Change is in the air for Chinese language tests and exams in Singapore's schools

to cater to a growing group of students from predominantly English-speaking homes.

In this article how best to teach Chinese to children is debated. Is dual immersion the answer? And how to you adapt your instructional strategy /pedagogy as children get older?

Politicians Ed Balls and David Laws debate introduction of compulsory language lessons for 7-11 (KS2)....

Ministers have already announced the introduction of compulsory language lessons for seven- to 11-year-olds in 2011 to stimulate interest in the subject from a young age.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "Introducing compulsory languages teaching in primary schools will instil a love of language learning in young children and help to encourage them to continue studying it as they move up through school and beyond.

In line with Bamboo's development of a Scheme of Work in Mandarin Chinese for KS2..

Ed Balls will announce that pupils aged seven onwards will be able to learn languages including Mandarin and Arabic to meet the challenges of a globalised world. Officials cited CBI surveys showing that 52% of employers looking for language skills now want people with French, 43% with German and 38% with Mandarin/Cantonese. They said Labour was keen to prepare the next generation of workers for the new global economy.

Balls said yesterday: "In this new decade, our ties with emerging economies like China will become even more important and it's vital that young people are equipped with the skills they need. That's why we want all secondary pupils to have the opportunity to learn Mandarin if they choose, either at their own school or a nearby school or college."

USA based 2009 teaching conference reveals...

how Chinese is becoming mainstream in schools. School visits to Chicago schools, music, ealy language learning workshops, supply of Chinese teachers - it was all covered and more. Use the link to find out more.

Mandarin Chinese grows in Primary schools

Mandarin lessons

PUPILS at a Caversham school are learning Mandarin after school.

Teacher Anna Zhenping Yu Hurst was invited to teach the classes at Micklands Primary School after returning from a family trip to her home province of Quzhou in October.

Mrs Zhenping Yu Hurst, whose son Oliver, eight, attends Micklands, took photographs to show pupils.

Her classes cover basic language and expressions, Mandarin characters and traditional Chinese songs and stories.

Mrs Zhenping Yu Hurst, who lives in Reading, said: “The children are very keen to learn about Chinese culture. I am teaching eight classes to start with and this may be extended if the level of interest continues.”

Praise for pre-school Chinese programme one year on, but the non-interactive approach is questioned.

Animation Insider worries about the pedagogy of Ni Hao Kai Lan. January 26 2009

Although Ni Hao, Kai-lan still has a tendency to feature characters who speak fluently in Chinese yet whose dialogue remains entirely untranslated, but only on occasion, the terminology that is translated ties well into the episode's central story. At first I thought this balance was a breakthrough in preschool television, refusing to baby its viewers and allowing them connect the dots on their own; but I'm starting to wonder if there's a limit to what you can offer a viewer to take in on his own, before he simply shuts out any information he deems as partially incomprehensible. Ni Hao, Kai-lan does a good job in blending the everyday with the multicultural, but the series frequently puts itself at risk of being too good for itself. The risk isn't always necessary, but when it is, children's television is usually better off for it.

The importance of cultural connections and learning to learn ....

This article writes about bi-lingual preschools. It emphasises the advantages of learning a second language young including Mandarin Chinese. It talks about making cultural connections between languages and how learning a second language improves general literacy and awareness of how communication works.

January 3 2009

Hemel Hempstead Chinese School for children receives national QiSS (Ofsted / DCSF) award

A Chinese school has received a national award for the quality of its teaching.
The Dacorum Chinese School Association in Hemel Hempstead, that teaches Mandarin from beginner's level to A level, was praised for the variety of learning it offers.

It organises Tai Chi classes and Chinese art activities, cultural events and trips.

The school has now received a Quality in Study Support (QiSS) award for its efforts, part of an initiative by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

The scheme praises and rewards activities offered to children and young people outside their normal lesson time.

The Chinese school, which boasts 60 students aged five to 75, received the award at County Hall, Hertford, in December.
24 December 2008

Crescent School Okalhoma starts after school program for kids learning Chinese

18 November 2008
NEWS OK Oklahoman

With an eye cast toward the future, Crescent School officials hope a new program started this year will give their children the skills they need to compete in the 21st century.

The district has started an after-school program to teach first-grade students how to read and speak Chinese.

Three days each week, a teacher from the University of Oklahoma comes to Crescent to teach the children basic expressions — hello, goodbye — and other familiar words such as mother and father.

Eric Wood, a first-grade teacher at Crescent Elementary, assists during the afternoon programs. Wood said the young students have picked up the language with ease.

Garrison Sullivan, 6, said he likes the courses because he gets to "learn a new language.”

When asked whether learning Chinese was hard, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought about a response.

"No,” Garrison said. "It’s easy.”

Learning Early, Career Advancement, Teacher Scarcity, Mandarin across the World

English Dethroned as World Language?
By Laura Robertson
CBN News Reporter
November 6, 2008

CBNNews.com - English is the most spoken language worldwide, but it might not be for long.

Millions are calling Mandarin Chinese the language of the future.

One group of pre-kindergarten students in Washington, D.C. take the same classes as thousands of other students nationwide.

CHINA CONNECTION:
Learning Chinese from the Comfort of Your Computer
The big difference? When the boys and girls at the at the Yu Ying Public Charter School finish eighth grade, they will be fluent in Mandarin Chinese as well as English.

"One day they're learning everything through English," Sarah Harris, the school's principal said. "One day they're learning everything in Chinese, so it's a very compelling model for a lot of parents."

Learning Early

Harris said there are many advantages to learning Chinese at an early age.

"Children really do soak up languages when they're young," she explained. "They don't have a lot of preconceived ideas about language, so they really come to it in an open way. We've seen children just soaking up the language and applying it in more and more contexts."

According to school founder Mary Shaffner, it's not just the students who want to learn Chinese.

"We are going to start Chinese classes for our parents, which many, many parents have been chomping at the bit for," she said.

With China's expanding global influence, millions are eager to learn the language. In 2004, only about five thousand U.S. students between kindergarten and twelfth grade took Chinese. Last year that number had grown to nearly 50,000.

Mandarin Worldwide

It's not just happening in the nation's capital. By 2010, it's estimated more than 100 million people worldwide will be studying Chinese as a second language.

Many are learning at one of the more than 200 Confucius Institutes established by the Chinese government. The Insitutes are now in 66 countries advancing the goal of spreading the Chinese language and culture.

In Manila at the Ateneo de Manila University, Director Dr. Ellen Palanca said she believes the popularity of these institutes is a sign of China's development.

"Once a country becomes more developed then it tries to promote its culture and language through such an arm," Palanca explained.

More than 2,000 students have gone through the program since it started two years ago.

Former student Pia Lim Castillo uses Chinese in her job as a food and travel writer. She said the learning experience helped her connect with her Chinese heritage.

"It's my identity. I have to find my identity, not only as a person, but the culture I belong to," he said.

Career Advancer

Many believe the ability to speak Chinese will advance their careers.

"I see value in being able to converse in Mandarin with Chinese clients," Attorney Kenneth Chua said. "Since more and more Chinese have been coming to the Philippines, I see more of a market for a lawyer who can speak Chinese."

Paula Leal, a reporter for Spanish News Agency in Manila attributes the growth of Chinese language learning to China's growing economic opportunities and global significance.

"It is the country of the future," she said. "Because of that it is so important to learn Chinese, because a lot of people are talking' Chinese right now."

Thirteen-year-old Pearl Parel started learning the language when she was just eight years old while on a business trip with her father in Taiwan.

"He didn't have an interpreter so he asked me if I could study so I could be his interpreter," she said.

She and many of her classmates at the Quezon City Christian Academy in Manila say that knowing Chinese will be essential after they graduate.

"Learning Chinese will help me in my future career, because my father wants me to be an interpreter and I want to learn more about Chinese culture," Parel said.

Fifteen-year old Ardenne Chuat agrees.

"Learning Chinese right now would be a good opportunity for applying for jobs here in the Philippines," Chuat explained.:China is now expanding and people would want to have employees who know how to speak the main language of China.

Teaching Mandarin

Half way around the world in Panama, one legislator even proposed mandating Mandarin Chinese in public schools. But Fermin Tomas Chan, head of theSun Yat-Sen School where all students study Chinese, doesn't think the legislation will pass.

"It's so hard to get teachers to teach Chinese outside of China," Chan said. "If you want to make it nationwide, it's going to be almost impossible to teach. We have problems with English in Panama. What about Chinese?"

Despite the difficulty finding qualified teachers, the school has a long wait list because so many Panamanians want to learn Chinese.

Chan and many of his colleagues say that "in 10 years, Mandarin will be as important worldwide as English."

Others doubt that Chinese speakers will outnumber English speakers any time soon.

Dr. Palanca said she believes Chinese could possibly replace English "in the far future, maybe 50 years from now."

But she admitted that it's more likely that Chinese "will most likely not replace English, but there's a possibility that it can be on par with the English language as an international language."

Whether or not Chinese does become the main international language, people worldwide are excited to learn.