More Chinese for Kids –
Parents and Schools Plan for the Future
Have you noticed that programmes teaching Chinese for kids have become increasingly popular? Not coincidentally, last year China supplanted the UK as the fourth largest national economy. Based on its burgeoning growth, some experts have questioned whether Chinese – already spoken by a native population of around 1.3 billion people – may someday replace English as the dominant global language. The “sleeping giant” has finally awoken, and British parents and educators have taken notice.
Several primary and secondary schools have launched new programmes in Chinese for kids – teaching children to speak Mandarin and readying them for their globalised future.
“Parents nowadays think that in 10 to 20 years’ time, when their children are in adulthood, China will be even bigger, and so learning Chinese will be a very helpful tool,” said Kailan Shu Lucas, speaking with BBC World Service’s Analysis programme.
Kailan is a Shanghai-born lawyer, who has organised programmes in Chinese for kids at 12 London schools. She told the BBC that most pupils attending these classes are enrolled as a result of careful considerations made by their parents. “This will be a very useful, important language to learn,” she noted.
Chinese for kids: Early exposure is important
Research has demonstrated that early exposure to a foreign language significantly increases students’ chances of attaining fluency and a native-sounding accent. Taking advantage of childhood to begin learning may be especially important when it comes to Chinese for kids.
The American Foreign Service Institute, which trains U.S. diplomats, estimates that pupils must study for approximately 1,300 hours to become proficient in Chinese. Compare that to French, for example, in which proficiency can generally be acquired in 480 hours. In other words, Chinese for kids—or anyone—takes three times as long to learn.
Parents might consider Chinese a daunting challenge for their children. Though it is the most spoken tongue in the world, many Westerners still perceive Chinese as an exotic and inscrutable language. However, with the right approach, young students will meet the challenge with eagerness and enthusiasm, according to Dr. Frances Weightman, a lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds.
Speaking with BBC News, Weightman said that children find it easier to hear and reproduce the subtle phonetic tones used when speaking Chinese. “It’s like singing for them,” she said.
Daria Taubin, aged 6, is an American primary school student participating in a ‘Chinese for kids’ programme near Boston, Massachusetts. “I want to keep learning, learning, learning and then go to China,” she told a reporter from The Boston Globe. Her mother, too, has apparently been receiving instruction, albeit second-hand. “I teach my mum every word I really know,” Daria explained.
The director of her school programme estimated that by the time Daria and her fellow pupils reach the ages of 13 or 14, they would be able to hold conversations and write short essays in Chinese. For kids or adults, that’s an impressive accomplishment.
Finding programmes in Chinese for kids
There were an estimated 100 schools in the UK teaching Mandarin Chinese for kids in 2006, according to figures provided by the British Council. That number is expected to grow. In America, a similar trend has taken hold. There, the number of students enrolled in Chinese language classes has reportedly skyrocketed from 6,000 to 50,000 within the last decade.
Pupils, parents and educators have expressed tremendous enthusiasm for additional classes in Chinese for kids. Yet despite their desire, many schools are unable to afford or logistically support a new language curriculum.
Parents have responded by seeking out Chinese-speaking tutors. Others have embraced multimedia immersion programmes that can teach Chinese for kids in the comfort of their own home.
In America, legislators have called for $1.3 billion (about £650,000) to fund Chinese classes for kids in U.S. schools. If the bill passes, this huge outlay would signify that their money is—literally—where their mouth is. (Not forgetting, of course, the mouths of 1.3 billion Chinese people, and an estimated 30 million non-native speakers.) Is it only a matter of time until a similar initiative takes root in the UK?
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