< Return to Talk
09.27.10, 08:02 AM NY Schools
119 replies
Anderson moms: Is there any way to get Mandarin Chinese taught at the school? NEST has already replaced Spanish with Mandarin as the foreign language that is taught in the elementary school. See the WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704082104575516082963460938.html. Is there any way we could do the same for Anderson? [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
NY Schools 09.27.10, 08:02 AM Flag
»
And why exactly would you want to do that? Leave the serious teaching of foreign languages to middle schools. No need to do that in elementary school. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:04 AM Flag
»
You're wrong. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:11 AM Flag
»
I am very sure this issue is not as clear cut to say it is "wrong" or "right". We all grew up nicely and successful w/o learning Chinese in elementary school. It's the competitiveness of the modern days that "require" such nonsense. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:13 AM Flag
»
The world has changed, and I'm sure you were exposed to some foreign language in school before college. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:21 AM Flag
»
Yes, middle school. As I said before, I am cool with that. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:26 AM Flag
»
By middle school the young child's innate ability to soak up another language is gone. Middle school students struggle with foreign languages in a way toddlers never would. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.20.10, 04:23 PM Flag
»
np: with Mandarin being so different from English both in speaking and writing, wouldn't you need an intense program, not 1-2 hours a week, to learn it effectively? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:14 AM Flag
»
NEST parent here -- you are totally right. IMO it's just a well-intentioned thing that, in end, winds up to be about status. No way our kids will learn anything with once a week Mandarin. Sounds cool, but that's about all. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.20.10, 04:25 PM Flag
»
she's right. unless it's an immersion class. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:25 PM Flag
»
ITD, my nieces in France started learning a second language in nursery school and can speak it very well [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:13 AM Flag
»
Nobody will master a language (even elementary school kids) with two lessons a week and no additional exposure to the language and the culture. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:19 AM Flag
»
All studies show that learning a foreign language is much easier the younger the child is. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:18 AM Flag
»
I don't think anybody objects to that. But is it really necessary for a child at the age of 5 to be taught some random language? I can think of 10 other things that could be done with that time. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:20 AM Flag
»
you speak only English don't you? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:51 AM Flag
»
uh, no. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 11:13 AM Flag
»
np: yes, but it implies exposure on an ongoing basis, not a couple of lessons a week. anyone who has tried to teach toddlers a foreign language that no one in their household speaks (inc nanny) will realize that the classes are just not enough - you need to either live there and immerse or have the immersion at home for it to take hold. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:22 AM Flag
»
nnp- ITD french nieces master german very well, and by middle school are onto English. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:27 AM Flag
»
How many lessons per week did these nieces get? How much exposure to the French language have they been getting outside the classroom? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:35 AM Flag
»
sorry. I assume they are French and got German in elementary school? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:36 AM Flag
»
once a week, 40 min [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.20.10, 04:27 PM Flag
»
I would bet that they are not simply getting an hour or 2 of german lessons at school in a class of 20+ students though. and in europe, the close proximity of countries affords far more opportunities for using the various languages. going to germany from france is like a long weekend. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:59 AM Flag
»
Yes they get 2 hours per week from a native speaker with no additional exposure and it works. There is a range of abilities but it is possible. but the people in the Us don't think so -therefore the Europeans have excellent language skills and the US relies on everyone to speak English to them [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:52 AM Flag
»
Bullshit. I grew up in Germany and took English from as early as possible. I was not able to speak and understand English enough to communicate until I actually immersed myself in my early adult years. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:58 AM Flag
»
studies have PROVEN that it must be an immersion class in order for it to be worth the trouble. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:25 PM Flag
»
I'd agree if we were talking about Romance languages, but Mandarin is a tonal language, and it's important to develop the ear earlier. If you wait until dc are older it's much, much more difficult. Now, whether it's worthwhile to teach them Mandarin *at all* is another issue entirely, but if you're going to bother teaching it then you need to start as soon as possible. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 09:20 AM Flag
»
^ And I'll add that at this age (preschool and early elementary years) it's not about mastery, it's simply about developing their ability to hear and reproduce those phonemes that exist in Mandarin but not in English. So there's no need for an immersion or intensive course of study at this point. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 09:36 AM Flag
»
I thought NEST has been teaching Mandarin for quite a while and Spanish was a recent addition. That's what I remember from the tour three years ago. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:05 AM Flag
»
just another reason nest is a joke. immersion is the only way it works. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:25 PM Flag
»
I wonder where PS 20 on the Lower Eastside gets Mandarin speaking children from? I don't think it's a language spoken by many immigrants. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:07 AM Flag
»
CHINA!!! My child (at ps 20) told me last year "Mom! We have 2 new kids and they are Chinese from China NOT CHINATOWN!" I had to laugh, but I am glad that as a kindergartener he could make the distinction... [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.12.10, 09:54 PM Flag
»
I'm an Anderson mom and I don't want Mandarin to replace Spanish. My ds can have little conversations with the doorman in Spanish. I don't know when he'd practice Mandarin outside of the classroom. They do offer Mandarin in the afterschool program if you are interested. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:07 AM Flag
»
It would be difficult to find a place in Chinatown to speak Mandarin. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:17 AM Flag
»
I read this a year ago in the NY Times saying Mandarin is gradually replacing Cantonese in Chinatown - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/nyregion/22chinese.html [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:41 AM Flag
»
Anderson mom did you mean this the way it sounded? "little conversations with the doorman"? I guess that's the only Spanish-speaking person you come into contact with regularly, huh? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:20 AM Flag
»
np: this is silly, i have a diverse circle of friends, many who are foreign, but none happen to be spanish speaking. otoh, 2 of my doormen are spanish speaking. but the conversations my elementary school aged child has with anyone outside of people he knows well (in English - let alone a new foreign language) could well be deemed "little conversations. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:24 AM Flag
»
Yes, that is the only Spanish speaking person my ds and I come in contact with on a regular basis. M-F when he's not in school or afterschool he's with me or dh speaking English. The conversations are little because he only knows a few phrases in Spanish. You seem to find this offensive and I'm not sure why. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:24 AM Flag
»
^^^Oh, I have one very good Dominican friend (American born, of Dominican parents) who will not speak Spanish with children because she knows her grammar is terrible. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:26 AM Flag
»
Because you listed this as the main reason you wanted him to learn Spanish instead of Mandarin. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:31 AM Flag
»
no, she's saying that even from the beginning, there is some way to use that language outside the classroom without having to do anything special. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:41 AM Flag
»
OK, my apologies. Something about that sentence struck me as odd, but I guess I was bringing my own biases into it. I am sorry. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:25 AM Flag
»
Back off with your pc self. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:37 AM Flag
»
Worldwide English speakers: 600 million. Spanish speakers: 376m. Arabic 285m. Russian or Portuguese: under 200m. Any other European language: well under 100m. Mandarin: 1.3 billion. So more people speak Mandarin than English plus Spanish plus Arabic. More people speak Mandarin than every European language combined. It is by far the most useful language. Easy to learn as a child, not so much for adults. Why limit Anderson kids to Spanish? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.08.10, 07:34 PM Flag
»
The language program is not an effective program as it it only taught once a week. If you want a serious language program you are going to have to supplement with private lessons. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:18 AM Flag
»
ITA [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:21 AM Flag
»
I'm a NEST parent and completely agree -but the daytime class gives you a place to start if you decide to embrace it. Otherwise just do the minimum and treat it like on of the other non-core subjects e.g. dance - I don't care anything about dance (nor does my child) and I will do nothing to supplement it. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:33 AM Flag
»
but it [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:26 PM Flag
»
^sorry. it's a waste of time. that time could be spent teaching something to dc that could be learned in an hour a week. your dc has to suffer through pointless dance and pointless language. and this is at a highly-regarded school! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:27 PM Flag
»
yes and no - I know other parents love dance/Mandarin and may not see value in some of the extras my kid enjoys like chess and sports. It is O.K. that my child has to do things he does not enjoy and may not be good at; it is a good lesson and maybe he can at least dance at his wedding if not on Broadway. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:43 PM Flag
»
yup. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:26 PM Flag
»
Yes, I think introducing Mandarin to the Anderson school would be a great idea. I would love for my dc to be able to speak the language, or at least get introduced to it, even if it is for once per week. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:20 AM Flag
»
Honestly, while I get the push for Mandarin in the US, I don't think it's universally beneficial so that it needs to be started in elementary school. Spanish is the language that is most useful inside the US - which is where most kids will end up living. It is highly likely that it will be broadly beneficial. As for Mandarin, I think that for a select group of students who work in the global arena it will be beneficial, but for the vast majority who don't, it will get lost before anyone has even a chance at proficiency. IMO, in the US, Spanish is as close as we have to say Europe learning English. Mandarin should be available in MS/HS for those who wish to pursue it. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:20 AM Flag
»
Agreed. There is one additional problem. Once an elementary school picks up a foreign language it cannot provide more than 1-2 hours a week for it. Guess who will be complaining that their kids are not speaking Spanish or Mandarin fluently enough? The parents. Happened at LL. Parent body complained about how little is taught. Administration wanted to drop it for upper grades and replace it with something else. Parents started complaining about that, too. Insane! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:25 AM Flag
»
Well, some exposure is better than none. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:27 AM Flag
»
np: my friend who is a HS Spanish teacher at a TT private and who is a native spanish speaker - having immigrated to the US as an adult - tells me that in her experience it takes less than a semester for the kids who've had Spanish prior to 7th grade (in school or casual outside school class but no immersion) to catch up with those who've had none. So some exposure may in fact not be much different than none. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:40 AM Flag
»
Yes, some exposure is good to learn something about a different culture etc. It is not enough to learn a language. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:04 AM Flag
»
ITA this is why Spanish is such a good idea. Kids will actually hear and read it all around them, and its useful! I wish my spanish were better. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:31 AM Flag
»
ITTA. Ditto and agreed!!! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:46 AM Flag
»
You realize, of course, that most parents think their kid is among "the select group of students" :-) [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:45 PM Flag
»
you sound very ignorant. with the globalization of the economy, mandarin overall will be more useful than spanish. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 07:25 AM Flag
»
Agreed. Just based on the sheer numbers of mandarin speakers, which is about 4 times more than spanish. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:46 PM Flag
»
yes, in China. But if you life your life that way -- measuring your choices by what the aggregate of people do globally -- you're gonna have a pretty comical time of it! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.20.10, 04:30 PM Flag
»
Ugh I'd rather have Spanish any day. No thank you. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:32 AM Flag
»
Why? As it is, it's not that they are really learning a foreign language anyhow. No young kid learns a foreign language through 1-2/hrs of instruction a week. It may be valuable for the exposure and then any language does it. Anderson should seriously consider adding Latin as required coursework starting 5th or 6th grade. And maybe another language besides Spanish should be offered in 6th grade, be Mandarin, French or Hindi... but in the early grades Spanish is just fine. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:34 AM Flag
»
nest has had spanish, French and mandarin. They have added Russian. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:40 AM Flag
»
What a waste of time! Do you think dc is going to live in China? There are PLENTY of Chinese who speak English and if one day dc competing for a job that requires speaking Mandarin, between a native speaker and a speaker of Mandarin as a second language, the native speaker would get the job. So it's totally USELESS to learn this language. Who started this stupidity? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:45 AM Flag
»
Language skills are needed both ways. State Department employees speak the language of the countries in which they are placed. Yes, there will be truly bilingual people in all fields, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't study languages. You understand the world better by speaking another language. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:10 AM Flag
»
Agree with this, but why not Spanish? The second language in our own country? It's much more useful. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:52 AM Flag
»
lol. yes, i'm going to waste hours of my dc's time in k-5 so he can be a state dept. employee. um, not. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:28 PM Flag
»
this is not true at all. americans who can speak mandarin with a good degree of fluency are highly valued. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 01:39 PM Flag
»
i'm not so sure. i know a dc who has a b.a. and an m.a. from harvard in east asian studies, fluent in mandarin, got many awards while in school. he is white. no one is knocking down his door. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:30 PM Flag
»
Your argument would apply just as well to Spanish then. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 01:41 PM Flag
»
And in 20 years while everyone else's dcs are conducting business deals in China's very powerful economy your dc won't because you thought it was a USELESS language. Be visionary. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 02:33 PM Flag
»
Even if the Chinese economy completely tanks (unlikely) there are so many Chinese speakers that DC's will be much more employable with any Mandarin than with none. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:45 PM Flag
»
NEST parent and I'm happy to have this program in place because dc already loves learning about China (it's more about the culture/geography so far and less about the language) but I'm not kidding myself - I seriously doubt that over 5 years, dc will learn much more than a few phrases, basic counting, etc. That's why I'm glad that the focus seems to be more on the culture and less on the language - in one lesson per week, kids can't learn much Mandarin but they could learn a lot about China generally. They weren't learning anything in 1x a week Spanish, either, so I'll take 1x a week Mandarin over Spanish because of the cultural study component. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 08:51 AM Flag
»
Agreed. For learning something about a different culture teaching a foreign language 1x a week is good. Expecting more is delusional. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:06 AM Flag
»
So, the objective is not learning a new language. It is to immerse in the culture? There MUST be a reason! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:54 AM Flag
»
I remember over the summer, a job ad was posted on the website that said that they were looking for elementary Spanish or Mandarin teachers. I think the principal probably mostly chose based on the quality of the teachers that applied and perhaps somewhat on the feedback/advice she received from parents, teachers and administrators (she asked about Mandarin at a parent meeting last year and got strongly positive reactions). This is just a guess, though. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:03 AM Flag
»
I thought that too - I just hope NEST does not switch languages again in a couple of years if this teacher goes out on leave or takes another job. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:16 AM Flag
»
Don't you think that's too much work? to have mandarin be meaningful, there should be a writing component. Just saying - this is the same group who think Shuang Wen is too tedious because they're there 'til 5:30.. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 09:59 AM Flag
»
It's really just an introduction to everything - culture, characters, sound of the language, etc. It's just a 1x a week special. There isn't even any homework from K-2 in the subject. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:05 AM Flag
»
so if it's meaningless, why care if it's mandarin or spanish? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:59 AM Flag
»
As I said above, I appreciate the cultural introduction to Chinese culture, history, and language. Personally, I will steer my dc to Spanish when real language starts in middle school, but I think having some contextual understanding of China is going to be hugely important for our children (more so than knowing the language, even) [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 11:06 AM Flag
»
I think having some introduction to the Chinese language/culture is valuable and apparently a lot of schools agree. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 01:40 PM Flag
»
Hard to learn enough characters to be useful but very easy to read using pinyin, which is based on our alphabet. Simple to teach pinyin, even in just one or two hours per week, and DC's can use it to communicate with anyone in mainland China, i.e. over a billion people. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:47 PM Flag
»
You have got to be kidding? None of these elementary kids are going to become remotely proficient in Mandarin with no practice out of school. Spanish is way more useful. It's so sad how so striving so many parents are for their own ego so they can brag that little dc speaks Mandarin... I guess Spanish doesn't have the same bragging rights. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:19 AM Flag
»
I am not interested. Anderson's 2nd language programs are exposure only; what's the point of doing that for Mandarin, when at least the students are exposed to Spanish all the time outside of school, living in NYC. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:50 AM Flag
»
Both Spanish and Mandarin are important in this global economy. But unfortunately, don't expect other schools to be like NEST in recognizing the importance of Mandarin. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:52 AM Flag
»
why are you assuming other schools don't recognize this, and that NEST is therefore superior? if both Spanish and Mandarin are important to the global economy, why would it be better for a school to do Mandarin rather than Spanish? As several posters have pointed out most of the dcs will hear and can use some Spanish everyday in NYC. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:58 AM Flag
»
funny [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 10:58 AM Flag
»
This whole teaching Mandarin in kindergarten thing is a fad. I remember when I was growing up, it was learning Japanese in elementary school. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 01:57 PM Flag
»
ITA- me too! it's all about bragging rights for the parent. Little einstein goes to Nest and he learns chinese and chess in K but will be tackling world hunger in 1st. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 02:35 PM Flag
»
ittta. so laughable seeing all the citywide parents rabidly chasing down the next esperanto. whatevs. the emperess has no cheongsam. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:32 PM Flag
»
^empress [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.27.10, 04:32 PM Flag
»
the joke would flow better if you used Mandarin and not Cantonese but you are right knowing these things is not important. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 08:14 AM Flag
»
np I couldn't care less about mandarin. I think dd will be just fine not learning chinese. She can probably learn as much watchin kai lan. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 08:29 AM Flag
»
Nonsense. Just over one million people speak Japanese, compared to one billion Chinese-speakers. Do the math. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:49 PM Flag
»
Japan has a population of over 127 million people. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.13.10, 03:56 AM Flag
»
Still, 10x more people speak Chinese. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.20.10, 04:24 PM Flag
»
another Anderson mom here--i would much prefer that my dc learn mandarin rather than spanish at school. it may be "trendy", but it's trendy for a reason. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 07:27 AM Flag
»
And what reason is that? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 07:47 AM Flag
»
Your child will not learn anything really useful in elementary school taking Mandarin lessons once or twice a week. At that age and with that little exposure what language is being used is irrelevant. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 08:18 AM Flag
»
In short: there is no good reason to spend money and effort on changing the foreign language curriculum in elementary school. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 08:20 AM Flag
»
I think you Anderson moms are just jealous that NEST children get to learn a little bit of Mandarin and maybe it will knock you out of the top stop of a citywide ranking. So silly. Spanish is much more appropriate and unless it's practiced a lot it won't be learned either. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 09.28.10, 08:31 AM Flag
»
Don't all arguments about only 1-2 hours of instruction won't be enough for Mandarin proficiency apply Spanish, too? If it's for exposure, why not 1 hour of Spanish and 1 hour of Mandarin? (From this semester, Anderson has increase 2 hours a week for Spanish.) [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 09:14 AM Flag
»
...apply to...Starting from this semester Anderson has 2 hours/week of Spanish [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 09:31 AM Flag
»
In a vacuum your logic would be correct. However, in NYC its easy to find Spanish speaking people or even to overhear conversations on the bus or at the store so I think dc's get more natural exposre which can reinforce what they are learning in school. JMO. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 09:37 AM Flag
»
I think NYC provides a pretty good natural exposure to Mandarin in comparison to other places. We should make the best out of it. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 10:17 AM Flag
»
Where do you hear Mandarin spoken in your everyday life? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 10:21 AM Flag
»
Lets see - when I go to Sunset Park for supplies for my business I hear Mandarin - but truthfully 100 X more Spanish so there you go - when I go to Brighton I can spend the whole day speaking Russian. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.03.10, 05:35 PM Flag
»
Would love to have Mandarin in Anderson. In addition to instruction by a teacher, maybe should look for Mandarin-speaking parent-volunteers to support supplementary practice at Choice time for kids who want more? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.01.10, 09:36 AM Flag
»
I agree. Mandarin at Anderson would be great. And early exposure is crucial, whether or not it's a language your doorman speaks. Waiting til middle school to start a foreign language doesn't make sense. A 3-to-7 year old is made to soak up new language(s). My Anderson student was in a pre-school that had one Mandarin-speaking teacher and 1 English-speaking teacher in each room. No one at home or in our neighborhood speaks Chinese so no exposure whatsoever outside of day care. Kid is totally fluent now but needs as much exposure as possible to keep his Chinese. Hearing those sounds early makes it much easier to gain fluency later. Immersion isn't always practical but exposure definitely helps with later study. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.08.10, 07:16 PM Flag
»
tell that to the naysayers! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.08.10, 07:46 PM Flag
»
your post is basically pro foreign language exposure. I agree with that but would prefer Spanish. as you say your dc needs as much exposure as possible to keep his language skills. i think its easier for most dcs in the city to have exposure to Spanish on a regular basis than to Mandarin. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.08.10, 08:16 PM Flag
»
That is all true but it is also much, much easier for any English-speaker to pick up Spanish later. Kids should be exposed to the exponentially harder sounds of Mandarin while they are young enough to effortlessly learn them with the right accent. They don't have to become fluent in order for the neural pathways to be created that will let them learn later with much less difficulty. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:43 PM Flag
»
Sorry - but how old is your dc? And your dc is totally fluent in Mandarin just from the preschool classes? I don't get it. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.08.10, 08:39 PM Flag
»
Yes, he became fluent at the preschool with no other exposure whatsoever. He was there from age 3 to 5 (they have day care for birth to 3, then pre-K). So he had 3 years of daily Mandarin at the pre-school. Now he goes to Mandarin day camp during the summer and has Chinese class once a week at NY Chinese School on Mott St. It isn't as good as when he had 2 hours per day of Mandarin at the pre-school.Once or twice a week at Anderson would be great. He has only been at Anderson for 1 month but is already counting in Spanish. Since the Anderson Spanish class is only exposure, any Anderson child who has no Chinese at all could be expected to at least be able to count, say their colors, etc in Mandarin, as DS is doing in Spanish with just exposure to that language. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:40 PM Flag
»
Also, that pre-school had many non-Chinese kids. None of their parents spoke Chinese at home. All the kids were fluent in Chinese within 6 to 9 months. They were not studying Chinese, they were having story time, snack etc in Chinese as well as in English. Any child under about age 7 (with average hearing and cognitive skills) who spends two or more hours per day playing in a room where an adult speaks to them in any foreign language will learn that language. They cannot NOT learn it. They are wired to do so. Why are so many Americans scared to let their kids use this amazing natural gift? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.10.10, 05:55 PM Flag
»
np - Sorry but I don't really consider a preschooler as being fluent in a foreign language - or any language actually. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.12.10, 10:37 PM Flag
»
They were fluent at the level of a pre-schooler who is a native speaker. Which is much more fluent than an adult learning the same language at the same pace. I was once asked if my (non-Asian) 4-year old spoke English by a Chinese speaker who had been chatting with him in Mandarin. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 10.20.10, 04:27 PM Flag
Refresh » New Post »
Select Category
close [X]

close [X]

Select a Category (only 1)

category
Stages
Regions