese school he created called Wudaokou Borderless Learning.Alesevich, a Shelton, Conn., resident, teaches to all ages and said his recent North Castle course ranged from 15 to 20 adults and five to 10 children on average.?The class was entirely Web-based and also included virtual field trips to various destinations in China.This has been very interesting for me, Armonk resident Graciela Cabrera said. I come here to learn about an ancient civilization and might use this someday.Cabrera, whose first language is Spanish and can also speak English and some Italian, said she wants to travel to China and would be better off having had lessons from Alesevich.
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